Not long ago, I spent a few days in Fiji. The trip was short, but the memories linger on.
Fiji has emerged as a popular resort destination in recent years. Sometimes, just looking at photos on Facebook pages fills me with longing for its serene and peaceful natural beauty.
This time, I was there on business. The environmental NGO I work for received a grant to participate in an exhibition of South Pacific agricultural products, tourism, and handicrafts in the capital, Suva, promoting the natural soap and coffee beans we developed in Timor-Leste.
Our belief is to help local impoverished communities develop green businesses and instill environmental awareness, so that people's lives can improve while protecting the environment. Most of our projects are in Timor-Leste. It’s a long journey, and whether we’ll succeed remains uncertain. Last year, the natural soap project performed very well, even boosting the confidence of the local government and citizens in green enterprises.
That’s when I started dreaming: if a small developing country can achieve both development and environmental protection, could it become an economic model for other developing nations? I was happy to learn that one small country on Earth—Fiji—has already put this model into practice.
After more than ten hours of flying and a connecting flight, I finally arrived at the capital’s airport. Though it’s called the capital airport, it’s small and rudimentary, with only one baggage conveyor belt where you can watch your luggage come off the plane. Just a dozen steps, and you’re at the exit. Even Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak Airport was more advanced and better organized than this.
I was carrying luggage that weighed half as much as I did, and I was already half-dead. With the flight delayed, even if I rushed straight to the venue, I had less than an hour left to set up the booth, which made me even more nervous.
But as soon as the taxi drove out of the airport, everything changed. The weather was quite hot, and the taxi didn’t have the air conditioning on. I opened the window, and the fresh, invigorating air hit me—it was amazing. The sun was shining brightly, and on both sides of the road were lush greenery and low-rise buildings. The sidewalk was full of students wearing neat, clean uniforms, walking barefoot. I found it curious, but the taxi driver seemed completely unfazed. He said, “The ground is clean—what’s wrong with walking barefoot?”
The natural cool breeze and the simple, unpretentious people made me forget I was in a rush for work. Instead, I found myself in the mood to chat with the driver. The Fijian driver asked me if I knew about Fiji’s three treasures: Ruby Seven, which he proudly said the Fijian rugby team was amazing; Fiji Water, which I’d heard of as being very pure and expensive in Hong Kong; and Fiji’s scenery, which resembled a paradise on earth and was a tourist hotspot.
This earthly paradise and pristine groundwater weren’t easily achieved. They’re both a gift of nature and the result of human effort. The driver said Fiji has a small population of about a million, most of whom are farmers. They’re not ignorant—they know that developing industries could earn them more money, and using pesticides could increase crop yields. But the environment would inevitably suffer. In the end, it’s the age-old question of trade-offs. They chose the environment. They believe the land belongs not just to them, but also to future generations, and they have no right to seek prosperity for one generation at the cost of burdening the next with high prices.
Later, I learned that Fijians had paid a high price. They used to use pesticides to boost yields. But after witnessing the changes in the land and the resulting lackluster crops, the entire nation reflected deeply and resolved to change. Since then, they’ve embraced organic farming, seeing it as the path to long-term development.
That day, I saw a government promotional video on TV. It, too, talked about the familiar refrain: for society to move forward, the agricultural land in Northeast New Territories must make way.
Is this really moving forward?