Appreciation of nature led Loletta Chu to help charity

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Published: 12:00am, 29 Jan 2010

Her married name might have changed, but former Miss Hong Kong Loletta Chu Ling-ling still has the same charitable heart. A divorce from sports supremo Timothy Fok Tsun-ting was followed by remarriage, to businessman Vincent Lo Hong-shui of the Shui On Development Group. Now Chu - a hobby photographer - has just announced she will collaborate with Standard Chartered Private Bank on a charity project titled Seeing is Believing.

Chu is donating 40 photographic works of flowers, for auction, to help a group named Orbis restore eyesight to cataract patients on the mainland. She announced the project at the bank's Central building atrium on Wednesday afternoon.

'I love nature,' she said. 'I always go to parks and the countryside when I travel, and I can spend a whole day taking pictures of flowers, birds, butterflies. My appreciation for nature made me understand the value of sight. The fact that Standard Chartered was willing to offer a one-to-one match just made it all very attractive. So I went for it.'

Every dollar the project raises will be matched with one from the bank. The pictures will be auctioned at a charity gala dinner on March 1, then shown to the public on March 10-16 at Pacific Place. A HK$520 commemorative photo book will also be available, and the proceeds for the book will go to Orbis. For information, search for Seeing is Believing at www.standardchartered.com.