3 ms·
It's a bit more complicated than that. The British Empire had some battles with China in the 1800s and took over Hong Kong. Eventually in 1898 a treaty was sign
by maccam94 7y ago
It's a bit more complicated than that. The British Empire had some battles with China in the 1800s and took over Hong Kong. Eventually in 1898 a treaty was signed effectively ceding the territory to Britain in perpetuity, but for face-saving reasons it was written as a 99 year lease. In 1984, after multiple regime changes in China and the decline of the British Empire, a new agreement was made between China and the UK that would make Hong Kong a Special Administrative Zone as a part of China. Under the one country, two systems policy, Hong Kong would retain domestic political and economic autonomy for 50 years (until 2047). As China has grown more powerful and the UK less powerful in the past 20 years, China now has more power to try to accelerate the integration of Hong Kong. This is worrying for Hong Kong citizens, who fear they will be subject to persecution and retaliation under China's judicial system.