When did Britain leave Hong Kong?

At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong was peaceably handed over to China in a ceremony attended by numerous international dignitaries, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

When did Hong Kong become British?

Hong Kong was a British colony from 1841 to 1941 and again from 1945 to 1997. In 1839 in the First Opium War, Britain invaded China and one its first acts was to occupy Hong Kong.

Why did we give back Hong Kong?

In September 1984, after years of negotiations, the British and the Chinese signed a formal agreement approving the 1997 turnover of the island in exchange for a Chinese pledge to preserve Hong Kong’s capitalist system.

Why did the British give Hong Kong to China?

Treaties signed in the 1800s stipulated that the Brits were only to hand back the northern swath of Hong Kong called the New Territories—and not Hong Kong island or Kowloon (i.e. the major financial and commercial areas), which China also wanted.

What were the moral obligations of the British to Hong Kong?

The moral obligations, because Britain handed over the whole of Hong Kong: not only the New Territories that were leased from the Qing empire for 99 years, but also Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, which were permanent British territories. Along with them came all the people, subjects of the Queen who called Hong Kong their home.

What would happen to British citizens living in Hong Kong after handover?

After the handover to China, they would not be accepted as inherently being citizens of the People’s Republic. They would be left effectively stateless – they would have British nationality and permanent residency and right of abode in Hong Kong, but no right of abode in the UK, nor a right to claim Chinese nationality.

Are Hong Kong’s citizens second class citizens?

Since 1842, when Hong Kong was reduced to being a British colony, our fellow citizens of Hong Kong were but second- or third-class citizens suffering unequal treatment.