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Hon, an 81-year-old woman's experiences in the village, Mr. Fan made comments related to the government's decision on rural development in Sai Kung:
A trip to town for Hon involves phoning for a boat to take her to Wong Shek pier and then a bus to Sai Kung. The alternative, an hour's hilly walk, is beyond the frail old woman now. "It is very inconvenient that we have no road, no vehicles can come in," says Fan Koon-mui, ...
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"If the Government had provided us with transport, our fate wouldn't be deserted villages,” Fan says.
Since the 1980s, the Kuk has badgered the Government to provide link roads for the villages, but without success. A chicken-and-egg situation exists - there are not enough people to justify the building of roads but, if they were built, more people could live in the villages.
"Solitary zone' (by S. Lee, South China Morning Post, May 4, 2002)
The village is abandoned now, but I suggest that there is a lot of potential in developing the village into a heritage education centre in which there are at least several aspects we should try to cover. In order to achieve a better understanding of the history of Chek Keng for the further concerns both in heritage preservation and environmental development, we suggest some research topics for consideration:
• Migration history and social change in Hong Kong's Hakka settlements
• Traditional village lifeways and folk cultures
• The Catholic church and influences given by the missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere as well as P.L.M.E.) from Milan, and
• Oral history on villagers' lifestyles and cultural traditions, etc.
Discussion: Development with local people's support
Therefore, we need to think about whether the development of