Chuk Yuen border village balances on the edge of change
Tensions are rising as residents of a remote farming community near the Shenzhen River prepare to move to make way for development
A remote agricultural community more than two centuries old, the border village of Chuk Yuen is facing drastic changes brought by developments on both sides of the Shenzhen River.
It's not just the farmland and backyards that are disappearing, but the integrated setting, where indigenous homes nestle with non-indigenous ones. In the new village, the 42 indigenous households - who trace their family histories to the area before 1898 - will be separated from the few non-indigenous families by a river.
Now a closed area that can be visited only with permits issued by the police, the village is on the government's list to be opened up next year
Yiu Koon-tai, 70, has witnessed all the changes in the Ta Kwu Ling village over the past seven decades. The indigenous woman was born in the village and remained there after marrying a non-indigenous man.
"When I was young, everyone would help out on the farms," she said. "Now everyone just minds their own business."
Yiu, who is treated as a non-indigenous household member under the patriarchal system in the rural New Territories, said the relocation process was unfair.