It's not too far as the crow flies from the Sai Kung seafood restaurant where environment minister Edward Yau Tang-wah was having lunch to scenic Sai Wan where a businessman is stripping bare an area behind a pristine beach, but for Yau it could have been half a world away.
'It's on private land, I don't know much about it,' Yau said of the site next to the Sai Kung East Country Park where diggers are tearing up land close to Hong Kong's most stunning stretch of coastline. 'I am not even sure where it is.'
The minister was asked to comment yesterday while hosting a lunch to promote the Hong Kong National Geopark - the boundaries of which actually take in the excavation site on part of the famed Tai Long Wan coast.
Yau's attention at the time was occupied by more esoteric matters - dishes created to represent features of the geopark, including volcanic lava lao sha pau (custard buns) and golden hexagonal columns (deep-fried shrimp rolls).
Some of those dishes referred no doubt to the Tai Long Wan coast, which the geopark's website says showcases 'a breathtaking coastal landform of volcanic rocks' that has been 'justifiably rated as No1 of Hong Kong's top 10 natural attractions'.
Yau said he would look into the work on a 10,000 square metre site where landowner Simon Lo Lin-shing plans to build an organic garden but where villagers say he will in fact build a private lodge with artificial ponds, a tennis court and separate apartment.
Yau did not comment when asked how the government could protect such scenic spots from destruction. His press secretary later clarified that Yau meant he was not fully informed of the details of the case when he said he didn't know much about it.