In the mood for China?
Hong Kong S. A. R.
Hong Kong S. A. R., Chinese Special Administrative Region
and former British dependency in eastern Asia, on the South China
Sea, bordered by China on the north. It is made up of many
islands and a portion of the mainland, and has considerable
territorial waters. It has a land area of 1,076 sq km (415 sq
mi). Despite its small size, Hong Kong S. A. R. plays an
important role in the world economy.
Hong Kong S. A. R. can be divided into three main
regions.Hong Kong Island, about 18 km (11 mi) long and up to 8 km
(5 mi) wide with an area of about 80 sq km (29 sq mi), and nearby
islets; the mainland Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island,
with an area of about 10 sq km (6 mi); and the New Territories,
made up principally of a large area on the mainland and Lantau
Island, making up the rest of the land area. The dependency is
partly situated in the Zhu Jiang, or Pearl River, delta, and the
Sham Chun River forms the border with China. Much of Hong Kong is
hilly, the highest elevation being Tai Mo Shan in the New
Territories at 957 m (3,140 ft) and the highest island peak
Lantau Peak on Lantau Island at 934 m (3,064). Substantial areas
of the low-lying terrain are made up of land reclaimed from the
sea. Shortage of fresh water is a serious problem, with most of
the supply being piped from mainland China.
Although within the Tropics, Hong Kong has a subtropical
climate because of the south-western monsoon, a moist, warm,
equatorial wind that brings a rainy season between May and
August. The mean annual temperature is 22.2° C (72° F),
with a range from 15° C (59° F) in February to 27.8°
C (82° F) in July. Average annual precipitation is about
2,224 mm (88 in). Typhoons are frequent in summer and
occasionally cause great destruction.
Only about 12 per cent of Hong Kong is forested, mostly with
conifers, but small tropical and subtropical plants are abundant
and diverse throughout the Special Administrative Region.
Mangroves and swamp vegetation are also found. Hong Kong.s small
amount of fertile soil is concentrated in the mainland portion of
the New Territories, near Deep Bay. Few large wild animals
inhabit the Region: monkeys are common, and there are small
populations of foxes and civets. Birds, lizards, frogs, and small
mammals are abundant.
The population of Hong Kong S. A. R. is about 97 per cent
Chinese, with some Filipinos, British, Indians, Portuguese, and
Americans; the future status of the non-Chinese minorities under
the new government is uncertain. Around 90 per cent of the
Chinese population is either native to Hong Kong or from the
adjoining Guangdong Province of China; the remainder are
predominantly from Shanghai, Taiwan, Fujian, Zhejiang, and
Jiangsu. Over 35,000 Vietnamese refugees, or .boat people.,
confined in detention camps, suffered compulsory repatriation to
Vietnam as the dependency was handed back to China in 1997. Hong
Kong authorities closed down the last remaining Vietnamese
refugee camp, the Pillar Point, in June 2000.
Hong Kong S. A. R. has a population (1995 official estimate)
of 6,189,800. The overall population density is 5,753 people per
sq km (14,915 per sq mi), making Hong Kong one of the most
densely populated regions in the world. Around 95 per cent of the
population is urban. Average life expectancy at birth (1994) is
76 years for men and 81 years for women, among the highest levels
in the world.
The capital and cultural centre of Hong Kong S. A. R. is
Victoria, which is on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island.
Also of major importance are Kowloon and New Kowloon, extending
from the Kowloon Peninsula into the New Territories. Neither of
these are officially designated as autonomous cities. Kowloon and
Victoria are separated from each other by Victoria Bay.
The majority of the Chinese population practises the eclectic
combination of Buddhism, Daoism, and the philosophy of
Confucianism usual in Chinese religion. There are also some
500,000 Christians, mostly Roman Catholics, and some 50,000
Muslims, plus small populations of Hindus, Jews, Sikhs, and other
creeds. In the 1990s, Falun Gong, a mystical sect loosely
associated with Buddhism, gained a considerable number of
followers. It was banned by the Chinese government in 1999, but
remains legal in Hong Kong S.A.R., although its activities are
monitored.
The official languages of Hong Kong prior to the handover to
China were English and the two primary dialects of the Chinese
language, Mandarin and Cantonese. English was used for all legal
and governmental work, while Cantonese was, and continues to be,
the common spoken language. Mandarin Chinese became the official
language of government in July 1997 and is increasingly spoken in
the Region.
Primary and secondary education is free and compulsory in Hong
Kong to age 15. In 1995-1996 about 467,718 pupils attended
primary schools, and some 459,845 students were enrolled in
secondary and vocational schools. There were also over 20
institutes of higher education with some 137,740 students. The
main institutions of higher education are the University of Hong
Kong (1911), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1963), and Hong
Kong Polytechnic (1972).
Chinese culture dominates in Hong Kong, manifest in such
traditional events as the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn
Festival, and the Chinese New Year. Yet, as a port inhabited and
visited by people of many nationalities, the Region is subject to
diverse influences, especially that of the British, and is noted
for its urban cosmopolitanism. Hong Kong has become an important
source for modern Chinese popular culture worldwide, through its
film and popular music industries as well as book and magazine
publishing. Hong Kong is also an important centre of the
traditional arts, through its Cantonese opera companies, its art
dealerships, and its annual arts fair.
There are 25 public libraries in Hong Kong, as well as the
libraries of the educational institutions. There are also several
museums of the arts and sciences.
In the post-war period Hong Kong has grown to be one of the
world.s major manufacturing, trade, and financial centres,
expanding its traditional entrepôt role through
considerable investment in industry. It also serves as a major
channel for trade and investment in mainland China, and has been
increasing its economic interests in the mainland as the economy
there expands and with the reversion to Chinese sovereignty in
1997. The gross domestic product in 1994 was US$126.3 billion, or
US$21,650 per capita (World Bank figures, 1992-1994 prices). The
estimated budget for the fiscal year 1994-1995 included income of
US$19 billion and expenditure of US$14.1 billion, yielding a
budget surplus of US$4.9 billion.
Only 7 per cent of Hong Kong is arable land, and most of the food
supply is imported. Vegetables are the primary crop, with several
crops a year possible owing to the warm climate. Farming is
largely confined to the New Territories. Fishing is an important
occupation; in 1995 some 203,300 tonnes of fish were caught. A
large portion of the fish catch is exported.
Partly because of the large influx of skilled immigrants from
China after the Communist takeover in 1949, Hong Kong has
developed important manufacturing industries. In the mid-1990s
these contributed around 8.7 per cent of the gross domestic
product, and exported around 80 per cent of their output. The
principal products include textiles, clothing, footwear,
electronic and electrical equipment, ships, fabricated metal,
chemicals, rubber goods, precision instruments, timepieces,
printed materials, toys, and processed food.
Hong Kong.s annual production of electricity in 1993 was 36.4
billion kilowatt-hours.
The monetary unit of Hong Kong S. A. R. is the Hong Kong dollar
(HK$7.7993 equal US$1; 2001), issued by the Hong Kong and
Shanghai Bank, the Standard and Chartered Bank, and since 1994
the Bank of China. The dependency is an important international
financial centre, with many offices of foreign banks. The Hong
Kong Stock Exchange is one of the world.s most important, and
there are additional exchanges.
Hong Kong is important as a port primarily because its excellent
natural harbour is the only satisfactory seaport between Shanghai
and the Indochinese peninsula (see Indochina). Hong Kong, which
levies few customs duties, handles a great volume of cargo and
serves as an important link in China.s foreign trade. In 1995
Hong Kong.s imports (c.i.f. value) were valued at US$177 billion
and its exports and re-exports at US$195 billion. The principal
imports include foodstuffs, industrial raw materials, machinery
and transport equipment, telecommunications equipment, and
chemicals. Major exports are clothing, textiles, timepieces,
toys, electrical machinery, and computer and other electronic
components. Hong Kong.s principal trade partners are the rest of
China, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, the United States, Singapore,
South Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Hong Kong is also an
important source of investment for the developing Chinese
economy.
Hong Kong had about 1,717 km (1,067 mi) of roads in 1995. With
more than 450,000 motor vehicles, Hong Kong has one of the
highest vehicle densities in the world. The Region is connected
by railway with China and has a subway system of about 43 km (27
mi). Ferries and hydrofoils link various parts of Hong Kong,
which is also served by a major international airport near
Kowloon. A second airport, Chep Lak Kok international, situated
on reclaimed land off Lantau Island, opened in 1998, despite
arguments between Britain and China over its financing.
Hong Kong in the mid-1990s had around 3.8 million radios and 1.75
million televisions. In addition to government broadcasting,
there are also several commercial stations, including the
pan-Asian satellite broadcasting company Star TV. In 1995 Hong
Kong had around 4.1 million telephones. The world.s first full
interactive multimedia network, including shopping and
information services, was launched by Hongkong Telecom, the
dependency.s telecommunications utility, in 1996. Hong Kong has
almost 60 registered newspapers in English and Chinese; leading
dailies include the South China Morning Post (English) and the
Oriental Daily News (Chinese). Press freedom under the new
Chinese regime has been a particular concern, with many journals
practising .self-censorship..
The total workforce in Hong Kong in 1995 numbered 3.1 million;
about 28 per cent of whom were employed in industry, and most of
the rest in services. There are over 500 trade unions in Hong
Kong, with over 500,000 members, most grouped in the Hong Kong
Confederation of Trade Unions and the Hong Kong Federation of
Trade Unions.
Tourism is important to Hong Kong.s economy. In 1995 tourism
yielded almost US$9.7 billion in revenue, with around 10 million
visitors arriving.
Until July 1997, as a dependency of the United Kingdom, Hong Kong
was governed with guidance from London, in the same manner as
other British-controlled territories worldwide. After the signing
of the first Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, democratic
representation was gradually extended through Hong Kong. Its
political structure remained in place until the handover of
sovereignty to mainland China in 1997. At this point, China
installed its own governing apparatus, in accordance with Hong
Kong.s new status as a Special Administrative Region of
China.
Paramount military and civil authority under British rule was
vested in an appointed British governor-general representing the
Crown. The governor presided over and was assisted by the
13-member Executive Council, three of whom were ex-officio
members and the rest appointed by the governor. The supreme
executive authority after the handover was vested in a chief
executive, chosen by a 400-strong Selection Committee, governing
with an Executive Council appointed by the Executive.
Hong Kong.s legislative organ prior to July 1997 was the
60-member Legislative Council (Legco), 39 of whom were, by 1995,
directly elected (20 by public poll, 10 by electoral colleges,
and 9 by functional constituencies representing occupational
groups), and 21 indirectly elected. This replaced the system in
force until 1995 in which 18 members were appointed by the
governor. The mainland Chinese government, antipathetic towards
this elected legislature, declared its intention in March 1996 to
scrap the Legislative Council and replace it with a 60-member
assembly chosen by China.s Selection Committee. This body was
nominated in December 1996 and began meeting in Shenzhen.
However, China promised open elections to a new Legislative
Council in 1998.
Hong Kong law is mostly derived from British law, though by 1997
most important legislation was replaced by that derived from the
Legislative Council. The highest tribunal of the dependency is
the Supreme Court, divided into the Court of Appeal and the High
Court. Lower courts include district courts, magistrates. courts,
a coroner.s court, a juvenile court, and sundry tribunals. The
structure of the legal system after the handover to Chinese rule
in 1997 was one of the most contentious points of Sino-British
negotiations, with China drawing up 25 new laws and articles in
January 1997 which were condemned by Britain as injurious to
human rights.
Elected municipal councils, the Urban Council (for central Hong
Kong) and Regional Council (for the New Territories), administer
local matters. Until 1995 a minority of their members were
appointed. There are also consultative district boards in all
districts.
Political parties sprang up in Hong Kong after the introduction
of direct elections. The first political party to be formed, in
1990, was the United Democrats of Hong Kong, followed by other
pro-democracy parties. The future of these groupings under
Chinese rule is uncertain. The parties closest to the Communist
government of China are the Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment of Hong Kong and the Liberal Party.
Public housing, essential in cramped Hong Kong, accommodates
around 45 per cent of the population. The Social Welfare
Department administers a comprehensive welfare programme,
including social security, care for children and the elderly, and
assistance for the sick and needy. In the early 1990s Hong Kong
had around 6,800 doctors and 26,000 hospital beds.
Great Britain maintained a small garrison presence on Hong Kong,
which was gradually reduced prior to 1997. All three armed
services were represented. The Royal Hong Kong Police operated
numerous armed patrol craft for maritime policing duties. The
first troops of a similarly sized Chinese force arrived in Hong
Kong in April 1997.
The Hong Kong region was first occupied by Chinese in the second
millennium bc. In the 17th century ad the region saw the last
struggles between the Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty. Before
the British occupation, Hong Kong had a small fishing community
and was a haven for pirates and opium smugglers.
Britain first used the island as a naval base during the Opium
Wars with China. By the Treaty of Nanking (modern Nanjing) in
1842, which ended the First Opium War, Hong Kong itself was ceded
to the British in perpetuity, and began its expansion as a
strategic port. After a second conflict in 1860, Great Britain
acquired Kowloon and Stonecutters Island and in 1898 obtained the
New Territories under a 99-year lease. Hong Kong became a refuge
for political exiles from the mainland of China following the
establishment of the Chinese Republic in 1912. Ensuing Chinese
nationalism was marked by antagonism towards all foreign
countries, and a Chinese boycott from 1925 to 1927 denied British
shipping access to the ports of southern China, hindering Hong
Kong.s trade.
When Japan seized Dongbei in 1932 and open war broke out in 1937,
China turned to Great Britain and other European countries for
its military supplies, and diplomatic relations between the
British in Hong Kong and the Chinese became friendlier.
Throughout 1937 hundreds of thousands of Chinese, displaced by
the Japanese invasion of their country, sought refuge in Hong
Kong. Meanwhile, Great Britain began strengthening the colony.s
defences.
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 further dislocated
the economic life of Hong Kong, already seriously affected by the
Sino-Japanese conflict. The threat of Japanese aggression also
grew steadily. Japanese aircraft bombed Kowloon on December 8,
1941, and ground forces dislodged British troops from Kowloon and
the New Territories; the British surrendered on December 25.
Having occupied Hong Kong, the Japanese converted it into a
military bastion and supply station for their projected campaigns
in East Asia. Their operations were largely hampered, however, by
United States submarines and bombers. The British reoccupied Hong
Kong following the unconditional surrender of Japan on August 14,
1945.
Hong Kong swiftly regained its status as a major East Asian
trade centre. Numerous economic dislocations resulted, however,
from the Nationalist-Communist civil war in China. Hundreds of
thousands of Chinese took refuge in the colony before and after
the Communist victory in 1949. Following the US-imposed ban on
trade with Communist China in 1950 during the Korean War, the
commercial activity of Hong Kong declined.
The colony had to use its own resources to develop new
industries. Thousands of newly arrived Chinese from the mainland
provided labour and money for the rapid growth of light
manufacturing industry during the 1950s and 1960s. In this
period, also, the liberal tax policies of the Hong Kong
government attracted foreign investment. The resultant economic
boom transformed Hong Kong into one of the wealthiest and most
productive areas in Asia. However, the low wages underpinning
this early boom stimulated discontent. Riots raged throughout the
spring and summer of 1967, fanned by sympathizers with the
Cultural Revolution in mainland China, and temporarily threatened
the political stability of the colony. The government responded
with laws on working conditions, more public housing, and
investment in public works, and by 1970 Hong Kong was stable once
more.
In the mid-1970s the flow of refugees from the mainland
increased. Relations, however, remained friendly, and commercial
ties with the Chinese prospered with the initiation in the early
1980s of a number of joint economic ventures. Economic growth
continued, with Hong Kong now established as one of the .tiger.
economies of Asia. Gross domestic product was estimated to have
increased at an average of 7 per cent per year between 1980 and
1991. In the early 1980s refugees from Vietnam, the .boat
people., began to arrive in numbers, threatening to increase Hong
Kong.s overcrowding.
With the British lease on the New Territories due to expire in
1997, talks between China and Great Britain over Hong Kong.s
future began in 1982. A legally binding agreement reached between
the countries in September 1984 and signed in Beijing in
December, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, stipulated that all
Hong Kong would revert to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. The
territory, which would at that time become known as the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of China, would be allowed to
maintain its own legal, social, and economic systems for at least
another 50 years, and civil liberties would be guaranteed. China
would assume responsibility for foreign affairs and defence. A
committee was convened in Beijing, including representatives from
Hong Kong, to draft the Basic Law (constitution) for Hong Kong
after 1997. Great Britain increased limits on the nationality
status of Hong Kong citizens to remove right of abode in Britain
after 1997. In 1985 the Legislative Council (Legco) was expanded
and indirect elections to it on a very limited franchise were
held for the first time.
The first drafts of the Hong Kong Basic Law were published in
1988, and criticized for their lack of democratic safeguards. In
1989 work on the Basic Law was suspended during the Tiananmen
Square protest; the massacre that followed caused revulsion and
mass demonstrations in Hong Kong. The United Kingdom refused to
consider renegotiating the Joint Declaration, but introduced a
limited right of residence to apply chiefly to officials and
business leaders, to .maintain confidence. in Hong Kong prior to
1997. In October 1989 the governor unveiled plans for a massive
project for a new airport off Lantau Island, also intended to
boost confidence in the colony. The final Basic Law passed by the
National People.s Congress in Beijing in April 1990 opened the
way for some seats in Legco to be elected directly prior to 1997
(neighbouring Macau first introduced such direct elections in
1976). Hong Kong.s first formal political party, the liberal
United Democrats of Hong Kong, was formed in April 1990 under
Martin Chu-Ming Lee. Emigration from Hong Kong or the acquisition
of foreign residence rights, especially in Canada, reached an
average level of 60,000 people per year in the early 1990s.
Relations between China and the United Kingdom over Hong Kong
deteriorated during 1991, due to disputes over financing of the
airport project and Chinese demands to be consulted. The United
Democrats and their allies won 17 of the 18 seats on the
Legislative Assembly contested in the September 1991 elections,
though on a relatively low turnout. In May 1992 the Hong Kong
government began the forcible repatriation of all Vietnamese
refugees classed as .economic migrants.. In July 1992 Chris
Patten was appointed Governor of Hong Kong, and in October he
presented plans for extension of direct democracy through
broadening of functional constituencies within the Legco
franchise. China denounced the proposals as contravening all
previous agreements and in November suspended talks on the
airport project, threatening to cancel all contracts related to
it in 1997. The reform proposals were passed by the Executive
Council in February 1993, but their presentation to Legco was
suspended to allow negotiations with China on the subject. In
July, China established a government-in-waiting for Hong Kong in
Beijing. Negotiations reopened, but after protracted Chinese
foot-dragging, the reforms were passed by the Legco in the first
half of 1994, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, establishing
new functional constituencies with 2.5 million voters, replacing
corporate voting by individual voting in other functional
constituencies, and establishing council seats indirectly elected
by the directly elected local councils. China announced that the
reforms would be dismantled and the elected councils replaced
after 1997. Agreement between the United Kingdom and China on
funding the new airport was finally reached in November 1994.
Democratic Party candidates and their allies soundly defeated
candidates friendly to the mainland government in elections to
the local councils in March 1995. In June agreement was finally
reached between the UK and China on the form of the court of
final appeal, to operate in the Hong Kong legal system after
1997.
Pro-democracy candidates under Martin Chu-Ming Lee won
convincingly in the first-ever open elections to the Hong Kong
Legislative Council in September 1995, despite China.s promises
to ignore the result. After China.s Preparatory Committee,
appointed by Beijing to oversee the handover of sovereignty,
formally decided in March 1996 to dissolve the Legislative
Council after the reversion of sovereignty, British Prime
Minister John Major promised entry without visas to the United
Kingdom for Hong Kong residents; Lee.s Democrats continued to
demand greater British pressure on China over issues of
democracy.
In July 1996 five pro-democracy Legco members were refused entry
to China. In August, China opened nominations for its 400-member
Selection Committee, set up to choose the post-handover Chief
Executive of Hong Kong and the assembly designed to replace the
Legislative Council; Martin Lee and other democrats refused to
participate. In November the 400 Hong Kong citizens chosen by
China for its Selection Committee began voting on the new Chief
Executive, and in December 1996 they elected Tung Chee-hwa, a
Hong Kong shipping magnate, also selecting a 60-member
provisional legislature to replace Legco. Tung selected his
Executive Council in January 1997, and soon showed himself
pro-Chinese, backing China.s announcement that month of plans to
curb human rights laws in Hong Kong. In February, China.s
appointed Preparatory Committee voted to recommend the repeal of
Hong Kong.s Bill of Rights and other human rights laws. However,
the death of Deng Xiaoping later that month raised hopes that a
new Chinese leadership might be more flexible over human rights
issues after the handover. In April 1997 China.s Provisional
Legislative Council announced plans to curb civil liberties,
including restrictions on demonstrations and on political bodies.
links outside China. In the same month, Martin Chu-ming Lee
visited the United States, where President Bill Clinton assured
him that America would defend human rights in Hong Kong. Britain
ceremonially handed back sovereignty over Hong Kong to China on
June 30, 1997.
As promised, China dissolved the elected Legislative Council on
its resumption of sovereignty; however, elections for a new
council were announced, and pro-democracy demonstrators held
brief demonstrations before leaving office. The Chinese-appointed
Provisional Legislative Council held office until April 1998. New
elections in April and May 1998 returned a majority of
pro-democracy candidates in the directly elected seats for the
new Legislative Council. The effects of the continuing economic
crisis in Asia forced government stimulus packages in the summer
of 1998 and a controversial intervention in the stock market in
August. In February 1999 the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, at
Beijing's insistence, qualified a ruling on immigration law which
would have given it the authority to interpret the Hong Kong
Basic Law autonomously.
