Moon Fong
Since founding the Hong Kong UFO Club in 1996, Moon Fong has watched interest in extraterrestrial phenomena grow from its small niche into a commercial beast. She tells Paul Benedict Lee about her first sighting.
HK Magazine: What was your first UFO encounter?
Moon Fong: It was in Mexico, my 20th and final stop on a round-the-world trip with a Hungarian botanist during the spring of 1996. On the day I saw the UFO, I heard something calling me and I turned to see what it was—the first thing I saw was this wide, thin flying saucer, elegantly moving across the sky like a traditional Chinese dance for four minutes.
HK: When did you start the Hong Kong UFO Club?
MF: I returned to Hong Kong the Christmas of 1996 and attended a conference led by a foreign UFO researcher at Hong Kong Stadium. I told him that I wished there were a place where UFO fans could gather in Hong Kong. He misunderstood me and thought I was going to start a club as the founding chairman. Reporters gathered around me and asked how I would do it. For some reason, I didn’t decline, and said calmly, “It’s in progress.” In terms of Eastern philosophy, it was meant to be! We started our regular meetings at Cosmic Noodles in Wan Chai, which sadly isn’t there anymore.
HK: Has interest in the local UFO scene changed much?
MF: The scene was created by me and [founding vice-chairman and radio host] Wan Hoi. Fifteen years ago when we started, there was no money to be made—if you didn’t lose all your money or get called a cult leader, you were lucky. In the last few years, attitudes have changed dramatically, moving in a more commercial direction. In 2012, people in Hong Kong saw the opportunity for money and fame because of the Mayan apocalypse, and the whole scene got twisted. As the die-hard creators of the local scene, we will stick around, but we may step off the stage and work behind the scenes as it grows more commercial.
HK: How do you run the club?
MF: My principle is to run the club on “zero budget,” as I have no money. You may think I am well-educated because I have a degree from Hong Kong University, I traveled around the world, became a manager of a PR company—my resumé looks really good. But I have spent all my money on UFO research. I am so proud that I can live off the grid. But sometimes it really hurts: no income! I am in a financial state just like someone fresh out of college.
HK: What do your friends and family think of what you do?
MF: Sometimes they don’t support it, or understand it. But other times, they get excited. My mom even asked, “Why don’t you have an alien baby?”