Hong Kong: British or Chinese?

There is often confusion about whether Hong Kong is a British colony, a Chinese city or a country of its own. The short answer is none of the above, it is a Special Administrative Region of China. To understand what that means, here is a brief history of Hong Kong:

Hong Kong would not be the place it is today if it wasn't for opium. Yes, that’s right, opium as in heroin and poppies. The British started importing opium grown in India in order to trade for high value luxury items (like tea) with the Chinese. Not surprisingly, this resulted in a lot of Chinese getting addicted to to the stuff. The Qing Government of China did not want widespread drug addition in their country so they tried to stop the Brits from importing opium. This did not please the Brits and war ensued. From 1839-1942 the First Opium War was fought between the British East India Company and the Qing Dynasty. The British won the war which resulted in them gaining control of Hong Kong Island.

Over the next 60-odd years, the territory of Hong Kong grew with the acquisition of more land. In 1860 the Chinese handed over the Kowloon peninsula to Britain. In 1898 the New Territories and 235 outlying islands were leased to to Britain for 99 years. This ended up posing a problem down the line because Britain had to hand back control of the New Territories in 1997, however, Hong Kong Island and Kowloon were in Britain's control permanently. Lots of political stuff went on between the Chinese and British governments from the 1970's to the 1990's to try and decide the future of Hong Kong. It was eventually decided that China would regain sovereignty of all of Hong Kong on July 1^st, 1997.

Hong Kong was made into a 'Special Administrative Region' (SAR) of China, operating on the unique principle of 'One Country, Two Systems'. This means that even though Hong Kong is technically a Chinese city, it has its own capitalist economic and political system. Currency and laws in Hong Kong differ than those of China; they even drive on the opposite side of the road.

This unique history has made Hong Kong a place like no other. And a great place for an English speaking Canadian like me to visit because the British legacy means that there is a lot of English signage and English speaking locals . . . though that’s not to say that I haven't had to mime my fair share of things in an effort to communicate to cab drivers and shop keepers. But that's half the fun of travelling to a foreign country isn't it?