Sham Shui Po District

This article is about the administrative district. For the area, see Sham Shui Po.
Sham Shui Po
深水埗區
District
Sham Shui Po District

Day view of the Sham Shui Po District skyline

Official emblem

Location of Sham Shui Po within Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°19′51″N 114°09′44″E / 22.33074°N 114.16220°E / 22.33074; 114.16220Coordinates: 22°19′51″N 114°09′44″E / 22.33074°N 114.16220°E / 22.33074; 114.16220
Country China
Special administrative region Hong Kong
Constituencies 21
Government
 • District Council chairman Kwok Chun-wah (ES)
 • District Officer Benjamin MOK Kwan-yu
Area
 • Total 9.48 km2 (3.66 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 • Total 365,540
 • Density 39,000/km2 (100,000/sq mi)
Time zone Hong Kong Time (UTC+8)
Website Sham Shui Po District Council
Sham Shui Po District
Traditional Chinese 深水埗區
Simplified Chinese 深水埗区

Sham Shui Po District (Chinese: 深水埗區) is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is the poorest district in Hong Kong, with a predominantly working-class population of 365,540 and the lowest median household income of all districts.[1] Sham Shui Po has long been home to poorer new immigrants from mainland China. It also saw the birth of public housing projects in the city, as the government sought to resettle those displaced by a devastating fire in its slums. Sham Shui Po also hosted a Vietnamese refugee camp during the influx of migration in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

The district covers the Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok and Yau Yat Chuen areas of New Kowloon, and Stonecutter's Island of Kowloon.

Administration

Sham Shui Po District administers:

Demographics and housing

Buildings in Sham Shui Po

Sham Shui Po was already a densely populated district in 1950s and 1960s. It is heavily poverty-stricken, having the lowest median monthly domestic household income among the 18 districts. It has the highest percentage of elderly over 65 years. The percentage of new immigrants is also very high.

Local private housing Mei Foo Sun Chuen in Lai Chi Kok, which was built in 1966, was Hong Kong's first large-scale private housing estate, comprising 8 phases with a total of 99 blocks.

Politics

Partly because of the large presence of the low-income group in Sham Shui Po, the area has bred many pro-grassroots politicians. The current chairman of the Sham Shui Po District Council, Mr Tam Kwok-kiu, is a veteran local politician fighting for the interests of public housing tenants for many years.

Sham Shui Po is the stronghold of Tam's political party, the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood. Of the 26 District Councillors in Sham Shui Po, nine belong to his group, including party chief Frederick Fung Kin-kee. Fung was returned to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 2000 by direct election in the geographical constituency of Kowloon West, in which Sham Shui Po is the biggest area.

However, Hong Kong's largest pro-government and pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), has gained a foothold in Sham Shui Po too. In 2000, Tsang Yok-sing, the then chairman of DAB and member of the Executive Council, Hong Kong SAR chief executive Tung Chee-hwa's inner cabinet, won a seat in the Legislative Council representing the Kowloon West constituency, which includes Sham Shui Po.

DAB members Chan Wai Ming, representative of So Uk, Fu Shu-wan, a representative of Lei Cheng Uk, and Cheung Man-to, a representative of Nam Cheong Central are District Councillors in Sham Shui Po.

The Democrats have been less successful at canvassing grass-roots support. Pro-Beijing politicians have won favour in Sham Shui Po by organising such things as free banquets and tours to southern China.

Transport

There are four railway lines serving Sham Shui Po District:

MTR

People leaning against a fence in front of an exit of Sham Shui Po MTR station.

Buses

There are also various bus routes serving the district. Most of them are operated by Kowloon Motor Bus, and some by New World First Bus and Citybus. These three companies also jointly operate some routes, most of these crossing the harbour to the Hong Kong Island.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Basic Tables for District Council Districts: Hong Kong 2006 By-Census

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sham Shui Po District.
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