The Joint Sino-British Declaration on the Transfer of Hong Kong , officially known as the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong , was signed by the Prime Ministers of the PRC and Great Britain Zhao Ziyang and Margaret Thatcher on December 19, 1984. in Beijing . [one]
The declaration came into force from the moment of exchange of instruments of ratification on May 27, 1985. In a joint declaration, the PRC government confirmed that the PRC decided to renew sovereignty over Hong Kong (including Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories ) starting July 1, 1997, and the UK government confirmed that it would transfer Hong Kong to the PRC from July 1, 1997. The PRC government also announced in its document its main policy towards Hong Kong.
In accordance with the idea of “ One country, two systems ”, a fundamental agreement was reached between Great Britain and the PRC that the socialist system of the PRC would not be accepted in Hong Kong, and the capitalist system and lifestyle would remain unchanged for 50 years, until 2047. The Joint Declaration provides that these rules should be specified in Hong Kong's basic law.
Content
- 1 Background
- 2 See also
- 3 notes
- 4 Literature
- 5 Links
Background
The Sino-British Joint Declaration indicated the expiration date for the lease of the New Territories as July 1, 1997. [2] The lease between Great Britain and the Chinese emperor Guangxu is set for a period of 99 years starting July 1, 1898. It is referred to in the Second Beijing Convention. Before renting, Hong Kong Island was already transferred to the United Kingdom for unlimited use under the Nanjing Treaty in 1842, after the First Opium War , and the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula and Kamenotesov Island was transferred to the United Kingdom for unlimited use under the Beijing Convention in 1860, after the Second Opium war .
In the early 1980s, the people of Hong Kong and its business community began to worry about the future. [3] These concerns about the status and rights of property and contracts appeared against the backdrop of political uncertainty surrounding the planned return of the New Territories of the PRC. [4] In March 1979, the Governor of Hong Kong visited Beijing. During this visit, informal negotiations were held on the future of Hong Kong. Upon his return, he tried to dispel investors' concerns about the planned return, but stressed that China had confirmed their intention to regain sovereignty over Hong Kong. [4] The first formal negotiations began with Chinese leader Dan Xiaoping during the visit of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to China in September 1982. [four]
During the next conversation, where the governor of Hong Kong participated in each of the rounds of official negotiations as a member of the British delegation, it became clear that the continuation of the lease by the British administration after 1997 would not be acceptable for China in any form. [5] The Chinese government has always been of the opinion that all of Hong Kong should be Chinese territory. [6] As a result, both sides discussed possible measures, besides continuing the British lease, the concept of Hong Kong as a special administrative region of the PRC was proposed. In April 1984, the parties completed an initial discussion of these issues, and agreed that Hong Kong would maintain a high degree of autonomy under the sovereignty of China, while maintaining the existing lifestyle in Hong Kong. [5] On September 18, 1984, both English and Chinese memorandum texts were approved.
See also
- Hong Kong History Timeline
- Hong Kong transfer to China
Notes
- ↑ Constitutional and domestic issues, Hong Kong Government. United Declaration , July 1, 2007.
- ↑ USA. Hong Kong Returns to PRC: Hearings of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Regional Committee on Foreign Relations, House of Representatives, 105th Congress, 1 session, February 13, 1997 . - Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1997. - ISBN 0160556651 .
- ↑ Simpson, Andrew. Hong Kong // Language and National Identity in Asia. - Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2007 .-- P. 168-185. - ISBN 9780191533082 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Tsang, Steve. History of modern Hong Kong, 1841-1997 . - London: IB Tauris & Co., 2005 .-- ISBN 9780857714817 0857714813.
- ↑ 1 2 Tucker, Nançy Bernkopf. China Confidential: American Diplomats and Sino-American Relations, 1945-1996. - Columbia University Press, 2001. - ISBN 9780231106306 .
- ↑ Mushkat, Roda. One country, two international legal personalitites: the case of Hong Kong . - Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1997 .-- ISBN 9622094279 .
Literature
- Mark, Chi-kwan. "To 'educate' Deng Xiaoping in capitalism: Thatcher's visit to China and the future of Hong Kong in 1982." Cold War History (2015): 1-20.
- Tang, James TH. "From empire defense to imperial retreat: Britain's postwar China policy and the decolonization of Hong Kong." Modern Asian Studies 28.02 (1994): 317-337.
Links
- Text of the Sino – British Joint Declaration
- Introduction to the Joint Declaration
- Basic Law Drafting History Online - University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives