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The Yuen Long district of Hong Kong is located in the relatively remote northwest corner
of the New Territories, just across Deep Bay from mainland China (click on
the images below to see them larger):
Currently, Yuen Long district is home to two urban centers: The first
is Yuen Long, from which the district takes its name; and the second is
currently one of the most notorious communities in all of HK -- it's a place named Tin Shui
Wai, but known popularly as the Town of Sadness. This is a nickname
to which we fiercely object! However, it is true that Tin Shui Wai has proven to
be a troubled community, both economically and, in some ways, socially.
In fact, the Yuen Long / Tin Shui Wai area is #1 in all of HK for the
following statistics*:
--- child abuse
--- spouse abuse
--- unemployment welfare
--- senior citizen welfare
--- requests for help from people
considering suicide
--- proportion of population under 14 years
of age
And we are #2 in all of HK with regard to the number of criminals between the
ages of 10 and 20...
About 60% of residents are recent immigrants to HK (most from mainland China), and
around 45% are not even permanent HK residents.
There are parts of the district that have a poverty rate that is more than DOUBLE
the rest of HK -- and in fact, Tin Shui Wai North's poverty rate is highest of
all 18 districts of HK (20% of residents are classified as living in poverty,
while another 40% are classified as "rather poor").
[NOTE: The poverty line for a family of 3 is set at $1000 (US) per month.]
But these negative statistics don't begin to tell
the whole story...
In fact, there are tens of thousands of good, hard-working people in Yuen
Long district -- people who want to see their children get a good education and
prosper, people who dream that their families will one day share in the gains of
an ascendant China... They may not all be classified as "middle class"
by the statistics -- but they are decent folk who recognize the problems of
their community, and yet believe that there can be solutions...
WE ARE THOSE PEOPLE...
*[All statistics quoted are from the South China Morning Post:
http://www.scmp.com, and RTHK]
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