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Hong Kong Handover
香港回归
 On
30 June 1997, a cloudy and rainy day, Chris Pattern, the 28th
Governor of Hong Kong moved out of the Government House as part of the Handover
process.
The Handover Ceremony was held in the new
Hong Kong Convention and
Exhibition Centre. British and Chinese
delegations as well as the media had arrived in Hong Kong to attend the
ceremony. The British delegation included
Prince Charles, Prime Minister Tony Blair,
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, and of course Chris Patten.
The People’s Republic of China was represented
by President Jiang
Zemin, Prime Minister Lee Peng, and Foreign
Minister Qian Qichen.
The area around the
Convention Centre
as well as large parts of the city was crowded with journalists,
Hong Kong residents
as well as tourist from all over the world arriving to witness the historical
event. Also present were activists championing their causes.
 At
about 8 PM, the public was treated to a fire works display over the Victoria
Harbor. Crowds of tourists and locals turned out
at the harbor
to admire the fireworks
while the media began interviewing people for
their thoughts of the handover and the
future of Hong Kong.
The Handover Ceremony began with the British
and Chinese representatives
giving speeches leading to the formal handover at midnight. The British flag was
lowered for the last time and at the stroke of midnight, police all over Hong
Kong changed their Colonial insignia to a new one representing Hong Kong as the
Special Administrative Region (SAR)
香港特別行政區of
People’s Republic of China.
Chris Pattern who was appointed as the Governor
by the British Government became the last Governor of Hong Kong and
Tung Chee Hwa became the first Chief
Executive of Hong Kong SAR.
Hong Kong ceased to be a British Colony. The
handover event was watched by Chinese crowds in Tian An Men in Beijing and also
Chinese migrants in the
London Chinatown.
 While
the government prepared
for the handover, entrepreneurs
were also busy at work.
Almost all businesses in Hong Kong were
offering some sort of Handover related souvenirs. Popular souvenirs include
Handover T Shirts, watches, bags and toys. Perhaps the most interesting souvenir
was a “Canned Colonial Air” advertised as “The Gasp of an Empire”.
The Hong Kong Tourist Association
promoted the Handover as a historical event to
tourists and launched a “100 days of wonders” campaign. A certificate was
offered to tourists for visiting Hong Kong during this period. Hotel rate rose
dramatically as they anticipated large numbers of in coming tourists. This made
perfect sense since the Handover Ceremony had a public dimension as well.
The Hong Kong Handover marked the end of
British Imperialism in Asia and was
an excellent opportunity for both sides
to close an unfortunate chapter in history
that was
driven by gunboat diplomacy and by the sale of
opium.
Unfortunately, Prince Charles, heir to the
British throne, who attended the Handover ceremony, described the Chinese
leaders
at the ceremony as “appalling
old waxworks” among other things in his journal entry titled
“The Handover of Hong Kong or the Great Chinese
Takeaway”.
Eight years later, his journal was
published in the British press. The prince made history when he took his first
legal action in UK to sue the press for publishing his journal.
The Hong Kong Handover was supposed
to end a chapter in history but in the end, the prince who thought it was a
Great Chinese Takeaway created a new chapter in history with his Great Giveaway.
Related stories:
History page
London
Chinatown
伦敦华埠 |
