From the archives: China takes sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 

communism itself is a f**king joke!

这确实是个笑话，因为两边都是资本主义。。。

Please be explicit. In which ways is the one country, two systems concept not being faithfully implemented? Examples please.

Hk people always like to focus on the "2 system" but choose to ignore the "1 country"

damn

hong kong was a monarchy ruled by uk monarchs.

tell us how you got the island ?

​@@sanimgurung87 First Opium War 1839

I remember this well, living in Australia, telling myself this is a once in century event. Or rather, 99 years

Why the nostalgia for a violent, genocidal, imperialist regime? By all means remember its inhumanity but nostalgia?

100% - biggest British foreign policy failure in 25 years. Should never have given HK to the CCP.

Indeed, watching this still makes me cry, its like the tyranny of the British over the Chinese people has finally come to an end and Hong Kong is finally free

@TheTraveler2222 British rule looks like the Garden of Eden compared to what China’s been doing to Hong Kong!

@@akend4426 british rule improved over decades. it was until the handover where hong kong is losing it's autonomy

@musicguy327 That’s what I’m saying

yeah riots, anarchists, arsonists

Hk is a city by rule of law.

You prefer the cockroaches who burnt down the city?

As a HKer with experience living in America, I like seeing cops. It means I am less likely to get robbed. Some cops are not as nice as you would like. That's just life.

I bet you never been to Hong Kong. It’s the USA where the police carry guns.

HK hasn't had a separate system in a long time.

Actually the "good old days" for Hong Kong were between 1997 and 2019, when Hong Kong people had real freedom and democracy FOR THE FIRST TIME and UNDER CHINA'S RULE. Back when British ruled Hong Kong, Hong Kong was only a colony. It DID not have democracy, elections, or even free speech. Hong Kong people were NOT allowed to choose their own government or governor, which were appointed by the British. And, in the 156 years when British ruled Hong Kong, the British had always appointed WHITE MEN as governors to lord and rule over the local Hong Kongers. The British had NEVER ONCE appointed a Chinese or Hong Kongers to be the governor. Chinese in Hong Kong were really just SECOND CLASS under British rule. In the 1960s and 1970s, British sent troops to massacre Hong Kong protestors. Yet young people in Hong Kong do not remember any of that, how Chinese were treated like second class and could NOT vote or speak freely under British rule. They had a fantasy of British-ruled Hong Kong that did not actually exist. The British only forced China to "give" Hong Kongers the right to vote and elect their own government AFTER the transferring Hong Kong back to China, as a term of transfer. The real intention of British was NOT to give democracy or freedom to Hong Kongers, but to sow the seed of chaos in Hong Kong. If the British was serious about giving democracy and freedom Hong Kongers, why didn't they give it to Hong Kong during the 156 years when they colonized and ruled over Hong Kong? Not saying Hong Kong under Xi Jinping's rule is any better than Hong Kong under British rule... Hong Kong really just reverts to what it was like before when it was under British rule. The only "good time" that Hong Kong had was really between 1997, after the handover, until 2019 when the CCP finally had enough of Hong Kong's insolence (and ignorance of its own history.) And that "good time" happened UNDER the CCP, NOT under British rule.

colonists' wet dream.

You mean the good old days for the British.

@@chang-liu89 The only fair elections were in 1995

​@@chang-liu89 Hong Kong under Red China's rule lost the Freedom of Press and its Rule of Law. Hong Kongers were riled by the arson and murders of journalist 林彬 and his driver enroute to work and decisively chose the Rule of Law, not the Rule of Man. 林彬's 欲罷不能 radio 📻 broadcast programme incensed the Leftist arsonists and murderers. The subsequent British crackdown and talks with Red China set Hong Kong on a path of great reforms: cleaning up corruption, making Chinese into official language, forming district councils to gather the people's wishes, great infrastructure buildups, etc. The new Governor had a reputation of benevolent neglect policy and largely let Hong Kongers run the show. I understand this style of leadership: how can a Patriarchy be a de facto Matriarchy ? My Dad who set the strategic direction knew the power of his last word: 喺 Hai 是的 ！😊

27 years now

They won't, of course. People will just keep buying and supporting Chinese, sticking their heads in the sand and making up excuses.

It was going to happen either peacefully or forcibly like Goa It was inevitable and the British were smart enough to negotiate a peaceful handover instead

@@baha3alshamari152 Goa should forever be the Portuguese! Look at the host country India now.... No one wants their regime.

@@dawnnadir The Portuguese and their slaves in Goa also believed that but 36 hours of bombardment by the Indian army convinced them to surrender UK didn't want to go through this in Hong Kong and decided to negotiate a peaceful handover instead Hong Kong was going to join the mainland anyway and so will Taiwan The only question is what will the reunification process be ?

Grammar please!

It's incredibly sad.

Pro-democracy fools destroyed that territory.

Do you have any examples where "rule of law" is gone and "rule of man" applies? It seems that Hong Kongers still freely critique their government throughout the pandemic and even through the aftermath of the political unrest. Also, are you saying other Chinese cities do not have laws and police that enforce them? Any examples?

The British should’ve never give out Hong Kong in the first place… The Chinese will never honour real democracy and the Hongkongese identity. God save the King🇬🇧

@@timc.5591 the Brits did many good things there but an actual democracy was not one of them.

@@canto_v12 I always think people talking about British Hong Kong's "democracy" are barking up the wrong tree. Although the Brits gave HK nearly full democracy by as late as 1995, it's the "sub-sovereignty" that matters the most to the HKers. The local government of BHK and the Colonial Department can say no to the UK Home Office's policies in London - which happened quite a few times if you know the history deep enough. The local HK government, even though led by Brits, are fending for the interest of HK and the HKers. We are also largely unaffected by the UK domestic politics. The same can't be said for Beijing nowadays when the Chinese HK government is a total muppet, imagine they actually say no to Xi lmao

Opium was shipped all over the world at the time....but it was not illegal. I could care less about your opinion, but get your facts right, more opium was shipped to the UK as it was used for pain relief in hospitals.

@@robk5159 China banned opium trade wdym

@@chengyangzhou8785 China made it illegal in 1800, it was legalised again in 1843...that's what I mean!

@@robk5159 britain forced china to grant extraterritorial rights to British citizens that year but opium wasn’t legalized

@@chengyangzhou8785 I see you want to single out Britain as the cause of the perceived injustice, you fail to mention Germany, France and the USA together with several other trading nations. I would suggest you try to come to terms with your sense of injustice as the worlds history has moved on.

Chinese people and freedom in the same sentence😂 Don’t make me laugh!

@@Blindswordsman1994Exactly, Chinese people had no freedom under Britain

As a Hong Konger, I didn’t agree with your words.

@@ericyuen5946 As a Hong Konger born in the 1970s who had experienced British oppression, I strongly disagree with you

@@TheTraveler2222 Totally ludicrous, the past generation of Hong Kong People are mostly refugees which are escaping from CCP control, it is totally non-sense for saying UK gov are Tyranny, you are just one of the opportunist.

You call copycat innovation?😵‍💫

@@Ethan-C-Yang What copycat is there in DJI an Huawei idiot?

Mmm.. As of now, the situation in China is not that bright.

@@zohramartini9425 Far more brighter than US led western bloc including Japan and South Korea where youth smoking meth with high homeless rate and LGBTQ propaganda

Hong Kong has fallen because of the strong political interference from China. They over-focus on "national security" and made the redline unpredictable; the Hong Kong SAR government was acting like a Chinese colonial government more than a local government, all the policies tended to be beneficial for China, too much cultural integration, causing a significant impact to the Hong Kong society. Citizens of Hong Kong were not happy with that.

Not a democracy but it practiced liberalism. Britain grew Hong Kong into one of the most successful cities in the world under autocratic liberalism. Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were not under the 99-year lease like the New Terrirotires, but Britain gave them up in exchange that China respect the freedoms that Hong Konger's had under the British.

But at least we had our freedoms

@@keroro1562 🤡🤡

Clearly a democracy under the CCP 25 years on 🙄. So much for the 50 years then agreed autonomy!

However, the colony provided the opportunity for literally millions of Chinese to vote with their feet and escape the CCP. There is someting democratic about that.

They had this zen-like appetite for colonizing countries they had no business being in.. Sometimes the locals got a serious attitude..and it landed on British troops like ten tall building..

Sad Communists corner lol

That was a statement explaining why they let it go, so your comment makes no sense... That was admitting that they didn't have much control for themselves and that they know what's best, which was why it was handed over.

@@ElusiveTy keep lying to yourself. if chine wasn't a superpower with nukes, they never would have let hk go to them. remember Falklands.

Your ignorance of your own Opinion is Stunning, China has been a Imperialism power for thousands of years, Can't just moan and cry about it.

We are so looking forward to dealing with the Chinese expansion soon...lets see how well Chinese military fares...It's not going to be like Korea...

'Leave this Chinese matter to the Chinese' as China consistently breaks international laws by invading other countries' sovereign maritime territories and politically interfering with numerous otherwise. How ignorant.

@@c4t650 Not so. Unfortunately a lack of knowledge of Chinese civilizational history is only too common in the West. I don't blame you, it is the Western system. And the US genocidal behaviour in Korea in the early 1950's is hardly something to celebrate. Fought to a draw there and then defeated in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. And now being defeated in Ukraine and Gaza. Yes, I fear the US hegemon. As it goes down it will flail out in its failure.

@@balkanleopard9728 dream on...