Become a fan of h2g2 In 1997, the People's Republic of China was
given sovereignty over the British territory of Hong Kong. The
New Territories' lease was due for renewal in 1998 and Beijing
refused to countenance its continuation. It was decided that
Hong Kong and Kowloon - territories handed to Britain in
perpetuity - were far too integrated with the new towns of the
New Territories to be viable as a separate entity, not to
mention militarily indefensible against China, so Britain
negotiated a complete handover of everything, including the
territory's huge financial reserves, in return for a relatively
dignified exit. Ever since 1997, Hong Kong has been attempting
to find some form of government acceptable to both the Communist
Party in Beijing and Hong Kong's citizens. The people of Hong
Kong have been mostly Chinese for many years. The British
settlement of the 1840s rapidly attracted immigrants from Canton
who found it safe and lucrative to live under British Law.
Despite the dubious reasons for founding