Iris Cheng Chi-lan is bubbling with energy. That may come as a surprise, given that the young Greenpeace campaigner is just back from the Arctic - and a prison in chilly Greenland, no less.
On June 4, Cheng and 17 of her fellow activists from around the world staged a raid on the Leiv Eiriksson oil rig, rented by Cairn Energy, to demand an oil spill response plan. They were detained, then deported. Cheng is now back in Hong Kong and remains undaunted.
'We decided to go directly to the rig,' Cheng says. 'We didn't really work out a plan. We simply rushed onto the rig and frantically looked for the captain's station. It might sound like an irrational act, but at that time, it was the most direct way to stop irresponsible oil drilling. Every moment matters.'
Cairn Energy is a small company based in Britain. It specialises in exploring oil resources. Greenpeace says the company runs on a low budget, which makes it prone to possible oil leakage.
The oil rig's operation in Arctic waters near the North Atlantic islands has been approved by Greenland's government, but Greenpeace says the company lacks a proper oil spill response plan.
Before their raid, Greenpeace activists had phoned, written, faxed, and e-mailed to the company for a copy of it. They received no response, so finally, they decided to act.