It's a town trapped in a cycle of poverty but Tin Shui Wai may get a chance to break down the walls - in its name at least.
Lawmaker and Heung Yee Kuk chairman Lau Wong-fat yesterday came up with one way to boost the economically depressed town: change its name to something more auspicious.
In response to a question in Legco by another Heung Yee Kuk member, Cheung Hok-ming, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen had rattled off a number of policies to revive Tin Shui Wai, which has been dubbed the 'city of sorrow'.
But Mr Lau said residents had been equally concerned about the name of the town. The word 'Wai' means 'encircled', so its name made the new town look, feel and sound like a 'walled city', he said.
Quoting the Chinese saying 'No need to fear being born on a bad date, but fear most being given a bad name', Mr Lau said: 'What I want to ask is whether the chief executive will actively seek to change the name?'
He pointed out that Hong Kong place names had been changed in the past because of their inauspicious sounds.