For a growing number of believers in Hong Kong, alien life isn't out there silently waiting to be found: It's already found us and it's hovering above us, watching our every step.

As space exploration becomes an increasingly hot topic, the Hong Kong UFO Club has seen its membership grow from around 150 a decade ago to some 2,500 today, including its Facebook followers.

"Lots of people see UFOs in Hong Kong," said Thomas Tsui, one of the group's organisers. "We have many cases where people see flying saucers but they get no picture. They just relate to us what they see."

Even in an age of smart phones, it seems alien technology is still confounding existing human technology in terms of collecting evidence. "There is too much ambient light in urban Hong Kong and it is hard to use an iPhone to capture a UFO sighting," Tsui said.

Some members have captured striking images and video, however, and a selection of the best pictures and movie sequences were shown to a packed meeting of followers earlier this month.

"I have seen UFOs many times, always in Hong Kong," said Tsui, who said the countryside areas of the New Territories, such as Sai Kung Country Park, were the best areas to see UFOs flying overhead. "They are always out there," he said.

Tsui believes the government is aware of the existence of UFOs but keeps them a secret. "They believe it's not a good idea for the public to know about aliens," he reasoned. "They think it will be too much for them."

Moon Fong, the club's president, said Hong Kong would host its first fully scientific conference on UFO research in November with 1,500 delegates from around the world attending.

She said the Internet and Hollywood's enduring fascination with the theme of aliens had helped interest in UFOs to grow in Hong Kong. "There is an ocean of information about them out there now," Fong said.

As for the search for alien life by scientists, UFO club members are somewhat ambivalent at the prospect of a breakthrough. "Scientists always need evidence, but we don't need evidence," said Tsui dismissively. "We already believe what we believe."

(HK Edition 09/18/2012 page4)