At the beginning of the Qin dynasty, the Hong Kong region was part of Panyu County. Between the Eastern Jin dynasty and the Tang dynasty, it was part of Bao'an County. Then, from the Ming dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty, it was part of Xin'an County. At the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1842, due to its defeat during the First Opium War, the Great Qing signed the Treaty of Nanking with the United Kingdom and ceded Hong Kong Island (along with Ap Lei Chau and other neighbouring islands) to the United Kingdom indefinitely. In 1860, the Qing empire was defeated again by Anglo-French forces in the Second Opium War and signed the Convention of Peking, ceding the part of Kowloon Peninsula south of modern-day Boundary Street (including Stonecutters Island) to the United Kingdom in perpetuity. In 1898, the United Kingdom signed the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory with the Qing court to lease the "New Territories" (which included New Kowloon and over 230 outlying islands) to the United Kingdom for 99 years. These three treaties helped determine the territory of the modern-day Hong Kong administrative region.
In 1942, the Republic of China repealed the "unequal treaties" and began negotiations with the United Kingdom on the establishment of a new, fairer treaty. The highest authority in China, the Chairman of the Military Affairs Commission of the National Government, Chiang Kai-Shek, attempted to put the issue of Hong Kong onto the two parties' agenda, suggesting that the Kowloon concession should be returned to China along with the other foreign concessions. This was fiercely rejected by the United Kingdom's prime minister at the time, Winston Churchill. The United Kingdom also demanded that China give their written consent that the Kowloon concession was not included within the unequal treaties, or else they would refuse to sign, so China was forced to drop the concession of Kowloon from the agenda. Finally, in 1943, the two sides signed the Sino-British New Equal Treaty,[1] with China writing a formal letter to the United Kingdom and securing the right to raise the issue of Hong Kong on a later occasion.[2]
In 2020, mainland China legislated a new security law that extends its powers over HK in contravention of the terms of that transfer from UK hands to China in 1997. By taking this step, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is signaling its determination to expand its area of control and influence even in the face of global criticism.[9]
After Hong Kong came under the control of the People's Republic of China, the Government of Hong Kong and the pro-Beijing camp cooperated on various Central Government policies and measures, which led to the dissatisfaction of Hong Kong's localist groups. Differences also emerged between some Hongkongers and the Chinese Central and Hong Kong governments over their understanding of the “one country, two systems” policy.[15] These Hongkongers believed that the Chinese Central Government and Chinese non-governmental scholars looked down upon the policy,[16] and worried that the Hong Kong Government would put the interests of the mainland Chinese above the interests of the Hong Kong people, weakening the rights of Hong Kong citizens. In 2012, after Leung Chun-ying became the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, he rapidly pushed for proposals that would deepen ties between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, including introducing a surplus of tourists and new migrants to Hong Kong without considering the carrying capacity of the region, leading to various difficulties and further stoking tensions between the two sides.[17]
Furthermore, as conflicts have increased, some Hongkongers have taken their dissatisfaction with Hong Kong government policies relating to the economy, trade, and culture, and brought these to the constitutional government level, giving rise to the Umbrella Revolution. Mainland media reporting, unfriendly comments, and controversial actions have also given mainland Chinese people a negative impression of Hong Kong, and they have generally felt suspicious, confused, or even upset with the sense of "Hong Kong uniqueness" that has been advocated by Hongkongers, leading to incidents of verbal abuse, such as the 2012 Kong Qingdong incident.[18]
During the more than 150 years that it was under British rule, Hong Kong was a self-governing free economic zone which followed the international model in terms of its administration and laws;[19][page needed] but the People's Republic of China, as ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, still adopted the governing practice of the former imperial era.[20][21][page needed] The founder of the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Lam Hang Chi, once commented on the subject of Hong Kong independence under British rule, stating: "Hong Kong and the United Kingdom are very far apart, and in the case of some of its customs, histories, and culture, Hong Kong has undergone over a hundred years of development. In this time, Hong Kong has developed from a small fishing port to a capital of light industry. It was once the head of our Four Little Dragons, the main transport hub of Southeast Asia, and the financial capital of the world. Despite being under British rule, its thoughts and practices are rooted in Chinese culture. There have never been any indications that it has been assimilated by its colonizers or that it has thoughts of returning to them."[22] However Wilson Wong, a political scholar from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, believes that Hong Kong as an independent entity had already undergone a massive transformation by 1997: "The Chinese Central Government has been worried about the nation splitting up, so Hong Kong is currently being erased from every angle in a way that has never been seen before, with an aim to completely wipe out Hong Kong's individuality in terms of its history, its values, and its identity."[23] Other scholars that have analyzed the situation from a geopolitical standpoint have pointed out that the United Kingdom is an island nation, and that Hong Kong, like Singapore, faces the ocean on all sides and has the make-up of an island city, while also being international and outward-facing. In the era of British rule, the focus was on Hong Kong's role in the Asia Pacific region; but as a continental nation, China emphasizes a focus on centralized state power and is less tolerant of regional variations.[24]
The Apple Daily has stated that the conflicts between Hong Kong and mainland China are still a battle between legal institutions.[25]He Qinglian believed, however, that at heart, the conflicts were a clash between civilizations.[13] Many Hongkongers have a sense of identifying with Hong Kong culture, and Hong Kong differs from mainland China in many ways, including in its politics, its systems, and its culture and customs.[14] The conflicts between Hong Kong and mainland China mean that many Hongkongers identify less and less with China and the Chinese nation. Some young Hongkongers have started supporting Hong Kong independence and are calling for stronger protections of Hong Kongese nationalism, and have also allied themselves with the Taiwan independence movement and Taiwan's Pan-Green Coalition.[26][27] In recent years, the number of Hongkongers that have emigrated to Taiwan, Canada, and other such places has increased out of concern for the future of Hong Kong's society, politics, and the one nation, two systems policy.[28][29]
Cooperation
Since 1997, Hong Kong has cooperated with the mainland on a larger and larger scale and to an ever-increasing degree. The Twelfth Five-Year Guideline published in March 2011 outlines support for deepening economic cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong; continuing the implementation of CEPA; and confirming the significant functions and positioning of Hong Kong's cooperation with Guangdong and mainland China under the Framework Agreement on Hong Kong-Guangdong Cooperation. Currently, forums attended by the Special Administrative Region to discuss cooperation with the Chinese Mainland include:
The Hong Kong-Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference and related content;
Through the forums listed above, Hong Kong and the Mainland can cooperate in areas including cross-boundary infrastructure, promoting the flow of people and goods, promoting trade investments, environmental protection, food safety, information technology, urban construction, tourism partnerships, intercultural activities, promoting sporting events, and training for medical professionals.[30]
On December 20, 2021, China's central government issued a white paper on its view of democracy in Hong Kong, which it framed as an executive-led governance arrangement designed to ensure Hong Kong's capacity and efficacy.[31]: 186 According to this view, there is no single set of criteria for democracy and no single democratic model that is universally acceptable.[31]: 186 The white paper states that Hong Kong's democracy should not be a replica of some other democratic model and that in the central government's view, principles of national sovereignty and security require that central authorities have the final say in determining Hong Kong's method of democracy.[31]: 186–187
