She was a small woman, this lawyer’s mother, but she had an indomitable will. Something that he’s perhaps inherited. And unluckily for the Hong Kong government, she also had some money saved up, which she handed to her son to use for legal challenges to save Victoria Harbour.
Winston Chu Ka-sun didn’t set out to be a lawyer. He still hankers for a career as a nuclear physicist. “It’s true, it’s what I’d like to be.”
At 73, he also has a secret wish to be a beach bum, if only someone would let him slip off with his towel and his notebook for his other passion – other than Victoria Harbour – of writing poetry.
Chu received death threats and notes sent to his wife threatening rape, as he spent years scouring over maps concerning the government’s intentions regarding harbour reclamation. He used his legal knowledge and his family money to fight the government in the courts and preserve Victoria Harbour for the people.
“I’m not a hero, I just feel like an idiot who stands up,” says Chu. “The spirit of Hong Kong did not come from me but from my mother. She loved Hong Kong and the harbour. I started the job under her command, and having been trained as a lawyer in England I caught a little of the Bulldog spirit – that once I bite, I do not let go.”
So Chu began a fight that he has continued for 19 years.