“Tree Professor” Jim Chi-yung is one of the most vocal advocates for protecting the trees of Hong Kong. He tells June Ng why life as a tree is tough in this town.

HK Magazine: When did you become interested in trees?
Jim Chi-Yung: I have always been interested in them, even when was a kid. I used to live in North Point, and there was a little wood up the hill, by the Breamar Hill Reservoir. I would always walk along that trail. It was great to see the trees grow.

HK: What do you think about our tree planting policy?
Jim: Our policy can be divided into two aspects: forestation in the countryside and urban greening projects. The forestation is fine. Since World War II, when many trees were chopped down for firewood, the government has been carrying out extensive reforestation works. When the project first started, they had to use a number of foreign trees as pioneer tree species, but in recent years the government has started to infuse more local species into the land. However, in the city greening projects, they totally lack vision, which creates recurring problems.

HK: How so?
Jim: We don’t have much land in Hong Kong, so every urban tree planting spot is really valuable. But the government lacks proper planning. For example, they plant a seedling that will grow into a big tree in a place where there’s hardly any space. So you can imagine how awkward that situation becomes after several years. What’s more, since all the spots are so valuable, how come there’s no health screening for seedlings? As far as I know, sick seedlings will still be planted if they’re designated for the spots. Because it’s hard for trees to grow in an urban environment, the sick seedlings will never grow into strong, beautiful trees, and it takes a lot of manpower to take care of them. That’s why they never have enough staff to take care of all the trees.   

HK: Do urban trees live a tough life?
Jim: Yes, leaving aside the pollution, Hong Kong is a city that buries all its wires and pipes underneath the road, and this is where urban trees take root as well. So every time we have maintenance works to do on the pipes or the wires, the workers need to dig a hole, damaging the roots. There are approximately 40,000 works of this kind every year.  

HK: Does the public know enough about tree conservation?
Jim: I think public knowledge is improving. I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people asking me to help the trees they think are in danger. But I feel sad about the tree conservation policy; we tend to kill the trees that are sick, not cure them. I recently heard on the news that a tree was chopped down simply because it had lost all its leaves. But this is just a natural immune response when a tree is sick.

HK: Why don’t you join a government advisory board?
Jim: I feel that I can help the trees just as much as an outsider. I believe that an open-minded government should listen to the public’s opinions, if they have a good point to make, of course. 

HK: What has been the most frustrating thing in dealing with government over trees?
Jim: The Wishing Tree, of course. How could the Tourism Board promote throwing things onto its branches? It’s like allowing thousands of people to hope for happiness from the pain of the tree itself! After the Wishing Tree was shown to be in a very critical condition, the custom had to stop. It’s the Tin Hau Temple next to the tree that’s worth promoting. But then the government spent $5 million on a luxurious public toilet near the tree instead of renovating the temple!