Blight of light: Why Hong Kong’s neon haze isn’t going away soon
Green groups and a lawmaker say lack of strong rules on outdoor displays mean there has been little improvement over a decade, causing problems for residents and animals
As her train leaves Hong Kong International Airport for the city centre and passes one street light after another, Sally Law looks through the carriage window and is dazzled by the city’s skyline.
From now until Lunar New Year, the harbour shines even more brightly than usual; buildings along both waterfronts are dressed up with festive lights to boost the holiday spirit.
But the festive fluorescence has its downsides, with possible adverse effects on the environment and public health. And green groups have warned the lights might be approaching overkill.
“Starting from November, these holiday lights will stay on every night,” Roy Tam Hoi-pong, chief executive of Green Sense, says. “At least 50 per cent of public and commercial buildings in Tsim Sha Tsui have Christmas lights on their exteriors. And they will get even brighter during Lunar New Year.”
Law said the decorative lights on buildings fascinated her most when she first moved to Hong Kong from Australia. But the longer she stays, the more she realises it’s a problem.
“The night lights interrupt my sleep,” says the 22-year-old musician, who has been living in the city for four months.
Law, who used to live in Brisbane, says her flat in Fortress Hill, on Hong Kong Island, is usually lit up late at night by neon signs nearby and even external lights from commercial buildings from the other side of the harbour, in Tsim Sha Tsui.