20 years on, and I remember it as if it were … 30 years ago (I spent the evening in the FCC, and if any of you know the legendary Foreign Correspondents’ Club, you’ll understand my foggy memory).
As always at this time of year, it was hot as hell and on that particular night, pouring rain. We'd spent the previous 15 years asking (and attempting to answer) the question "What will happen after the Handover?," and most of us were very happy not to have to hear that again.
But, 24 hours later it was all over ... the Asian Financial Crisis started with the collapse of the Thai baht on July 2, 1997, and very few people cared much about Hong Kong for a while.
China 'humiliating' the UK by scrapping Hong Kong handover deal, say activists
Pro-democracy leaders say Britain has ‘legal, moral and political responsibility’ to stand up to Beijing
“On Friday, the eve of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover, on 1 July 1997, Beijing controversially announced that the Sino-British joint declaration was ‘now history’ and no longer had ‘any practical significance nor any binding force.’”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-handover-deal
Military parade in Hong Kong after 20 years of Chinese rule, in pictures
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...mocracy-party/
When is a military parade not a military parade? When it is confined to Shek Kong barracks.
Pro-independence party’s Handover eve vigil relocated to Baptist University due to heavy police presence
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2017/07/0...lice-presence/
Bizarre turns …
The Hong Kong National Party and the presidents of several university student unions – who were guest speakers – eventually relocated to Baptist University, where they protested against what they called an abuse of power by the police.
Shue Yan University president Lau Chak-fung said the police gave “strange” explanations as to why they wanted to check his bag or view the contents of his mobile phone as he approached Tsim Sha Tsui.
“For example, when I refused to let them see the contents of my phone, they said they would arrest me for stealing the phone,” he said. “They said the phone wasn’t mine. Then they said they suspected there was child pornography in my phone.”
20 Years After Handover, Hong Kong Residents Reflect On Life Under Chinese Rule
http://krvs.org/post/20-years-after-...r-chinese-rule
Hong Kong wealth gap at its widest in decades as handover anniversary nears
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ho...-idUSKBN19I1E2
Somewhat misleading, as “wealth” usually means something like net worth, but that has never been measured in HK. What’s being measured is income, excluding benefits such as housing and no taxation that can easily double the numbers for the poorer half of the population.
Not to mention comparing apples to oranges:
“Hong Kong had 4,080 ultra high-net worth individuals in 2016, the report said, but mainland China has more than three times that number and many of them have bought property in the territory.”
—That’s net worth.
The wealthiest 10 percent of households earn nearly 44 times more than the poorest 10 percent who make an average of HK$2,560 ($328.20) per month, according to a 2016 household income report published by the Census and Statistics Dept this month.
—That’s gross income.
As always at this time of year, it was hot as hell and on that particular night, pouring rain. We'd spent the previous 15 years asking (and attempting to answer) the question "What will happen after the Handover?," and most of us were very happy not to have to hear that again.
But, 24 hours later it was all over ... the Asian Financial Crisis started with the collapse of the Thai baht on July 2, 1997, and very few people cared much about Hong Kong for a while.
China 'humiliating' the UK by scrapping Hong Kong handover deal, say activists
Pro-democracy leaders say Britain has ‘legal, moral and political responsibility’ to stand up to Beijing
“On Friday, the eve of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover, on 1 July 1997, Beijing controversially announced that the Sino-British joint declaration was ‘now history’ and no longer had ‘any practical significance nor any binding force.’”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-handover-deal
Military parade in Hong Kong after 20 years of Chinese rule, in pictures
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...mocracy-party/
When is a military parade not a military parade? When it is confined to Shek Kong barracks.
Pro-independence party’s Handover eve vigil relocated to Baptist University due to heavy police presence
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2017/07/0...lice-presence/
Bizarre turns …
The Hong Kong National Party and the presidents of several university student unions – who were guest speakers – eventually relocated to Baptist University, where they protested against what they called an abuse of power by the police.
Shue Yan University president Lau Chak-fung said the police gave “strange” explanations as to why they wanted to check his bag or view the contents of his mobile phone as he approached Tsim Sha Tsui.
“For example, when I refused to let them see the contents of my phone, they said they would arrest me for stealing the phone,” he said. “They said the phone wasn’t mine. Then they said they suspected there was child pornography in my phone.”
20 Years After Handover, Hong Kong Residents Reflect On Life Under Chinese Rule
http://krvs.org/post/20-years-after-...r-chinese-rule
Hong Kong wealth gap at its widest in decades as handover anniversary nears
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ho...-idUSKBN19I1E2
Somewhat misleading, as “wealth” usually means something like net worth, but that has never been measured in HK. What’s being measured is income, excluding benefits such as housing and no taxation that can easily double the numbers for the poorer half of the population.
Not to mention comparing apples to oranges:
“Hong Kong had 4,080 ultra high-net worth individuals in 2016, the report said, but mainland China has more than three times that number and many of them have bought property in the territory.”
—That’s net worth.
The wealthiest 10 percent of households earn nearly 44 times more than the poorest 10 percent who make an average of HK$2,560 ($328.20) per month, according to a 2016 household income report published by the Census and Statistics Dept this month.
—That’s gross income.
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