NEW Territories residents vowed yesterday to fight to the end the legislature's attempt to eradicate the law banning women from inheriting rural land. Seven hundred villagers, mostly men, stood and applauded for minutes as patriarchs declared ''war'' against any change during a three-hour emotional assembly in Yuen Long. Some villagers threatened to burn those legislators supporting the amendments, as they vented their anger in Lut Sau hall. Yesterday's gathering was the first of several to be held in the New Territories to oppose the changes. The male-dominated Heung Yee Kuk, a government-recognised body representing rural interests, will hold a special meeting on April 26 to plan action. Liberal Party legislator and the kuk's chairman, Lau Wong-fat, said he would resign from his party should it back the amendments to the New Territories Land (Exemption) Bill. ''They [legislators] can do whatever they like in the chamber. But all us indigenous residents in the New Territories will ignore them,'' said Mr Lau, an influential landlord and a Hong Kong Affairs Adviser to China. He planned to ask the Chinese Government for help and said he had invited his Preliminary Working Committee colleagues to tour the New Territories to hear villagers' views. ''It is not a matter of equality. It is a case of tradition being destroyed,'' he said. One of the few women members in the kuk, Angela Li York-lan, supported his view. ''We do not think we are discriminated against. We love our traditions. We have the right not to accept any change,'' she said. The amendments, put forward by appointed legislator Christine Loh Kung-wai, aim to reverse the century-old inheritance law that prohibits New Territories women inheriting ancestral property. They would affect 700,000 indigenous residents in the 720 rural settlements. Once used to secure rural support for British colonial rule, the law is a relic from the days before rice fields and fish ponds gave way to skyscrapers and shopping malls. With land prices soaring, male villagers stand to lose control over potentially valuable chunks of real estate if outsiders gain land-holding rights through marriage. Executive Council member Professor Felice Lieh-Mak said yesterday that neither the kuk nor the Executive Council had been consulted before the Government decided to support Ms Loh's amendment. She said members would ask the Government why it had done so.