Hong Kong Returns to Chinese Sovereignty from Britain
Hong Kong had been a British colony since 1842 following the First Opium War, with the New Territories leased in 1898 for 99 years. Negotiations in the 1980s produced the Sino-British Joint Declaration, promising Hong Kong would become a Special Administrative Region with a high degree of autonomy under 'one country, two systems' for 50 years. At midnight on July 1, 1997, Britain formally transferred sovereignty to China in a ceremony attended by British and Chinese leaders. The Union Jack was lowered and the Chinese flag raised, ending 156 years of colonial rule. Hong Kong retained its legal and economic systems distinct from mainland China.