278
who had been killed in World War Two in Hong Kong, 'possessed' these dogs.
While not wishing to stand unnecessarily in the way of progress, what was a charming, unspoiled, if somewhat ramshackle sanctuary, reminiscent of what had been an earlier, more peaceful age has become, with the best intentions, a commonplace Hong Kong Park. There is an understandable threat to other such structures, from well-intentioned government initiatives to 'tidy things up'.
An elderly Chinese lady who went up to the Temple on a regular basis summed it all up.
'It's so sad. My friends do not come up here any more,' she told me. Leading on from there one wonders what should happen (and is going to happen) to all the other squatter, shanty temples that stand on hillsides on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon. These mean much to certain segments of the population.
1
Waters, DD (29 June 1999), 'Show mercy on old temple', South China Morning Post: and Janice Thorpe (9 July 1999), 'Save unspoilt sanctuary', South China Morning Post.