INDEPTH: CHINA
Hong Kong: 155 years of British rule
CBC News Online | June 21, 2005
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1842: China cedes the island of Hong Kong to Britain under the Treaty of Nanking after more than a year of British occupation during the First Opium War.
1860: China cedes Kowloon peninsula and Stonecutters Island to Britain at the end of the Second Opium War under the terms of the first Peking Convention.
1898: The United Kingdom executes a 99-year lease of the New Territories, the area surrounding the island of Hong Kong, under the second Peking Convention.
1941: Britain surrenders Hong Kong to Japan after British, Canadian, Indian and Hong Kong forces fail to repel a Japanese invasion.
Tens of thousands of people stage a candlelight vigil at Hong Kong's
Victoria Park, Sunday, June 4, 2000. Urging young people to fight for a
democratic China, tens of thousands of demonstrators held a candlelight
vigil Sunday night to commemorate those who died during Beijing's
military crackdown at Tiananmen Square 11 years ago. (AP Photo/Vincent
Yu)
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1945: Britain regains control of Hong Kong.
1949: Following the communist takeover of China under Mao Zedong, a mass emigration from mainland China to Hong Kong occurs.
1982: Following discussions between the U.K. and China over the future of Hong Kong, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visits Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. Deng refuses to allow British administration of Hong Kong after 1997.
1984: Thatcher and Chinese Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang sign a declaration that Hong Kong would cease to be a Crown Colony after July 1, 1997, and would be instead a Special Administrative Region (SAR) within the People's Republic of China. The declaration triggers a wave of emigration out of Hong Kong.
1989: About one million people march in support of students holding pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing. The massacre of the Tiananmen Square protestors triggers another wave of emigration.
1990: The Hong Kong Basic Law, a mini-constitution for the SAR following the handover to China, is official accepted.
1992: Newly sworn-in colonial Governor Chris Patten proposes democratic reforms of Hong Kong institutions. China breaks off contact. China's threats to tear up business contracts signed with Hong Kong companies triggers a stock market crash.
1995: Elections for Hong Kong's Legislative Council take place.
1996: China appoints Tung Chee Hwa as chief executive-designate of the Hong Kong SAR.
1997: The U.K. hands Hong Kong over to China on July 1. Beijing replaces elected Legislative Council with appointed council. British flags and symbols are replaced with Chinese, but Hong Kong retains freer trade and English common law, and drivers continue to drive on the left.
2005: Tung quits, citing failing health, but many speculate China wants Tung out because of his failure to control the highly politicized region. The final two years of his rule saw two of Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy demonstrations, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets. Donald Tsang takes over as acting chief executive, and is later named leader of Hong Kong by China's State Council.
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Background on the pre-existing tension between China and Japan from The Hour.
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