The Handover of Hong Kong

Hong Kong's Significance

Photo courtesy Hong Kong government

• It has a population of six million people, who enjoy a higher average income than people in Britain, or indeed in most Western countries.

• Its Gross Domestic Product is equivalent to 21% of China's GDP, despite the fact that China has a population of 1.2 billion.

• It is the eighth largest trading economy in the world.

• It is the leading financial centre in Asia.

• It is the third largest financial centre in the world after London and New York.

History of Hong Kong

• The island of Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, following the First Opium War.

• The First Peking Convention ceded a small area at the tip of Kowloon peninsula, together with Stonecutter's Island, following the Second Opium War.

• The Second Convention of Peking leased the "New Territories", (which make up approximately 92% of the territory of Hong Kong), to Britain for 99 years.

Mrs Thatcher signs the Joint Declararation

The Joint Declaration

The Joint Declaration (officially the Sino-British Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong) declares that Hong Kong will be "restored" to the People's Republic of China with effect from July 1 1997 and that China will "resume the exercise of sovereignty" from that date. The Joint Declaration will apply for fifty years. Hong Kong will be known as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Britain agreed to return Hong Kong to China in return for guarantees about how China would treat Hong Kong in the future:

• Hong Kong will "enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs which are the responsibility of the Central People's Government".

• Hong Kong will continue to have a capitalist economy and enjoy existing rights and freedoms, and its basic lifestyle is to remain unchanged.

The "Basic Law" for Hong Kong was adopted by China's National People's Congress on April 4, 1990. It implemented the provisions of the Joint Declaration and provides a constitutional basis for Hong Kong.

Relations Between China And Britain

The bloody crackdown on by Chinese troops on protests in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on June 4 1989, known as the "Tiananmen Square massacre" and shown on television around the world, soured relations between Britain and China.

Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten

The British Government became concerned about the future for Hong Kong, and responded by granting full British passports to 50,000 Hong Kong heads of families, building a new international airport, and the introduction of a Bill of Rights.

The former British minister, Chris Patten, was appointed Governor of Hong Kong in 1992. In October 1992, the new Governor announced new democratic reforms for Hong Kong, which the Chinese Government opposed and which led to a crisis in Sino/British relations.

In 1995 and 1996 relations between the British and Chinese Governments began to improve, and a series of ministerial visits and meetings between the two governments occurred.

Hong Kong's Future

Hong Kong Harbour

In December 1996, the Chinese Government appointed Tung Chee-Hwa Chief Executive-designate of Hong Kong. He will take over from Chris Patten on July 1.

In February 1997, China announced its decision to repeal or amend 26 of Hong Kong's laws, on the grounds that they contravened the Basic Law. The overturning of laws which cover the registration and funding of political parties and other groups, and spell out procedures for obtaining police permits to hold protest demonstrations, has caused particular concern.

The British Foreign Office "Mission Statement" of May 12, brought in by the new Labour government, stated that a key priority was a "successful transition to Chinese rule in Hong Kong, which promotes the colony's prosperity and preserves its freedoms...The Government is fully committed to the well-being of Hong Kong, in particular the rule of law and the rights and freedoms enjoyed there now".