Former journalist Chu Hon-keung, 38, is in charge of Friends of the Earth's project to recycle mooncake tins, in co-operation with the government
People think it's strange that I went from journalism to working in non-government organisations, but as a reporter, I always focused on animals and green issues.
My first job as a reporter was in Taiwan in the late 1980s. I studied journalism at a Taiwanese university, although I was born and raised in Hong Kong. Journalism in Taiwan was very different and reporters were encouraged to cover their own beats and establish niches. I took up reporting on animals and the zoo in Taipei, the biggest in Taiwan, partly because I used to live right next door .
I followed the welfare of two animals at the zoo over several years - one a Congo gorilla and the other an elephant. The zoo ordered four gorillas at the time but three died on the way. I wanted to let people know that these animals paid a high price for our amusement and entertainment. The male elephant, now in his 80s, had a very dramatic life story. He was originally owned by the Japanese army and fought in the second world war. He and more than 10 others were captured after the war in Myanmar by the Chinese nationalists who took them to the mainland.
The elephant and his female companion were shipped to Taiwan when the nationalists withdrew from the mainland after the Chinese civil war. People have a lot of respect for that elephant - he had air-conditioning at the zoo.
I developed a close working relationship with workers at the zoo and they let me get quite close to the animals - so close I was once head-butted by a rhino.
In the early 1990s, I reported on World Vision's work in Taiwan and, a little later, I joined them full-time for more than a year. I sponsored a child at the time under a World Vision programme for poor families. The child and I have kept in touch ever since. She is entering law school in Taiwan this year and I am very glad about that.