The Hong Kong issue was left over from history. Hong
Kong(including the Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New
Territories) has been a part of China ’s territory
since the ancient times. Britain Launched the Opium War
against China in 1840 and compelled the Qing
government to sign the Treaty of Nanking, permanently ceding
the Hong Kong Island to it. Britain and France launched the
Second Opium War in 1856. In 1860, Britain forced the Qing
government to sign the Convention of Peking,
permanently ceding to it the southern tip of the
Kowloon Island. In 1898, exploiting the
establishment of sphere of influence in China by
imperialist powers, Britain again forced the Qing
government to sign the Kowloon Extension Agreement,
“leasing” large area of land north of
the Boundary Street of the Kowloon Island and over 200
islets nearby(later called the New Territories) for a term
of 99 years until June 30, 1997. The Chinese people have
always been opposed to these three unequal
treaties.
After the founding of the
People’s Republic of China, the Chinese
government took a consistent position over Hong Kong: Hong
Kong is a part of China ’s territory. China
does not recognize the three unequal treaties
imposed on it by imperialism. The Hong Kong issue should be
resolved through negotiation when conditions permit,
and the existing status of Hong Kong should be
maintained pending a solution.
After the Third
Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China held in 1978, the Chinese
people endeavored to turn China
into a modern socialist country, bring about the
country’s reunification and oppose hegemonism. Deng
Xiaoping put forward the concept of “one
country, two systems” for resolving the issues of
Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. With the approaching of 1997,
Britain was anxious to learn about China ’s position
on resolving the Hong Kong issue. It thus became
possible to settle the Hong Kong issue.
The negotiations on resolving the Hong Kong
issue between the Chinese and British governments proceeded
in two phases. During the first phase, from
September, 1982 when British Prime Minister Mrs. Thatcher
visited China to June, 1983, the two
sides discussed the guiding principles and procedures for
conducting negotiation. During the second phase,
from July, 1983 to September, 1984, the government
delegations of the two countries held 22 rounds of talks on
substantive issues concerning Hong Kong.
Deng Xiaoping met Mrs. Thatcher on
September 24, 1982, after the Chinese premier held talks
with her. The Chinese leaders officially informed Britain
that the Chinese government had decided to recover the whole
area of Hong Kong in 1997 and stated that China
would adopt special policies
on Hong Kong after it is recovered. The Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region would be set up. Hong Kong would be
governed by the people of Hong Kong. The existing social and
economic systems in Hong Kong and its way of life would
remain unchanged. Mrs. Thatcher, on her part, insisted that
the three unequal treaties should remain in force. She said
that if China agrees to continued
British administration of Hong Kong after 1997,
Britain may consider China ’s demand for sovereignty
over Hong Kong. In response to her views, Deng
Xiaoping made important remarks when meeting Mrs. Thatcher.
Deng said: “Our stand on Hong Kong is explicit. Three
issues are involved here. First is the issue of sovereignty.
The second is that in what way China will
administer Hong Kong after 1997 to ensure its prosperity.
The third is that the Chinese and British governments should
have consultations to ensure that no major disturbances
occur in Hong Kong in the 15 years leading to
1997.” Deng pointed out that
“sovereignty is not negotiable.” He said that
“ the political and economic systems and even the
majority of the laws currently in force in Hong Kong may
continue.” “Capitalism will continue
to be practiced in Hong Kong.” He suggested that
“ an agreement be reached by
two sides to begin consultation on the
issue of Hong Kong. The premise is that China will
recover Hong Kong in 1997. On this basis, consultation can
be conducted on how to ensure the smooth transition in the
next 15 years and on how Hong Kong will function after the
15 year transitional period.” During the meeting, the
two sides agreed to enter into consultation on resolving the
Hong Kong issue through diplomatic channels. In the
following six months, however, no progress was made in the
consultation as Britain stuck to its position on the
sovereignty of Hong Kong. In March, 1983, Mrs. Thacther
wrote to the Chinese premier, promising that she was
prepared to propose to the British Parliament
during a certain stage that the sovereignty of the whole of
Hong Kong be reverted to China . The Chinese premier wrote
back in April, informing her that the Chinese government
agreed to hold formal talks on this issue at an early date.
The first round of talks were held between the
Chinese and British government delegations between
July12-13, 1983. No progress was made in the ensuing three
rounds of talks as Britain insisted that it should continue
to administer Hong Kong after 1997. In September, 1983, Deng
Xiaoping told the visiting former British prime minister
Heath that Britain’s proposal of exchanging
sovereignty for power of administration was not acceptable.
He urged Britain to change its position lest China
had to make public unilaterally in September, 1984
its policies on resolving the Hong Kong issue. The British
prime minister wrote a letter to the Chinese side in
October, agreeing that both sides may discuss ways
for long-term arrangements for Hong Kong on the
basis of China ’s proposal. During the fifth and sixth
rounds of talks, Britain affirmed that it would no insist on
British administration of Hong Kong, nor would it
seek any form of joint administration. It accepted
China ’s plan based on the premise that both
the sovereignty and power of administration of Hong Kong
should be returned to China after 1997. Thus, a
major obstacle standing in the way of Sino-British
talks was removed.
Starting from the 7th round
of talks, the negotiations proceeded on the basis of the
basic policies of the Chinese government for settling the
Hong Kong issue. In accordance with the basic polices of the
Chinese government on the Hong Kong issue, the future Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region will be directly under
the Central People’s Government of the People’s
Republic of China. With the exception of foreign
affairs and defense, which are the responsibilities of the
Central People’s Government, the future Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region will enjoy a high degree of
autonomy. The Central People’s Government will station
troops in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to
conduct defense. The government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region will be composed of local inhabitants.
British and other foreign nationals may be employed to serve
as advisors or hold positions up to deputy department
directors in the government. Although Britain made the
explicit commitment that it would not raise any proposal
that contravenes the principle of China ’s sovereignty
over Hong Kong, it still raised many issues that
violated its commitment. For instance, Britain
tried repeatedly to use the concept of “maximum
autonomy” to alter the concept of
“high degree of autonomy” raised by the Chinese
side in an attempt to obstruct
placing the government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region under the direct jurisdiction
of the central government. Britain also repeatedly asked the
Chinese side not to station troops in Hong Kong
so as to limit China ’s exercise of sovereignty over
Hong Kong. It asked to set up the office
of “British Commissioner” who is different from
the counsels general of other countries in Hong
Kong, hoping to turn the future Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region into a member or associated
member of the Commonwealth. Britain asked that foreign
nationals holding Hong Kong passports may serve the highest
level officials in Hong Kong’s civil services and that
China take over without any change the
structure the existing Hong Kong government and accept
changes Britain may make in the Hong Kong government during
the transitional period. In essence, by raising the above
demands, Britain wanted to turn the future Hong Kong
into an independent or semi-independent political
entity under its influence. As they directly contravened
China’s sovereignty, these demands were naturally
rejected by China .
Starting from the 12th
round of talks in April, 1984, the negotiation shifted
onto arrangements in Hong Kong during the
transitional period and matters relating to the transfer of
power .
Through negotiation, China
and Britain agreed that China would
recover Hong Kong and resume the exercise of sovereignty
over it, and there should be explicit reference in this
regard in the agreement between the two sides. Britain,
however, did not accept China ’s formulation
of its resumption of exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong.
The several drafts it put forward all had the implication
that the three unequal treaties were valid, which were not
acceptable to the Chinese side. Finally, both
sides agreed to use the following formulations in the form
of a Joint Declaration: The Chinese government declared that
“the Government of the People’s Republic of
China has decided to resume the exercise of
sovereignty over Hong Kong with effect from 1 July
1997.” The British government declared that
“the Government of the United Kingdom will
restore Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China
with effect from 1 July 1997.”
During the ensuing three rounds of
talks, the delegations of the two sides discussed
complex technical issues on nationality, aviation
and land and the wording of the agreement. The two sides
reached agreement on all the issues on September 18, 1984
and initialed the Sino-British Joint Declaration and its
three annexes. This brought the two-year old Sino-British
negotiation on Hong Kong to a successful conclusion. On
December 19, 1984, the heads of government of China and
Britain officially signed the Joint Declaration on the issue
of Hong Kong in Beijing. On May 27, 1985, the Chinese and
British governments exchanged instruments of ratification,
and the Sino-British Joint Declaration formally entered into
force.
Following the signing of the Joint
Declaration, Hong Kong entered the transitional period.
Generally, the Chinese and British governments had good
cooperation during the transitional period and resolved many
important issues. The British side, however, in a bid to
accomplish its “honorary retreat” from Hong
Kong, sought to change the political system in Hong Kong
under the name of expanding democracy and attempted to
impose it on the Chinese side. With this in mind, Patten,
the last governor of Hong Kong, introduced a plan
of political reform. The Chinese government
rejected the plan with a firm and yet measured
response, ensuring the smooth transition of Hong
Kong and the transfer of its power.
At
midnight, June 30, 1997, the Chinese and British governments
held a power transferring ceremony in Hong Kong at
which the Chinese government formally resumed the exercise
of sovereignty over Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s return to
China marks the success of applying Deng
Xiaoping’s concept of “one country, two
systems” to resolve the Hong Kong issue and an
important step forward in the cause of China ’s
reunification. It also contributed to world peace and
stability.
In his speech delivered at the
power transferring ceremony, President Jiang Zemin
emphasized that after Hong Kong is returned to China,
the Chinese government will firmly pursue the
basic policy of “one country, two systems”,
“Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong” and
ensuring a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong. The
existing social and economic systems in Hong Kong and its
way of life will remain unchanged. He expressed the
confidence that with the strong backing of the entire
Chinese people, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
and the people in Hong Kong can certainly run Hong
Kong well, ensure its long-term prosperity and stability and
create a bright future for Hong Kong.