25 years since the handover of Hong Kong

Twenty-five years ago this week Britain handed over Hong Kong to China in possibly the best state in history that any former colonial power ever peacefully relinquished control of a former colony.

We handed over Hong Kong as one of the richest countries in the world, richer on a per capita basis than Britain itself was at the time,

We handed over Hong Kong with independent courts, a free press, civil rights and a freely elected legislature.

Part of the territory we handed over had been leased to Britain for a hundred years, and the lease had run out. The original treaty would, in theory, have allowed Britain to keep part of the colony in perpetuity: however it could credibly be argued that what was left of the colony was not viable - and indeed China could and did make a reasonable argument that the treaty which ceded the territory hadn't exactly been negotiated on a free, fair and equal basis.

But we also handed over Hong Kong on the basis of promises that China would respect the rights of what became the "special administrative region" and apply a policy of "One country, two systems."

Neither of those things has happened. And the statement by President Xi that China has brought "true democracy" to Hong Kong could be taken seriously only by those who do not have the least idea what the word "democracy" actually means. China's stewardship of the territory has been cruel, tyrannical, and disastrous.

So on the 30th of June Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made a statement to mark 25 years since the handover of Hong Kong, highlighting Britain's unwavering commitment to the people of the territory. 

  • Britain has a historic commitment to the people of Hong Kong and following the introduction of China’s National Security Law on 30 June 2020 Britain will do what we can to defend their rights.
  • That is why the Foreign Secretary marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong by highlighting the steady erosion of rights that we have seen since 2020 and reaffirming our support for Hong Kong citizens including through our British National Overseas immigration path.
  • Britain will continue to put forward an unequivocal case for the protection of the political and civil rights of the people of Hong Kong.

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