Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
transfer of the New Territories and all Hong Kong to China in 1997. China declared Hong
Kong a 'Special Administrative Region' and guaranteed its civil and social system for at
least 50 years.
Although China's Basic Law promised that Hong Kong's existing laws and civil liberties
would be upheld, many in Hong Kong were concerned. The British Nationality Act (1981)
in effect prevented Hong Kong citizens from acquiring British citizenship, and thousands of
people, anxious about their future, were prompted to apply for citizenship elsewhere, not-
ably Canada and Australia. Protests in 1989 in Beijing's Tiananmen Square further in-
creased tension. Some companies moved their headquarters out of Hong Kong.
Ironically, as the handover approached, the British granted the Hong Kong Chinese more
political autonomy than they had since the colony was founded, including such democratic
reforms as elections to the Legislative Council.
