Hong Kong year 1989/91 stamps ☀ Queen Elizabeth ☀ Used collection
British Hong Kong refers to the period from 1842 to 1997 when Hong Kong was a colony and dependent territory of the United Kingdom. It began when Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain by the Qing dynasty of China under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 at the end of the First Opium War. Later, Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter’s Island were also ceded in 1860 under the Convention of Peking, and the New Territories were leased to Britain for 99 years in 1898 under the Second Convention of Peking.
Under British rule, Hong Kong developed into a major trading and financial hub in Asia. It experienced rapid economic growth, becoming one of the world’s leading financial centers and a key gateway to China.
In the early 1980s, negotiations between the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China began over the future of Hong Kong. These negotiations resulted in the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, which stipulated that Hong Kong would be handed back to China on July 1, 1997, under the principle of “one country, two systems.” This arrangement ensured that Hong Kong would retain its capitalist system and way of life for 50 years after the handover.
On July 1, 1997, the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to China, and it became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China under the principle of “one country, two systems.” As a result, Hong Kong maintains a separate legal system, its own currency, and a high degree of autonomy, although its autonomy has faced increasing challenges in recent years.
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