It has been 20 years since the Union Jack stopped flying in Hong Kong, under the gaze of Prince Charles of England and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in what was a British colony since 1841. Hong Kong is a territorial part of China, but maintains a political, commercial, business, industrial and social system totally different from its mother country.
The city in the Pearl River Delta has enjoyed freedom of expression, an independent judicial system and universal suffrage in the election of its legislative body for 20 years. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who became leader of the Communist Party of China and the country in 2012, visited Hong Kong Island on the occasion of the anniversary since its return from the British country.
“After nine years, here I am again, stepping on Hong Kong soil. I feel very happy. The island has always had a place in my heart,” the Chinese president said in a brief speech upon his arrival. He also affirmed that China would support Hong Kong’s development and improve the living standards of its people “as it has always done”.
‘Gunboat Diplomacy’.
The British annexation of Hong Kong occurred in 1842 at the end of the First Opium War and is one of the earliest examples of what later became known as ‘Gunboat Diplomacy’. At that time the UK imported almost all of its tea from the Asian giant, but could not get the Chinese people interested in any of the British exports.
The British East India Company found a product with which to balance the unequal balance of trade: opium. The drug was soon banned by the Asian authorities and the British opted to use smugglers. It was of no use for Emperor Daoguang to protest the addiction created as London responded by sending a small army that in a few years completely defeated the Chinese forces and forced Beijing to sign a humiliating peace.
Among the conditions imposed by the Treaty of Nanking was the cession in perpetuity of Hong Kong Island, to which the British would later add the neighboring Kowloon Peninsula in 1860.
Negotiations on the return of all of Hong Kong began in 1982. By this time, the territory had already become one of the world’s major financial and commercial centers. If you are thinking of exporting or importing to the Asian country, MingTa will accompany you during the whole procedure.
