AT midnight on July 1, 1997, the British Empire officially came to an end. The United Kingdom concluded its administration of its colony of Hong Kong and returned control of the territory to China. This event ended 156 years of British colonial rule—one of the worst examples of Western colonialism in history.
The Treaty of Nanking—a result of the British winning the “Opium Trade War”—gave Hong Kong Island to the UK forever in 1842. The 1860 “Convention of Peking”’ ceded Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter’s Island and the 1898 “Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory” gave a 99-year lease of the New Territories and outlying islands until 1997.
The Chinese central government under Deng Xiaoping and later Jiang Zemin were in no position to take a “hardline” stance through the decade of negotiations about Hong Kong’s future. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 forced the government to agree that the British Government should give the people of Hong Kong the right to live in the UK. More than 100,000 lined up for a British National (Overseas) application from the night before the deadline.
The “one country, two systems” was the concession that eventually allowed for the turnover and transition to take place. This is set to expire in 2047.
In anticipation of mass protests this past weekend, the nominal Hong Kong protest leaders were arrested and the protests were going to be canceled. However, within hours, all were released on bail. Protestors returned to the streets in force over the weekend despite a ban. Reports are that this was one of the worse, if the not most violent of all. Police fired live rounds into the air, and in the Admiralty district some protesters threw firebombs at police officers.
On one hand, Beijing is taking a tremendous risk with Hong Kong. It is a given that Hong Kong is a major trading facility and is the financial hub of Asia after Singapore. Five percent of Hong Kong’s economic activity and 7 percent of employment are directly related to tourism. The actual amount is probably three times as large.
Hong Kong has its own dollar while the Chinese renminbi, which is insignificant in global trade, is not fully convertible. That is why China owns over 1 trillion US dollars worth of US government debt.
On the other hand, Hong Kong has become a thorn in Beijing’s neck. It is the center and outlet for mainland Chinese money laundering. It is the entry point for western “propaganda,” and political influence and pressure. Controlling the 89 percent of “Hongkongers” who do not consider themselves “Chinese” is extremely difficult under the current system.
So, where is Beijing going with all this?
Read these recent headlines: “Shenzhen to use $21 million fund to attract Hong Kong and Macau graduates.” “Shenzhen to be bellwether for China’s future development: US expert.” “Shenzhen—more than Silicon Valley with Chinese characteristics.” You can get from Central—Hong Kong’s business and retail district—to Shenzhen in 15 minutes by train.
Certainly, Shenzhen is not close to being ready to take over Hong Kong’s domestic and international role…yet. However, Beijing may be “crazy like a fox” with its long game plan. One way or another, and maybe sooner rather than later, Hong Kong may become an arrival point on the way to Shenzhen.
Image credits: AP/Kin Cheung