Why this could never have happened before 1997?

So here we go again.  Email salvaged from the Internet gutter.  (I wish I could write something intelligent but I simply can't, just to be perfectly clear, I did not write the below)

Maclehose and Wilson were avid hikers. A lot of people could recall bumping into Governor Wilson on the Wilson Trail in the early 90's. The SaiWan village was deliberately left out from the Sai Kung Country Park because of the fact that it was a traditional Chinese fishing village. Including it in the Outlying Zoning plans would have made transfer of properties (for the villagers) difficult. Anyway, who would have thought of buying up an abandoned village? The Tipans[sic] of Jardines and Swires wouldn't do it. That would have made them the pariah in the colonial community. Besides, who wanted to go native amongst the poor villagers (regardless of the height of the outlying walls of the lodge). Last but not least, they understood that the SaiWan village was along the scenic Maclehose trail. Building a villa there would have been frowned upon by the governor. Things were different after the handover, however. That important tacit understanding is gone. Businessmen like Messr Lo lian Cheng saw a loophole in the law, bot[sic] up the land on the cheap (hkd 16 million) and decided to build a personal playground complete with a swimming pool, a mini golf course, a tennis court and a helicopter pad - for the enjoyment of his business associates and their girlfriends. Blaming the Environment Secretary is useless. Or was it a 'landmine' left behind intentionally by the Brits? Or was it one more manifestation of the Chinese peasant DNA? This is a wake up call to protect our Sai Kung!