The stroke of midnight rang in a new destiny for Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. After 156 years as a British colony, Hong Kong, one of the planet’s most dynamic cities, became a special territory within China under a template called “one country, two systems.” The idea was that Hong Kong would pretty much run itself so long as it did not impinge on the rest of China. It was a noble sentiment, as well as a practical way to enable two entities that had evolved separately and differently to co-exist. But the first 20 years since Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty have been characterized, above all, by a never-ending test of the faith and execution of that template, that idea, of “one country, two systems.”
China has gone on to become the world’s No. 2 economy and a superpower second only to the U.S. Hong Kong — once renowned globally for its singular money-making obsession and prowess — has become a politicized and fragmented society, much of it precisely because of its place and status as a a Chinese territory. For many if not most of Hong Kong’s citizens, maintaining its freedoms and way of life is paramount. For Beijing, it’s national sovereignty and security. In the past 20 years, the two missions have often clashed, with Hong Kong increasingly the loser. A range of emotions, mostly discrete yet also overlapping, prevails in the city — from pride at being part of a great nation to anxiety about being swallowed up by that same great nation.
Perhaps the most apt metaphor for Hong Kong’s first 20 years within China is a roller coaster ride: tumultuous, giddy, jarring. Here are some images of the highs and lows of those two decades.
A Chinese soldier holds the national flag prior to its raising as the British military march, at right, during the handover ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on July 1, 1997. The event marked the end of 156 years of British colonial rule over the territory.Paul Lakatos—AFP/Getty ImagesPeople crowd near the check-in counters at the departure level of the state-of-the-art Hong Kong International airport on July 6, 1998, the airport’s first day of commercial operations. Designed as a showpiece of the new, post-handover Hong Kong, the airport was plagued by several months of technical glitches but recovered to become a facility that is consistently ranked among the world’s best.Manuel Ceneta—AFP/Getty ImagesMainland Chinese immigrants line up outside Hong Kong's Legislative Council building on July 8, 1999, to appeal for their residency rights in Hong Kong. A local judge had ruled in their favor, but fearing that it would open the floodgates and put a strain on an already overcrowded city, the Hong Kong government controversially appealed to Beijing, which overturned the ruling and prompted early fears that Hong Kong’s judicial independence was under threat.Vincent Yu—APA trader on the stock exchange floor wears a protective mask against the SARS virus in Hong Kong on April 17, 2003. Some 300 people died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Hong Kong — the highest toll in the global outbreak. For weeks, the city lived under a pall of fear. Hotels and restaurants were deserted, and masks and disinfectant became commonplace, as the population struggled to contain the outbreak.Christian Keenan—Getty ImagesHong Kong’s first Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa leaves a news conference after announcing his resignation on March 10, 2005. Tung cited health reasons for cutting short what was to have been an eight-year tenure. His administration was plagued by economic recession, policy blunders and unease over China's interference.M.N.Chan—Getty ImagesSouth Korean trade unionists scuffle with riot police during protests against the World Trade Organization's Sixth Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong on Dec. 14, 2005. The vehemence of the demonstrations shocked the normally orderly territory and prefigured clashes that were to come on the same streets nine years later, when activists, this time local, would call for greater political freedom.Seokyong Lee—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesChinese President Hu Jintao, center, sings on stage with performers at the conclusion of the Grand Variety Show in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the handover, in Hong Kong on June 30, 2007. Beneath the official cordiality, and outward prosperity, lay a city already worried about Beijing’s encroachment on its freedoms and struggling to come to terms with its place in China. Many had started to regard China as an alien power and themselves as not Chinese but Hongkongers first and foremost.David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesThe Olympic torch, bottom, is paraded along Nathan Road in the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong on May 2, 2008. Pro-Tibetan protesters, however, soured what should have been a patriotic moment for the authorities. Police detained around 20 people following minor scuffles along the route of the Olympic torch relay, as Hongkongers exercised their freedom to pile more pressure on China over Tibet and its human rights record. Philippe Lopez—AFP/Getty ImagesA protester holds a placard outside the flagship store of Dolce & Gabbana in Hong Kong on Jan. 8, 2012. Demonstrations erupted after the fashion chain banned Hongkongers from taking photographs outside its store — to protect its designs, the label said — but appeared to allow mainland Chinese shoppers to snap away without interference. Though seemingly trivial, the photo ban touched a painfully raw nerve among local people, who feared that the territory was being invaded, politically and economically, by Beijing.Bobby Yip—ReutersProtesters hold up pictures of Leung Chun-ying during a protest against the deeply unpopular Hong Kong Chief Executive on July 1, 2012. Leung’s swearing in coincided with the 15th anniversary of Chinas resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong. Controversially, he gave his inauguration speech in Mandarin instead of the territory’s native Cantonese — one of several signs that caused many Hongkongers to regard him as Beijing’s representative and not theirs.Aaron Tam—AFP/Getty ImagesA pro-democracy demonstrator gestures after police fired tear gas towards protesters near the Hong Kong government headquarters on Sept. 28, 2014. The incident marked the birth of the 79-day Umbrella Revolution, named after the umbrellas that demonstrators used to shield themselves from police pepper spray. The movement saw tens of thousands of Hongkongers occupy the streets in a push for greater democracy and the right to freely chose the territory’s leader.Xaume Olleros—AFP/Getty ImagesPolice walk past missing person notices for Gui Minhai, seen on the left, one of five missing booksellers from the Mighty Current publishing house and Yau Wentian, a Hong Kong publisher who was last year jailed for 10 years while preparing to release a book critical of Chinese President Xi Jinping, in this photo taken on Jan. 3, 2016. The rendition, disappearance and detention of Hong Kong publishers, for printing works that were not illegal in Hong Kong, sent shockwaves of fear through the territory.Anthony Wallace—AFP/Getty ImagesAndy Chan (R), 25, leader of the pro-independence Hong Kong National Party and a disqualified candidate of upcoming elections, gives a press conference at the start of a rally near the government's headquarters in Hong Kong on August 5, 2016. The gathering was the first pro-independence rally in Hong Kong history and likely the first time that a community of Han Chinese — as opposed to Uighurs or Tibetans — had demanded independence from the People’s Republic.ANTHONY WALLACE—AFP/Getty ImagesNathan Law, center, speaks at a rally with Jousha Wong, to his right, and supporters in Causeway Bay following Law's win in the Legislative Council election in Hong Kong on Sept. 5, 2016. Hong Kong’s youngest ever legislator at the age of 23, Law represented a new generation of Hongkongers advocating a break from Beijing.Isaac Lawrence—AFP/Getty Images Baggio Leung (center left) and Yau Wai-ching (center right) are surrounded by media as they leave the High Court after a news conference in Hong Kong on Nov. 15, 2016. The two activists were elected to the territory’s legislature on an unprecedented pro-independence platform but were prevented from taking up their seats after they pledged allegiance to the “Hong Kong nation” at their swearing-in ceremonies, instead of to China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as defined under the territory’s constitution. Anthony Wallace—AFP/Getty ImagesCarrie Lam is congratulated after she wins a small electoral college vote to become Hong Kong's Chief Executive on March 26, 2017. Although she says that she is “no puppet of Beijing,” Lam’s declaration that children in kindergarten should be taught about Chinese nationality, and her refusal to pledge freedom of speech guarantees to Hongkongers advocating independence, has done little to assuage fears that her administration will be an ineffective bulwark against China’s encroachment on its wayward semi-autonomous region.Bobby Yip—Reuters
