I’m an artist. I used to teach art. The art ends up nice, but may be slightly different from what I envisioned in the first place.
My mother got me involved in beauty pageants. I won my first one the evening I turned 16.
One competition led to another and I ended up in Hong Kong. I had job offers after that.
When I was that age, I kept buying brand names. I thought I needed them to look posh and be somebody.
I’m not saying I’m somebody now, but I’ve learned—from those who I feel are somebody—that it doesn’t matter. It’s bullshit.
When I filmed my first movie, I met my ex-husband. I did the proper thing and got married.
Well, I got pregnant first.
I was 19. I was working up until I was five months pregnant. I was doing [legendary TVB variety show] “Enjoy Yourself Tonight.”
I went to Australia and had my son. I came back when he was 1 month old. No one knew.
Naïvely, I thought I would continue working and people didn’t have to know about it.
Shortly after, I realized the folly of that because I was proud of my son. I wanted to show him off.
The marriage broke down. He was my first real boyfriend. He didn’t really speak English, so that’s half of my heritage gone. It was pretty tough—we both tried in our own ways.
Raising my son as a single mother was a handful. It’s been a learning experience.
He’s 24 now and he still says, “Mom, I need this, I need that.” I say to him: “When I was 24, you were 4.”
When most people in Hong Kong look at the ocean, they think, “My real estate faces the ocean and the price is going to increase.”
The main thing we should be thinking is: this is our life support system. It gives us the air that we breathe, the atmosphere we enjoy, the water we drink. We’ve been trashing it.
I started with marine conservation. Then of course, sharks—they’re an important part of the ocean. I didn’t want to do elephants, but the statistics came and I saw pictures of poaching—so I took that on. Species by species, I realized I was able to do something.
Our biggest problem right now is Mainland China. You’re facing a massive number of nouveaux-riche people who think that they need to pile on the brand names. It does take time for them to change.
What gets me really angry is how people are used to dealing in the ivory trade.
There is a lot about elephants that we can’t explain, that seem almost eerie to humans.
They’re going to disappear in roughly 10 years if we don’t change what we’re doing.
Social responsibility has gained a lot of momentum. If we’re relying on Hong Kong to change China, it’s not going to be overnight. But it is happening.
We are seeing fewer people have shark fin in Hong Kong. Shops selling elephant ivory are closing.
This year I am working on pangolins. They’re the highest illegally trafficked form of wildlife. Next year I am thinking of tackling seahorses.
We should be custodians for nature and natural resources.
I have a very intimate relationship with Hong Kong. It’s a love-hate relationship. But why are we still living here? Because we love it.
I don’t want to retire. It’s like a declaration: “I’m now a vegetable.”
Being able to connect with nature—I’m most alive while I’m out there doing these things.
Need to Know…
Sharon Kwok found fame when she competed in the first-ever Miss Chinese International Pageant in 1988 and placed as second runner-up. She established Aquameridian, which creates products aimed at educating the public on environmental concerns. Learn more at aqua-meridian.com.
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