During the World War I, ships were required to be inspected by the Royal Navy when entering or leaving the Victoria Harbour. The Port Shelter and the Sai Kung market town were located outside the harbour, thus benefited from the policy to become a place for resupply. A temple inside the Sai Kung market town, also became the local civic centre that settle disputes. The shop owners, which were not from the surrounding villages, even represented Sai Kung in Heung Yee Kuk in the 1920s. Heung Yee Kuk represented the interests of the rural villages of the New Territories and recognized by the colonial government as a consulting institution. However, in the 1930s, the local merchants formed their own chamber of commence and gradually took over the political influence on the market town. Nowadays however, the seat for the Sai Kung Central constituency is elected by the local residents of the town through universal suffrage. The rural villages surrounding the town, still elect representatives to Heung Yee Kuk, however.