The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the People's Republic of China (which marked the first time the country had control over it) occurred at midnight on 1 July 1997.
At midnight, June 30, 1997, the Chinese and British governments held a power transferring ceremony in Hong Kong at which the Chinese government formally resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong.
The Chief Executive is the head of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as well as the head of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. He or she is elected by a broadly representative Election Committee in accordance with the Basic Law, and is appointed by the Central People's Government.
Article 1 states that Hong Kong as a part of the People's Republic of China but maintains legal and political systems separate from those in mainland China until 2047. Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy and maintains its own executive, legislative and judicial branches.
In March 2022, Xia Baolong, head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said that after 2047, the "one country, two systems" could be extended by another 50 years, until 2097. In July 2022, Leung Chun-ying, former chief executive, said that he expected the system to be extended past 2047.
What is the difference between China and Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is a special administrative region (SAR) controlled by the People's Republic of China and enjoys limited autonomy. When British rule ended, Hong Kong was given a certain degree of autonomy from mainland China under the "one country, two systems" principle.
On 1 July 1997, Britain officially transferred authority over Hong Kong to China, ending over 150 years of British rule. This is known in the English-speaking world as the 'handover'. Today, Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China.
The economy of Hong Kong is a highly developed free-market economy. It is characterised by low taxation, almost free port trade and a well-established international financial market.
Legality: Article 1 of the Hong Kong Basic Law states that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China. Any advocacy for Hong Kong separating from China has no legal basis. Same cultural origin and close connection: Hong Kong has been part of China for most of its history.
Signs of mainlandisation in Hong Kong. Since 1997, Hong Kong has been a part of China under the "one country, two systems" approach. Within Hong Kong society, there are different views of this arrangement.
With the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, which stated that the economic and social systems in Hong Kong would remain relatively unchanged for 50 years, the British government agreed to transfer the entire territory to China upon the expiration of the New Territories lease in 1997 – with Hong Kong ...
In addition, under Article 106 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, Hong Kong has independent public finance, and no tax revenue is handed over to the Central Government in China. The taxation system in Hong Kong is generally considered to be one of the simplest, most transparent and straightforward systems in the world.
However, the PRC took a contrary position: not only did the PRC wish for the New Territories, on lease until 1997, to be placed under the PRC's jurisdiction, it also refused to recognise the onerous unequal treaties under which Hong Kong Island and Kowloon had been ceded to Britain in perpetuity after the Opium Wars.
The objective is for China to become a “modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, and harmonious.”, including many more ambitious political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions.
Macau, officially known as Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a former Portuguese territory that reverted to Chinese sovereignty on 20 December 1999.
A person is eligible to apply for a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Passport if he/she is: a Chinese citizen; a permanent resident of the HKSAR; and. a holder of a valid Hong Kong permanent identity card.
The result: 75% said Hong Kong would have been “worse off” and merely 5% said “better off”. Another poll found that 65% of Hong Kong people thought that British rule is more good than bad and merely 3% thought that it's more bad than good.
Cantonese people are predominantly of Han Chinese ancestry, with various local genetic clusters suggesting regional language-based endogamy. For example, Cantonese from Hong Kong significantly differ from other southern Han in terms of their northern and southern Han ancestral components.
British overseas territories citizens from Hong Kong who did not register as British nationals (overseas) and had no other nationality or citizenship on 30 June 1997 became British overseas citizens on 1 July 1997. If you're not already a British national (overseas), you cannot apply to become one.
