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Hong Kong is celebrating 25 years since the former British colony returned to Beijing's rule. The handover in 1997 was made with the understanding that Hong Kong would maintain its existing partially democratic political and economic systems separate from that of mainland China under the principle of "one country, two systems". But in the quarter century since that historic event, China has slowly chipped away at the very foundation's of Hong Kong democracy and cracked down heavily on those who protest at what they see as the dismissal of the freedoms Beijing guaranteed to respect after the handover.
Click through for a brief timeline of events leading up to and beyond July 1, 1997, when Hong Kong was handed back to China.
In 1842 China ceded Hong Kong island to Britain after the First Opium War. Pictured is the British warship Nemesis destroying Chinese war junks during the Second Battle of Chuenpee on January 7, 1841, during the conflict.
The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War and the signing of the Convention of Peking.
The colony was further expanded in 1898 after China leased the New Territories, together with 235 islands, to Britain for 99 years from July 1, 1898.
The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War on July 7, 1937, saw Hong Kong become a refuge for thousands of mainland Chinese fleeing the advancing Japanese.
In December 1941 Hong Fell to forces of the Empire of Japan during one of the first battles of the Pacific Theater in the Second World War. The colony was occupied until 1945 during which time thousands of residents fled back to mainland China. Pictured are British soldiers marching through the streets of the Crown Colony shortly after their capture by Japanese troops.
In 1946 the British reoccupied Hong Kong and established a civil government. Pictured are members of 44 Royal Marine Commando handing out candy to local children on Cheung Chau Island in February 1946.
The refugee tide turned again in 1946 with former residents returning in their many hundreds to Hong Kong from the mainland after the outbreak of civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists in China. Seen here in 1950 is Hong Kong Harbor looking toward Kowloon.
British Colonial architecture characterizes the landscape of Hong Kong Harbor, photographed here in 1868.
Image: John Thomson.
Streetcars trundle down Des Voeux Road on Hong Kong Island in 1940. In fact two roads, Des Voeux Road Central and Des Voeux Road West were named after the 10th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir William Des Vœux.
Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pottinger (1789–1856) was the first Governor of Hong Kong, appointed on June 26, 1843. He held the position until May 1844.
Hong Kong flourished throughout the 1950s thanks largely to the development of light industries such as textiles. Pictured are vessels containing natural colors for fabrics exposed under the sun.
In fact, Hong Kong's textile industry had started before the Second World War, but with weaving preceding spinning in its development. Later, Hong Kong became a hub for the supply of cotton yarns, supplying local textile manufacturers. By the 1950s, the colony was exporting yarn to mostly Asian countries including South Korea, Pakistan, Burma (Myanmar), and Vietnam. The early 1960s saw business expand, with local yarns exported to Commonwealth countries including Sri Lanka, South Africa, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Matters came to a head in 1967 during the so-called "riot period." Demonstrators, many of whom were followers of China's Cultural Revolution, took to the streets in what was initially perceived as a minor labor dispute. However, the demonstrations eventually escalated into protests against the British colonial government. The photograph shows people gathered outside the Wah Fung Emporium in North Point in 1967.
But not everyone benefitted from Hong Kong's economic revival. The mid-1960s were marked by social discontent. Labor disputes become rife among a poorly-paid workforce, who demand higher salaries and better working conditions. Pictured is a fifteen-year-old girl working at the loom in a one-room factory in the basement of a tenement building.
On January 9, 1972, a mysterious fire gutted RMS Queen Elisabeth in Hong Kong Harbor, the blaze making headlines around the world. The wreck was famously featured in the 1974 James Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun,' as a covert headquarters for MI6.
By the late 1960s living conditions had begun to improve and social unrest subsided. By the early 1970s, Hong Kong was beginning to show its teeth as it slowly evolved into the "Asian Tiger"—one of the region's economic powerhouses. Pictured from Victoria Peak are the early stages of the commercial and resident development of Victoria Harbor.
In fact, Hong Kong was once again finding favor with Hollywood, with the colony providing the location for the first American-produced martial arts spectacular, 'Enter the Dragon,' which starred karate expert Bruce Lee.
Hong Kong was on the up throughout the 1970s. By the following decade it was one of the world's most dynamic, high-technology hubs.
Meanwhile, tourism thrived. The destination marketed itself as a territory known for its wealth and trademark lifestyle. Its glamorous appeal spawned a huge entertainment industry. But Hong Kong was also recognized for its skyrocketing real estate prices and expensive hotel overnights.
As early as 1982, Britain and China were beginning talks on the future of Hong Kong. In 1984 Britain and China signed a Joint Declaration on the conditions under which Hong Kong would revert to Chinese rule in 1997. Pictured is Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Central Advisory Committee, Deng Xiaoping, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Under the treaty, Hong Kong would maintain its existing partially democratic political and economic systems separate from that of mainland China under the principle of "one country, two systems". This agreement would be honored for 50 years after the handover.
The massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square from April to June, 1989, led to anxious calls for the introduction of further democratic safeguards in Hong Kong.
On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong was handed back to the Chinese authorities after more than 150 years of British control.
in July 1992, Chris Patten became the 28th and the last Governor of Hong Kong until its transfer of sovereignty to China. In October 1992, Patten announced proposals for the democratic reform of Hong Kong's institutions aimed at broadening the voting base in elections. China was outraged. Two years later, Hong Kong's legislature introduced a more spartan version of the governor's democratic reform package.
Immediately after the transfer, Hong Kong was severely affected by several crises. The 1997 Asian financial meltdown forced the government to use substantial foreign exchange reserves to maintain the Hong Kong dollar's currency peg.
The SARS epidemic of 2003 further dented investor confidence during which the territory experienced its most serious economic downturn. That year also saw 500,000 Hong Kong residents march against a controversial new anti-subversion law known as Article 23. A concerned British government quickly accused China of interfering in Hong Kong's constitutional reform process.
Tens of thousands took to the street on July 1, 2006—the ninth anniversary of the handover—in support of full democracy and to protest Beijing's increasing stranglehold over the former British colony.
Eight years on and little had changed. In 2014, people once again took to the streets to voice disapproval of their government, this time over proposed reforms to the Hong Kong electoral system. This time, however, demonstrators numbered in their tens of thousands in what became known as the Umbrella Movement.
Hong Kong celebrated the 20th anniversary of the handover with a series of spectacular events, including a dazzling fireworks display over Victoria Harbor.
But 2017 was also marked by further demonstrations. That year, thousands protested at the idea of basing officials from mainland China in the territory. Two years later in January 2019, Hong Kong saw anti-government and pro-democracy protests, involving violent clashes with police, against a proposal to allow extradition to mainland China in what political observers described as yet another example of the eroding of the one country, two systems agreement.
Hong Kong's 25th handover anniversary celebrations on July 1, 2022, were muted and lackluster. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the special administrative region to mark the occasion, the spirit of which was dampened by rain and very few people on the streets. This time, noted the BBC, no demonstrations took place, with many of the city's most prominent pro-democracy figures either having left or been jailed.
Sources (History) (Hong Kong Memory) (New York Times) (South China Morning Post) (BBC)
See also: Famous protests and riots that change the course of history.
The fascinating and complicated history of Hong Kong
Hong Kong marks 25 years since the former British colony returned to Beijing's rule
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Hong Kong is celebrating 25 years since the former British colony returned to Beijing's rule. The handover in 1997 was made with the understanding that Hong Kong would maintain its existing partially democratic political and economic systems separate from that of mainland China under the principle of "one country, two systems." But in the quarter-century since that historic event, China has slowly chipped away at the very foundations of Hong Kong's democracy and cracked down heavily on those who protest at what they see as the dismissal of the freedoms Beijing guaranteed to respect after the handover.
Click through for a brief timeline of events leading up to and beyond July 1, 1997, when Hong Kong was handed back to China.