Department killjoys should lift bans on quiet Lantau beach

I am lucky enough to live five minutes' walk from Cheung Sha beach on Lantau. At more than two kilometres, it is the longest beach in Hong Kong and is absolutely stunning.

Both ends have a government-built beach pavilion, with changing rooms, showers, warning flags, shark nets, and lifeguards.

However, in the middle there is a section of more than one kilometre which has no government facilities and is not patrolled by lifeguards. It is usually completely empty. Quite often I have seen more cows and dogs than people. Apart from dog-walkers, there are occasional retired gentlemen who indulge in solitary fishing, and a dedicated group of surfers who always arrive when surf's up, as the beach is one of the most popular surfing spots in Hong Kong.

Sometimes an isolated parascender might use the empty sands as a landing strip, after jumping off Sunset Peak.

Last year, a privately owned water sports centre opened at the back of the beach. Renting out windsurfing equipment, kayaks, surf boards, skim boards, boogie boards, kiteboards and beach umbrellas, plus offering refreshments, showers and water sports training, the opportunities it offers are a great boon to beach users. Now on a busy weekend, there might be 20 to 40 people using the middle (previously empty) section of the beach, enjoying the wide range of healthy physical activities on offer.

But recently, the killjoys at the Leisure and Cultural Services Department decided that enough was enough.

They instructed their operatives to hand out warnings and fines to anyone caught surfing, or any other 'illegal' activity (that is, all the activities I have mentioned). The department would much rather the beach was kept empty and unused, rather than respecting the wishes of those who actually use it.