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The 1990s in Hong Kong marked a transitional period and the last decade of colonial rule in Hong Kong.


Background

The 1984
Sino-British Joint Declaration The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...
paved the way for a series of changes that would facilitate the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC). In July 1992, Chris Patten was appointed as the last British
Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...
. By contrast with his predecessors, Sir Edward Youde and Sir David Wilson, Patten had little experience with Hong Kong or China, and spoke neither
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
nor
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
. The decade was essentially dominated by the political backdrop of the
handover In cellular telecommunications, handover, or handoff, is the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another channel. In satellite communications it is the process of transfe ...
.


Politics


The handover

Following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, citizens feared the Chinese government would not keep its promise of autonomy after the handover in Hong Kong. As a result, various mediating measures took place in the run-up to 1997. The
Hong Kong Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ...
was ratified on 4 April 1990 as a mini-constitution. The pro-Beijing bloc welcomed the Basic Law, calling it the most democratic legal system to ever exist in the PRC. The pro-democratic bloc criticised it as not democratic enough. Patten emphasised the increase in democracy in Hong Kong through a series of measures that affected the election processes of both legislators and municipal officials. In 1994, the PRC announced that it would terminate the Legislative Council (LegCo) in favour of the "provisional legislative council". In 1995, LegCo was passed and the Democratic Party denounced the provisional legislative council as illegal. The provisional legislative council operated from
Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
before the handover. At midnight on 1 July 1997, the handover ceremony was held at the new wing of the
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld–Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbou ...
at
Wan Chai North Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area nort ...
. The flag of the United Kingdom and the flag of the Crown colony were lowered. The flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and China were raised. This marked the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from
British colonial rule The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts est ...
to Chinese rule. Participated guests in the ceremony included H.R.H.
The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...
,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
, CCP General Secretary and Chinese President
Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pr ...
,
Chinese Premier The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...
Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...
, the last Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten appointed by the United Kingdom, and
Tung Chee Hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chi ...
, the first
chief executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...
elected from a Beijing-controlled election.


Demographics


Population

The population of Hong Kong in 1995 and 1999 was 6.3 million and 6.9 million respectively. A total of 44,000 illegal immigrants from mainland China were arrested and deported in 1993, with the number decreased to 35,500 a year later. Hong Kong's
fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if: # she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime # she were ...
also become the lowest in the world, having declined to just 5.1 child per population of 1,000 in 1996. Despite the uncertainty brought by handover and economic crisis, the population of Hong Kong in the 1990s had still increased. In 1990, there were approximately 5,700,000 people in Hong Kong. A 500,000 growth in population was seen until 1996. While the numbers of natural increase had been dropping from 1990 to 1996, the growth rate brought by migration rose. This indicated the majority of the population growth was the result of migration mostly from mainland China. However, nearly 95% of people in Hong Kong were still Chinese including various ethnic groups except Cantonese such as
Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
and Teochew.


Emigration

In 1990, the outflow of people reached 62,000 people, or about one per cent of the population. The emigration rate would peak in 1992 with 66,000 people, followed by 53,000 in 1993, and 62,000 in 1994. An estimated US$4.2 billion flowed from Hong Kong to Canada directly as a result. Much renowned
tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
s in Hong Kong, such as the Shaw family, left Hong Kong for fear of adverse effects to the economy after the handover. Many Hong Kong citizens emigrated to Great Britain through the
British Nationality Selection Scheme The British Nationality (Hong Kong) Selection Scheme, usually known in Hong Kong as simply the British Nationality Selection Scheme (BNSS), was a process whereby the Governor of Hong Kong invited certain classes of people, who were permanent re ...
. A comparable number of families also moved to Australia, Canada, and the United States.


Mass Migration Wave

Throughout the 90s in Hong Kong, there was a Mass Migration Wave due to the concern about the handover from the British government to the People Republic of China in 1997. Before handover, Hong Kong was identified as ‘British Hong Kong’ and governed by the British government since 1842. In 1984, the British government and Chinese government had signed the ‘Sino-British Joint Declaration’ indicating the handover of the control in 1997 that ended the lease of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom. In exchange, the Chinese government had agreed to keep the existing governmental structure of Hong Kong using the ‘ One country, two systems’ method. According to the survey done by Wong, there were more than 60,000 Hong Kong emigrants in 1990 which accounts for 1% of the whole population and nearly half of the interviewees of the survey had expressed strong willingness to leave Hong Kong by 1997.


Foreign Domestic Workers

From the late 1980s to 1990s, Hong Kong's currency stabilised. The value of the
Philippine peso The Philippine peso, also referred to by its Tagalog name ''piso'' (Philippine English: , , plural pesos; tl, piso ; sign: ₱; code: PHP), is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 ''sentimo'', also called ...
was dropping steadily from 17 pesos in 1984 to 30 pesos in 1993 = US$1. This caused a surge of Philippines workers going to Hong Kong in search of higher salaries under the "maid to order" services. The number of
foreign worker Foreign workers or guest workers are people who work in a country other than one of which they are a citizen. Some foreign workers use a guest worker program in a country with more preferred job prospects than in their home country. Guest worke ...
s grew from 9,000 in 1987 to 28,000 in 1992 and 32,000 in 1993. Women from the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
make up the majority with substantial numbers from
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. The term "fei yung" () became associated with the helpers. Families in need of the helpers generally have both parents working at full-time positions. In 1993, households were required to have a combined income of
HKD The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...
$15,000. The foreign workers essentially run all home affairs from cooking, ironing, cleaning and caring for the young and old in the household. Most households had 4 to 5 members including at least 1 child under the age of 12, while some include elderly people over 65. The hiring of workers fuelled a number of social debates. From the worker's perspective, problems range from unfair treatments, discrimination to low wages were raised. From the family perspective, problems range from privacy invasion to abuse type cases. Newspapers, radios and TV broadcasts have covered the subjects on numerous accounts. To stir controversies, the media often claimed traditional amah Chinese servants as superior workers.


Culture


Music

Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...
has also been dominating the Hong Kong music industry during the 80s and 90s. He started his singing career by winning the runner up in the 1977 Asian Singing Contest and was signed by the
Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
. His early career was not successful that he was booed during his first public performance and his first three albums had poor sales that led to being terminated by the Polydor Records. During the early 80s, famous singer
Sam Hui Samuel Hui Koon-kit (born 6 September 1948), usually known as Sam Hui, is a Hong Kong musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is credited with popularising Cantopop both via the infusion of Western-style music and his usage of vernacular Cantone ...
and
Roman Tam Roman Tam Pak-sin (; 12 February 1945– 18 October 2002), known professionally by his stage name Law Man (), was a Hong Kong singer. He is regarded as the "Grand Godfather of Cantopop". Career Born in Baise, Guangxi, China, with family root ...
started the golden era of the
Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
industry with many outstanding music which benefits Leslie Cheung to develop his music career starting with the most iconic song “The Wing Blows On” in 1983. Since then, he had released more than 40 albums with multiple platinum-selling records and performed 33 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum in the early 90s. The Hong Kong music industry had also seen its peak in the 1990s. After Leslie Cheung has gradually stepped back from the music industry, the industry was essentially dominated by the
Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ...
, namely:
Aaron Kwok Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...
,
Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Dubbed the " God of Songs", he is regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong pop music. Cheung is known for his technically skilled vocals, lengthy tours, and ...
,
Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...
and
Leon Lai Leon Lai Ming SBS BBS MH (born 11 December 1966), is a Hong Kong actor, film director, businessman and Cantopop singer. He is one of the " Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. He uses his Chinese name "Li Ming" or "Lai Ming", whi ...
including TV, movie, advertisement and magazines. In the early stages in their careers, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai sang songs with Japanese melodies, but in the early to mid-1990s there was a public outcry for originality in local music. In 1993, the radio broadcasting company
Commercial Radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (a ...
, announced that it would play only locally-written music. The purpose was to encourage local musicians to write their own lyrics. In 1989, the annual sales of song albums among the whole music industry were approximately HK$2.5 billion. This indicates how large the music industry market was back in the 1990s.
Mark Lui Mark Lui (, born 9 July 1969) is from Hong Kong. He is a composer and producer of Cantopop music with the "On Your Mark" creative team, and part of the Artists and Repertoire team at East Asia Record Production Co., Ltd. Notable works include ...
was a popular composer by the late 1990s. Jacky Cheung was the most successful artist among the 4 of them. He started his singing career by winning the Amateur 18-Hong Kong District Singing Contest in 1984. He then has won 2 IFPI Gold Disc Awards and 8 IFPI Platinum Disc Awards in his singing career. He had also won many rewards for his acting such as the Best Supporting Actor award in the 8th
Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...
in 1988 and the Best Supporting Actor Golden Horse Award in 1990. Some of his famous songs are “You Will Always Be My Love”, “Love You More Each Day” and “Breaking Up in the Rain”. Andy Lau started his career in 1981 by participating in the
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
’s artist training programme and published one of his most famous albums, “Would It Be Possible” that won him Top 10 Gold Song Award from
RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econo ...
in 1990. Since then, Andy Lau had set a
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for winning the most awards with at least one
RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econo ...
award each year until 2007. Throughout his career, he has more than 60 albums published. Aaron Kwok had a similar beginning with Andy Lau with joining TVB as a dancer trainee in 1984. He was then becoming an actor in
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
and started to be famous after acting in the Taiwanese motorcycle TV series in 1990. He then published his first Mandapop album in Taiwan, "Loving You Endlessly" in the same year than had sales of more than 1 million copies around whole Asia. After his first album, he released 2 more
Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
album which won him the Best New Artist Gold Award at the
RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econo ...
Top 10 Gold Songs Awards in 1991. Unlike the other three of the
Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ...
,
Aaron Kwok Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...
contributed much not only to
Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
but also Mandapop. Some other significant achievements of
Aaron Kwok Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (born 26 October 1965) is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. Active since the 1980s, Kwok is known as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. Dubbed the "God of Dance", Kwok's onstage dancing is influenc ...
were winning the
Jade Solid Gold Jade Solid Gold ( Chinese: 勁歌金曲, literally ''"powerful song golden melody"'') is a music show on the TVB Jade television channel in Hong Kong. It has been running since October 10, 1981. Broadcasting time TVB Jade *Sunday at 11:00pm to 11 ...
Best Singer Award in 1997 and the Gold Award for Best Male Singer at Commercial Radio Annual Awards Ceremony in 1998. Leon Lai started his singing career by winning the second runner-up in the New Talent Singing Awards in 1986 and being signed by the Polygram. His first album was named after his name “Leon” and had successful sales. Another significant achievement was his 1993 album, “Summer Love” that won him the Most Popular Male Singer Award in the TVB’s Jade Solid Gold in 1993. He was also one of the biggest stars for the advertisement campaign held by the telecom giant,
Hutchison Telecom Hutchison Asia Telecom Group or HAT, is a division of Hong Kong-based multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings. The division provides telecommunications services to several Asian countries. The division was formerly incorporated as H ...
. Some other significant awards are the Bronze Awards for Best Male Singer at the Commercial Radio Annual Awards Ceremony from 1991 to 1994 and the Gold Award for Best Male Singer in 1996.


Entertainment

In the early 1990s, the entertainment industry became increasingly linked to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
and mainland China. Numerous television drama series, especially with themes related to ancient Chinese, were imported from Taiwan and mainland China since the early 1990s, such as Justice Bao imported from Taiwan by TVB and
Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...
imported from mainland China by ATV's Home Channel, with both dramas becoming very successful and creating much discussion in the territory while broadcasting. A further successful example is the television drama ''
My Fair Princess ''My Fair Princess'', also known as ''Return of the Pearl Princess'' or ''Princess Returning Pearl'' (), is a 1998–1999 Taiwanese television costume drama jointly produced by Yi Ren Communications Co. (怡人傳播公司) in Taiwan and Hunan ...
'', a Taiwan-Mainland co-production. The show was broadcast in Hong Kong in 1999 by ATV's Home Channel and became popular among overseas Chinese worldwide. Another example of a popular mainland pop star was
Faye Wong Faye Wong ( zh, 王菲; born Xia Lin on 8 August 1969) is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter. Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong. Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and her debut album '' Shirley Wong'' ( ...
. She was born in Beijing and began singing in
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
, but later sang in both Mandarin and Cantonese as her career grew.


Foreign culture

In the early 1990s, Japanese culture significantly impacted Hong Kong culture with their pop culture including music and acting. Many entertainment companies in Japan expanded their business in Hong Kong which mainly target the middle class and teenagers who are obsessed with Japanese culture, cuisine and lifestyle, resulting in Hong Kong becoming one of the major places for Japanese culture exports. Successful marketing approach and promotional effect by the agents are two of the main factors contributing to the massive popularity of Japanese culture in Hong Kong during the 1990s. Apart from Japanese culture,
British culture British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the impact of the British Empire ...
contributed to a large part of Hong Kong culture. Hong Kong had been ruled by the British government for 156 years during the colonial period. The British brought different cultures into Hong Kong including eating habits, architecture, governmental system and education. All of the above cultures could still be seen in nowadays Hong Kong such as the legal system and the old buildings. This also leads to the unique characteristics of the HongKongers who are heavily impacted by British culture.


Cinema

The Hong Kong film industry had its golden age in the 1990s with a record of around 200 films in a year. An iconic director was
Wong Kar-wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...
, he had contributed a large proportion to the success of the
Hong Kong film industry The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, British Hong Kong, Hong Kong had a gr ...
. He had been nominated and received multiple awards around the world. For example, ‘ Chungking Express’ won the
Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...
in 1995 and won the best director at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
. Wong’s films were also on the list of BBC Culture’s 100 greatest foreign-language films with ‘Happy Together’ (1997) at 71, ‘ Chungking Express’ (1994) at 56 and ‘ In the Mood for Love’ (2000) at 9. Stephen Chow is another icon of the Hong Kong film industry. He has been named as Hong Kong’s “king of comedy”. He started his career in 1981 as TV series actor and became a movie actor in 1988 which brought him great success from his first movie, “
Final Justice (1988 film) ''Final Justice'' is a 1988 Hong Kong crime film directed by Parkman Wong. The film stars Danny Lee, who also serves as the film's producer, and Stephen Chow on his film debut. Chow won the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards for Best Supporting Actor. ...
”. He was awarded the best supporting actor award at the 25th Golden Horse Awards. A popular culture of “
mo lei tau ''Mo lei tau'' () is a type of slapstick humour associated with Hong Kong popular culture that developed during the late 20th century. It is a phenomenon which has grown largely from its presentation in modern film media. Its humour arises from ...
” was invented by him which is some nonsensical humour and most of the 1990s Hong Kong movie consisted of such elements. Some of Stephen Chow’s famous movie in the 1990s are the gambling comedy “
All for the Winner ''All for the Winner'' () is a 1990 Hong Kong comedy film, directed by Jeffrey Lau and Corey Yuen, and starring Stephen Chow. First Movie to ever cross the HK$40 million(HK$41,326,156.00) mark in Hong Kong box office. It was a parody of '' God ...
” in 1990, the gangster comedy “
Fight Back to School ''Fight Back To School'' () is a 1991 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Gordon Chan and starring Stephen Chow. This movie is set in Shatin College, Hong Kong. It was Hong Kong's highest-grossing film of 1991. It was followed by sequels ''Figh ...
” in 1991 and action comedy “
Justice, My Foot! ''Justice, My Foot!'' () is a 1992 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Johnnie To, starring Stephen Chow, Anita Mui and Ng Man Tat. Synopsis Sung is by far the best lawyer in Guangdong and the outlying areas of Southeast China. His skills have ...
” in 1992. Apart from the contribution to music industry,
Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...
had also starred in many different movies in the 90s collaborated with famous directors and actors such as
Wong Kar-wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...
and Stephen Chow. Throughout the 1990s,
Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...
and
Wong Kar-wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...
has produced movies including “
Days of Being Wild ''Days of Being Wild'' is a 1990 Hong Kong drama film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. Starring some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, Jacky Cheung and Tony Le ...
” that won
Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...
the Best Actor Award in the
10th Hong Kong Film Awards The 10th Hong Kong Awards ceremony, honored the best films of 1990 and took place on 21 April 1991 at Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The ceremony was hosted by Anita Mui Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 ...
, “
Ashes of Time ''Ashes of Time'' (Chinese: 東邪西毒) is a 1994 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai, and inspired by characters from Jin Yong's novel ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. Background The film's story is a prequel to the novel ...
” that won Leslie Cheung the Best Actor Award in the 1995
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards () are the annual awards given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society The Hong Kong Film Critics Society (HKFCS; Traditional Chinese: 香港電影評論學會), founded in 1995, is the peak organization of ...
and “
Happy Together (1997 film) ''Happy Together'' () is a 1997 Hong Kong romantic drama film directed by Wong Kar-wai starring Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, depicting their turbulent romance. The English title is inspired by the Turtles' 1967 song of the same name a ...
” that won
Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...
the Best Actor Award in both the
34th Golden Horse Awards The 34th Golden Horse Awards (Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin:第34屆金馬獎) took place on December 13, 1997 at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (Taipei), Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. References

Golden Horse Awards ceremonies, 3 ...
and
17th Hong Kong Film Awards The 17th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony, honored the best films of 1997 and took place on 26 April 1998 at Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The ceremony was hosted by Carol Cheng and Cheung Tat Ming, during the ceremon ...
. One of his greatest achievements was winning the
Palme d’Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the
1993 Cannes Film Festival The 46th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1993. The Palme d'Or went to '' Farewell My Concubine'' by Chen Kaige and '' The Piano'' by Jane Campion. The festival opened with ''My Favorite Season'', directed by André Téchiné and c ...
with “
Farewell, My Concubine (film) ''Farewell My Concubine'' is a 1993 Chinese historical drama film directed by Chen Kaige, starring Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi. Adapted for the screen by Lu Wei based on the novel by Lilian Lee, the film is set in a politically tumul ...
” that is still the only Hong Kong movie that has won this award.


Law and order

In 1999, Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal ruled that children born on the mainland would be entitled the
right of abode The right of abode is an individual's freedom from immigration control in a particular country. A person who has the right of abode in a country does not need permission from the government to enter the country and can live and work there withou ...
in Hong Kong so long as either parent was a Hong Kong permanent resident. This decision led to the government's reinterpretation of the Basic Law which overturned the ruling and determined that a parent would have to be a Hong Kong permanent resident at the time of the child's birth to transmit residency.


Economy


Finance

Three months after the handover in July 1997, Hong Kong was dragged into the
Asian Financial Crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...
. At one point, the stock market fell by 22.8% within a week. Between the summer of 1997 and 1998, the leading shares in the Hang Seng Index lost nearly of its value. The government had to intervene by buying billions of dollars worth of shares. While this may have prevented the market from collapsing and staved off pressure for the Hong Kong dollar to be unpegged from the US dollar, the move was widely criticised as it undermined Hong Kong's status of a
free market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of som ...
. In 1997, a large-scale financial crisis occurred in Asia in which
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
and
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
suffered the most impacts. Hong Kong had also been affected with moderate economic loss. Hong Kong had suffered from a drop of around 0.1% on the stock market per day. However, minimal loss had been made for Hong Kong due to a solid and well organised bank system, effective liquidation law and good regulatory infrastructure. Therefore, the fluctuation of
Hong Kong Dollar The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong ...
and Hang Seng Index has been minimised despite the attack held by an American billionaire investor
George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
.


Manufacturing sector

During the 1990s, Manufacturing sectors in Hong Kong had been shrinking due to increasing manufacturing costs such as transportation cost, salary and rent. According to the statistics from Legislative Council Secretariat, more than 50% decrease had occurred in the new establishments in the manufacturing sector from 1990 to 1998 and there are nearly 65% drop for the employment in the sector. Moreover, the percentage shared by the manufacturing sector in
Gross Domestic Product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...
had declined from nearly 18% in 1990 to less than 7% in 1997. This showed that a transition in Hong Kong's economic system was happening throughout the 1990s and lower reliance on the manufacturing sector. Hong Kong gradually started to become dominant in the financial related industry after the 1990s.


Real estate

In 1998, the
real estate bubble A real-estate bubble or property bubble (or housing bubble for residential markets) is a type of economic bubble that occurs periodically in local or global real-estate markets, and typically follow a land boom. A land boom is the rapid increase ...
burst due to the government's housing policy, though the
Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...
also had some influence. Upon the inauguration of Hong Kong SAR's first chief executive,
Tung Chee Hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chi ...
announced the building of 85,000 flats a year, while reducing public housing wait time from 7 to 3 years."Hong Kong's Residential Property: Prices are Likely to Have Bottomed"
Hong Kong Trade Development Council, 6 July 2000. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
These factors combined to begin the most severe recession in Hong Kong since 1967, which was a year of ambitious government projects that used up fiscal reserves on infrastructure and structural deficit.


Transportation

In 1998, the
Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Ka ...
was closed. The new US$20 Billion
Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...
opened for commercial use. The initial years of operation were challenging as it utilised state-of-the-art computer systems, in just about every function imaginable. The scale and size of the airport also required many innovative solutions from the
Airport Authority An airport authority is an independent entity charged with the operation and oversight of an airport or group of airports. These authorities are often governed by a group of airport commissioners, who are appointed to lead the authority by a govern ...
. Over time, it became the central connecting point for many flights in the far east. The
Tsing Ma Bridge Tsing Ma Bridge is a bridge in Hong Kong. It is the world's 16th-longest span suspension bridge, and was the second longest at time of completion. The bridge was named after the two islands it connects, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan. It has tw ...
, part of the
Lantau Link The Lantau Link, formerly known as the Lantau Fixed Crossing, is a roadway in Hong Kong forming part of Route 8 linking Lantau Island to Tsing Yi, from which other roads lead to the urban areas of Kowloon and the rest of the New Territories ...
connecting the remote airport site to the city, was the world's second largest suspension bridge when it opened on 27 April 1997. Spanning 1,377 metres (4,518 ft), it is also the largest of all bridges in the world carrying rail traffic. The
Tung Chung Tung Chung, meaning " eastern stream", is an area on the northwestern coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. One of the most recent new towns, it was formerly a rural fishing village beside Tung Chung Bay, and along the delta and lower courses of ...
and
Airport Express The AirPort Express is a Wi-Fi base station product from Apple Inc., part of the AirPort product line. While more compact and in some ways simpler than another Apple Wi-Fi base station, the AirPort Extreme, the Express offers audio output cap ...
MTR lines opened in 1998. Other major transport projects completed in the 1990s include the
Tate's Cairn Tunnel Tate's Cairn Tunnel is a four-lane road tunnel in Hong Kong. Constructed as part of Route 2, it links Diamond Hill, New Kowloon with Siu Lek Yuen, Sha Tin, New Territories East. It opened on 26 June 1991. Its toll plaza is situated on the ...
(1991),
San Tin Highway San Tin Highway () is a northeast-southwest expressway at San Tin in north-western New Territories of Hong Kong. San Tin Highway connects Fanling Highway at its northeastern end at San Tin Interchange to a fork at the Tsing Long Highway and Yue ...
(1993),
Yuen Long Highway Yuen Long Highway () is a Hong Kong expressway connecting Au Tau in Yuen Long and Lam Tei in Tuen Mun of New Territories. Part of Route 9, it bypasses Yuen Long Town and the rural areas of Lam Tei, Hung Shui Kiu and Ping Shan, providing a con ...
(1993),
North Lantau Highway North Lantau Highway is an expressway forming part of Hong Kong's Route 8, linking Hong Kong International Airport and Lantau Island with the rest of the territory. The road has three lanes in each direction for its entire length with ful ...
(1997),
Kap Shui Mun Bridge The Kap Shui Mun Bridge (KSMB) in Hong Kong, part of Lantau Link of Route 8, is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world that transports both road and railway traffic, with the upper deck used for motor vehicles and the lower deck u ...
(1997),
Western Harbour Crossing The Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) is a dual 3-lane immersed tube tunnel in Hong Kong. It is the third road tunnel to cross Victoria Harbour, linking the newly reclaimed land in Yau Ma Tei on Kowloon West with Sai Ying Pun on Hong Kong Isl ...
(1997), and
Tai Lam Tunnel Tai Lam Tunnel ( Chinese: 大欖隧道), running along Tsing Long Highway, is part of Route 3 Country Park Section (R3CPS) and is a transport link between the western New Territories in Ting Kau and Yuen Long. Tai Lam Tunnel was constructed t ...
(1998). Many of these related to the airport project, or to completing the New Territories orbital highway.


See also

*


References


External links


Office of Public Sector Info
{{DEFAULTSORT:1990s In Hong Kong British Hong Kong