Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Hong Kong island was given to Britain ‘in perpetuity’ in 1842 after the first Opium War. Kowloon, on the mainland, was ceded in 1860 after the second Opium War, the New Territories (92 per cent of Hong Kong) coming under British control on a 99-year lease in 1898. In the early 1980s China indicated that she intended to recover the whole of Hong Kong, so protracted negotiations took place between the British and Chinese governments, which produced the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984. Britain agreed to hand over Hong Kong in 1997. China conceded that for 50 years after that Hong Kong would be a ‘special administrative region’ with a capitalist economy (‘one country, two systems’). Beijing would control Hong Kong's foreign and defence policy but other matters would be ‘run by the local inhabitants’, Hong Kong continuing as a free port and world financial centre. Residents would not pay taxes to the People's Republic of China and English would remain the official language for 50 years. Two clauses sought to protect the rights of Hong Kong citizens. Clause 3 said ‘the laws currently in force in Hong Kong will remain basically unchanged’, while clause 5 stated that ‘Rights and freedoms including those of the person, of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of travel … and of religious belief will be ensured by law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’. After ... log in or subscribe to read full text