The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
was
transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after 1 July 1997.
Hong Kong had been a
colony of the British Empire since 1842 after the
First Opium War
The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
and its territory was expanded on two occasions; first in 1860 with the addition of
Kowloon Peninsula and
Stonecutters Island
Stonecutters Island or Ngong Shuen Chau is a former island in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. Following land reclamation, it is now attached to the Kowloon Peninsula.
Fauna
The island once boasted at least three mating pairs of sulphur-crested co ...
, and again in 1898 when Britain obtained a
99-year lease
A 99-year lease was, under historic common law, the longest possible term of a lease of real property. It is no longer the law in most common law jurisdictions today, yet 99-year leases continue to be common as a matter of business practice and ...
for the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
. The date of the handover in 1997 marked the end of this lease.
The Chinese government declared in the treaty its basic policies for governing Hong Kong after the transfer. A
special administrative region would be established in the territory that would be self-governing with a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign affairs and defence. Hong Kong would maintain its existing governing and economic systems separate from that of
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
under the principle of "
one country, two systems". This blueprint would be elaborated on in 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 ...
(the post-handover regional constitution) and the central government's policies for the territory were to remain unchanged for a period of 50 years after 1997.
China has stated since 2014 that it considers the treaty to be
spent with no further legal effect, while the United Kingdom maintains that the document remains binding in operation. Following China's 2020 imposition of
national security legislation on Hong Kong and a 2021
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2, ...
decision to
approve a rework of local election laws that reduces the number of
regional legislature seats elected by the public, the UK has declared China as being in a "state of ongoing non-compliance" with the Joint Declaration.
Background
Phases of colonial expansion
![Acquisition of Hong Kong](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Acquisition_of_Hong_Kong.svg)
Hong Kong became a British colony in 1842 after the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
's defeat in the
First Opium War
The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
. The territory initially consisted only of
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
and was expanded to include
Kowloon Peninsula and
Stonecutters Island
Stonecutters Island or Ngong Shuen Chau is a former island in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. Following land reclamation, it is now attached to the Kowloon Peninsula.
Fauna
The island once boasted at least three mating pairs of sulphur-crested co ...
in 1860 after another Qing loss in the
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
.
After this addition, the British government resisted calls by colonial officials and merchants for further expansion into China, deciding to cease territorial acquisitions in the area. However, as
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
coerced China into granting
concessions in the late 1890s, Britain considered another expansion of Hong Kong to bolster the colony's defence against attack from these other
great power
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power inf ...
s. When
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
obtained a lease for
Guangzhouwan
The Leased Territory of Guangzhouwan, officially the , was a territory on the coast of Zhanjiang in China leased to France and administered by French Indochina. The capital of the territory was Fort-Bayard, present-day Zhanjiang.
The Japan ...
, only 210 miles away from Hong Kong, Britain entered into negotiations with the Qing to acquire the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
as a compensatory concession. The British negotiator considered the 99-year lease term to be sufficiently suggestive that the ceded area would be a permanent cession, which was granted rent-free.
Potential lease renegotiations
Hong Kong Governor
Frederick Lugard
Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong ...
first proposed renegotiating the lease as a formal cession in 1909 in return for restoring
Weihaiwei
Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea.
Weihai's popu ...
to China. Although the
Colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 au ...
and
Foreign Offices considered this, the plan was never brought to the Chinese government before Weihaiwei was transferred to the
Republic of China
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 northeast ...
in 1930. Alternate plans that involved offering China a substantial loan and settling land disputes on the
Burmese border were suggested, but these ideas similarly did not progress past discussion. The start of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and ensuing
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surr ...
stifled further debate on obtaining a cession. The British government initially prepared for the possibility of having to relinquish Hong Kong after the war, but moved towards retaining the colony over the course of the conflict. Hong Kong returned to British control in 1945.
In the immediate post-war period, the
Nationalist government continued this dialogue with the British about the future of Hong Kong, which included discussions of a full retrocession and proposals of turning the colony into an
international city
An international city is an autonomous or semi-autonomous city-state that is separate from the direct supervision of any single nation-state.
Rationale for establishment
International cities have had either one or both of the following characte ...
. However, communist victory in the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
made a transfer of Hong Kong to the Nationalists an increasingly unlikely scenario, and the status quo was maintained.
Coexistence with the People's Republic
Although communist troops marched up to the border with Hong Kong, they did not try to forcefully take the colony. Initial engagement between the colonial and new Chinese authorities were largely friendly and cooperative. While it was clear that the long-term goal of the communists was to absorb the territory, they chose to take no action on the issue in the near-term. The Chinese were content with the political status of the colony for the time being so long as no efforts were made to introduce democratic development in the territory; they were simply hostile to the idea of a potentially independent Hong Kong. In 1972, China successfully petitioned the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
to remove Hong Kong from its
list of non-self-governing territories, and declared that the colony was a "Chinese territory under British administration". The United Kingdom did not raise any objections to this and the local population did not think the move was significant, but the implication of this change was that Communist China alone would determine the territory's future, excluding
the people of Hong Kong.
Post-war Hong Kong experienced rapid economic growth through the 1950s as it industrialised into a manufacturing-based export economy. This development continued through the following decades bolstered by a strong trading network, robust banking and financial systems, and an educated and growing workforce supplemented by continuing immigration from mainland China. As the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
embroiled mainland China beginning in 1966,
local communists in Hong Kong started a series of demonstrations against colonial rule that escalated into the
1967 Hong Kong riots. However, the disturbances never gained local support and the subsequent restoration of public order conversely resulted in the colonial government achieving increased popularity among the territory's residents. By the late 1970s, Hong Kong had become one of the largest trading ports and financial centers in the world.
Approaching deadline
Local investors began expressing their concern in the mid-1970s over the long-term viability of continued real estate investment. The colonial government could not legally grant new land leases in the New Territories past 1997 and needed to resolve the uncertainty with the Chinese government. During an official visit to Beijing in March 1979, Governor
Murray MacLehose
Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, (; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the longest-serving governor of the colony, with four ...
raised the issue with Vice Premier
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
. MacLehose suggested setting aside the 1997 date for land leases and replacing those contracts with ones that were valid for as long as British administration continued in the colony. Deng rejected this suggestion, but he informed the governor that while sovereignty over Hong Kong belonged to China, the territory held a special status that would continue to be respected. MacLehose informed the public that further investment would be safe. Market reaction was optimistic; stock valuations rose and further investment in real estate boosted the value of Hong Kong's land to the highest in the world.
Just before the start of formal negotiations with China over Hong Kong, Parliament enacted a major reform of
British nationality law
British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...
– the
British Nationality Act 1981
The British Nationality Act 1981 (c.61) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning British nationality since 1 January 1983.
History
In the mid-1970s the British Government decided to update the nationality code, which had b ...
. Prior to the passage of this Act, all citizens of the
British Empire
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 esta ...
(including Hongkongers) held a common nationality. Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKCs) previously had the unrestricted right to enter and live in the UK until 1962, although non-white immigration was systemically discouraged. Immigration from the colonies and other
Commonwealth countries was gradually restricted by Parliament from 1962 to 1971 amid
decolonisation
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...
, when
British subjects originating from outside of the
British Islands
The British Islands is a term within the law of the United Kingdom which refers collectively to the following four polities:
* the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (formerly the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) ...
first had immigration controls imposed on them when entering the UK. The 1981 Act reclassified CUKCs into different nationality groups based on their ancestry and birthplace, and the vast majority of British subjects in Hong Kong became
British Dependent Territories citizens (BDTCs) with
right of abode only in Hong Kong. Only those reclassified as British citizens held an automatic
right to live in the United Kingdom.
Negotiations
Formal negotiations began in September 1982 with the arrival of British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
and Hong Kong Governor
Edward Youde
Sir Edward Youde (; Cantonese: ''Yau Tak''; 19 June 1924 – 5 December 1986) was a British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. He served as Governor of Hong Kong between 20 May 1982 and his death on 5 December 1986.
Early years
Youde ...
in Beijing to meet with Chinese Premier
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 198 ...
and
paramount leader
Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
. In the initial phase of negotiations from October 1982 to June 1983, the main point of contention was the issue of sovereignty.
The goals of the Chinese government were made clear from the beginning of the process. China would resume both sovereignty and administration over Hong Kong in 1997. It would do this by force if necessary, but preferred to keep the territory's socioeconomic climate stable to maximize the economic benefits it could reap from the transfer. Its proposed plan was to establish a special administrative region in the territory that would be governed by local residents and to maintain the existing structures of government and economy in place for as long as 50 years. Constitutional arrangements had already been made to implement this plan and the Chinese would not accept anything less than a full reversion of Hong Kong.
Sovereignty after 1997
During her first visit to Beijing, Thatcher asserted the continuing validity of British treaty rights for the sovereignty of Hong Kong. The British began negotiations believing that they could secure an extension of the New Territories lease while retaining sovereignty of the ceded areas. Although the UK had just successfully defended its hold on the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
in a
war against Argentina, Hong Kong's proximity to mainland China made a military defence of the territory impossible. Thatcher later recounted that Deng had told her directly "I could walk in and take the whole lot this afternoon," to which she replied, "There is nothing I could do to stop you, but the eyes of the world would now know what China is like."
The Chinese pushed back against the assertion of sovereignty rights and insisted that it was not bound by the 19th-century
unequal treaties
Unequal treaty is the name given by the Chinese to a series of treaties signed during the 19th and early 20th centuries, between China (mostly referring to the Qing dynasty) and various Western powers (specifically the British Empire, France, the ...
that ceded Hong Kong to the UK. Even if the two sides had agreed on the binding nature of the
Treaty of Nanking
The Treaty of Nanjing was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese later termed the Unequal Treaties.
In the ...
and
Convention of Peking
The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. In China, they are regarded as amon ...
, the vast majority of the colony's land still would have reverted to China at the conclusion of the New Territories lease. Because most of the territory's industry was developed there, separating the leased area and returning only that part of the colony to China was economically and logistically infeasible. Negotiations were stalled until Britain conceded that it would relinquish sovereignty over the entire territory.
British attempt to extend administration
In the second phase of negotiations, the British attempted to negotiate an extension of their administration in Hong Kong past 1997 in exchange for their acknowledgement of Chinese sovereignty. This was again soundly rejected by the Chinese as unacceptable. The continued stalled state of negotiations precipitated a drop in investor confidence, causing a sharp decline in local property values that culminated with the crash of the
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar (, currency symbol, sign: HK$; ISO 4217, code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cent (currency), cents or 1000 Mill (currency), mils. The H ...
's value on
Black Saturday in September 1983.
The talks were entirely conducted without meaningful input from the people of Hong Kong. Early in the process, British officials had used the analogy of a "three-legged stool" to describe a scenario where Hong Kong was party to the negotiations with Britain and China. The Chinese government dismissed this idea, claiming that it already represented the interests of the people of Hong Kong. Local residents were apprehensive about the prospect of being handed over to Chinese rule and overwhelmingly preferred that Hong Kong remain a British territory; contemporary opinion polls show that 85 per cent of residents favoured this option. The
Foreign Office
Foreign may refer to:
Government
* Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries
** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government
** Foreign office and foreign minister
* Unit ...
rejected holding a general referendum on the future of the colony due to vehement opposition from the Chinese and because it assumed that educating the public on the complexity of the issue would be too difficult. Although the
Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils had repeatedly petitioned the British negotiators to insist on continued administration for as long as possible, they were ultimately unsuccessful. By November 1983, the British accepted that they would have no further authority over Hong Kong after 1997.
Nationality and the Joint Liaison Group
Negotiations in 1984 centred on nationality and the role of the
Joint Liaison Group. British negotiators and Hong Kong
Executive Council members wanted to ensure the continued status of Hongkongers as
British Dependent Territories citizen
A British Overseas Territories citizen (BOTC), formerly called British Dependent Territories citizen (BDTC), is a member of a class of British nationality granted to people connected with one or more of the British Overseas Territories (previo ...
s (BDTCs) after the transfer of sovereignty, but the Chinese would not allow this and even demanded that further granting of BDTC status be halted immediately. Although there were debates in the British Parliament on granting all residents
British Overseas citizenship that could be transferred to children for up to two generations after 1997, this was not implemented and the Joint Declaration instead provided for a new status to be created. The Chinese initially wanted the Joint Liaison Group to act as an oversight committee during the transition period of administering Hong Kong up to the handover date. At the insistence of Governor Youde and Executive Council members, the group was limited in its scope to be strictly advisory.
A bilateral working group was created in June 1984 to draft the text of the treaty and its annexes. This was completed in three months, and on 26 September 1984, a draft copy of the Joint Declaration was initialed by British Ambassador to China
Richard Evans and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister
Zhou Nan
Zhou Nan () was a prominent Chinese politician and diplomat, and served as Director of the Xinhua News Agency in Hong Kong, Vice Minister of the People's Republic of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador to the United Nations. He ...
. The final version was signed on 19 December 1984 by Prime Minister Thatcher and Premier Zhao in the
Great Hall of the People in Beijing; the treaty came into force when instruments of ratification were exchanged on 27 May 1985 and was registered at the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
by both governments on 12 June 1985.
Content
The Joint Declaration consists of its main text, Annex I elaborating the Chinese government's basic policies for Hong Kong, Annex II concerning plans for the
Sino–British Joint Liaison Group, Annex III explaining protections for land leases granted by the colonial government, and two memoranda from each party describing transitional nationality arrangements for local residents.
Main text
In the main text of the treaty, the Chinese government declared its intention to resume the exercise of its sovereignty over the entire area of Hong Kong (including the ceded areas of
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
and
Kowloon Peninsula, as well as the leased
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
) on 1 July 1997 and the British government agreed to transfer control of the territory on that date. China stated its basic policies for administering the returned area; it would establish a special administrative region that would be autonomous in governing local affairs. The economic, social, governing, and legal systems would remain basically unchanged from as they existed under colonial administration. Hong Kong would remain a separate customs territory with free flow of capital. Civil and property rights would remain protected after the transfer of sovereignty. During the transition period from the date the treaty came into force until 30 June 1997, the United Kingdom would continue to be responsible for administering Hong Kong with the objective of maintaining its economic prosperity and social stability.
Annex I: Chinese basic policies for Hong Kong
The first annex of the treaty elaborates on the Chinese government's basic policies for Hong Kong. There are 14 policies listed in Annex I, providing a framework under which the post-handover government would be established. This part of the Joint Declaration provides for economic and administrative continuity through the transfer of sovereignty. Executive, legislative, and judicial powers would be devolved by the central government to the special administrative region, which is given a "high degree of autonomy" in exercising those powers in all areas except for defence and diplomatic affairs. The region retains the ability to maintain separate economic and cultural relations with foreign nations.
Socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
as practised in mainland China would not be extended to Hong Kong and the territory's capitalist economy and the civil liberties of its residents (such as freedom of speech, assembly, and religion) would be protected and remain unchanged for 50 years.
The territory would be allowed to maintain its separate financial markets; the
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar (, currency symbol, sign: HK$; ISO 4217, code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cent (currency), cents or 1000 Mill (currency), mils. The H ...
remains the regional currency. In the areas of civil aviation and maritime shipping, Hong Kong would continue as a separate entity from the mainland. Education and the maintenance of public order would be the regional government's responsibility.
Right of abode in Hong Kong
Right of abode in Hong Kong entitles a person to live and work in the territory without any restrictions or conditions of stay. Someone who has that right is a Hong Kong permanent resident. Foreign nationals may acquire the right of abode afte ...
and immigration matters remain separate from mainland China, and the region could issue
its own passports. All of these policies would be further detailed in 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 ...
, which would stipulate the framework in which the new special administrative region would function.
Annex II: Sino-British Joint Liaison Group
The second annex of the treaty provided for the establishment of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group, consisting of diplomats from both governments, to facilitate ongoing dialogue for the implementation of the Joint Declaration and a smooth transfer of government. This group was strictly intended to be a channel of close communication for both parties and did not have authority to supervise or participate in the administration of the territory. The Joint Liaison Group was given two specific objectives during the period between its establishment and the transfer of sovereignty. In the first half of this period, it would consider actions necessary to maintain Hong Kong's status as a separate customs territory and ensure continuity of its international rights and obligations. During the second half leading up to the handover, the Liaison Group would consider actions needed to ensure a successful transition in 1997 and assist the incoming regional government in developing relations and agreements with other countries and international organisations for economic and cultural purposes. The mandate for this group ended on 1 January 2000.
Annex III: Land leases
The third annex of the treaty dealt with the validity of land leases granted by the colonial Hong Kong government. All existing land lease contracts continue to be recognised by the post-handover SAR government. All leases without options of renewal that expired before 30 June 1997 could be extended for periods lasting no later than 30 June 2047. New leases granted by the colonial government after the treaty came into force could last no longer than the 2047 date and were subject to a 50-hectare annual aggregate limit on the total amount of land the government could contract out for purposes other than for housing. A Land Commission consisting of an equal number of representatives from the British and Chinese governments was established to oversee the implementation of this annex until the transfer of sovereignty in 1997.
Memoranda on nationality
The memoranda attached to the end of the treaty contains transitional nationality arrangements for local residents, which included a stipulation that a new nationality would be created for Hongkongers that did not confer
right of abode in the United Kingdom
The right of abode (ROA) is an immigration status in the United Kingdom that gives a person the right to enter and live in the UK. It was introduced by the Immigration Act 1971 which went into effect on 1 January 1973. This status is held by Bri ...
. The
Hong Kong Act 1985
The Hong Kong Act 1985 (c. 15) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made provision for the ratification of the Sino-British Joint Declaration that was signed on 19 December 1984 in Beijing that agreed to end British sovereign ...
created the
British National (Overseas)
British National (Overseas), abbreviated BN(O), is a class of British nationality associated with the former colony of Hong Kong. The status was acquired through voluntary registration by individuals with a connection to the territory who ha ...
status to fulfil this requirement. All
British Dependent Territories citizen
A British Overseas Territories citizen (BOTC), formerly called British Dependent Territories citizen (BDTC), is a member of a class of British nationality granted to people connected with one or more of the British Overseas Territories (previo ...
s (BDTCs) connected with Hong Kong who did not have a connection with a remaining
British Dependent Territory
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...
would lose that status on the day of the transfer in 1997. Ethnic Chinese Hongkongers became Chinese nationals and could only retain British nationality if they had registered as BN(O)s before the handover.
Although they were permitted to use
British passports for international travel after the transfer, ethnic Chinese BN(O)s were explicitly restricted from accessing British consular protection within the Hong Kong SAR or any other part of Chinese territory. Residents who were not ethnically Chinese, had not registered as BN(O)s, and would have been stateless on that date automatically became
British Overseas citizens.
Post-agreement
Contemporary reactions
The signing of the Joint Declaration caused some controversy in Britain because UK's
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
was agreeing with the
China's Communist government represented by
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
.
In the White Paper that contained the Joint Declaration, it was declared by
Her Majesty's Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
that "the alternative to acceptance of the present agreement is to have no agreement", a statement meant as a rebuttal to criticisms that the declaration had made too many concessions to China, and hinting at China's significant leverage during the negotiations.
Some political analysts thought that there was an urgency to make an agreement because there were fears that without a treaty the
economy in Hong Kong would collapse in the 1980s. Concerns about land ownership in the leased New Territories also added to the problem. Although discussions on the future of Hong Kong had started in the late 1970s, the final timing of the Joint Declaration was more affected by property and economic factors rather than geopolitical necessities.
Initial period after 1997 transfer
In the immediate years following the transfer of sovereignty, Chinese oversight of Hong Kong was considered relatively benign and hands-off. Although the Chinese had reversed the last British
democratic reforms for Legislative Council elections, general governance of the region was otherwise virtually unchanged. While most
organisations with royal patronage dropped this association prior to the handover, there was no strict requirement for renaming; the
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is a Hong Kong watersports club for sailing, rowing and paddling.
History
In 1849 the ''Victoria Regatta Club'' was formed and later absorbed into the ''Hong Kong Boating Clu''b which, in 1889, was in turn ...
and
Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch
Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch is an organisation to encourage interest in Asia broadly, with an emphasis on Hong Kong. The society was founded in 1847 and folded 1859. It was revived on December 28, 1959. Its parent association is the Roya ...
maintain the "Royal" prefix in their names. Colonial-era street names and postbox
royal cyphers are not actively removed by the government and remain unchanged.
After 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– ...
in 1997 the Hong Kong measures were taken with the full co-operation of the Central Chinese government. This did not mean that the Chinese government dictated what to do and therefore still followed the points of the declaration.
[McLaren, Robin]
"Hong Kong 1997–2007: a personal perspective"
, retrieved at 17 April 2010.
Despite this autonomy, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region sometimes sought interference from the Central Chinese government. For example, in 1999 the government of the HKSAR asked China's State Council to seek an interpretation by the
National People's Congress Standing Committee
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
on a provision in the Basic Law. The original decision reached by the
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA or CFA) is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, upon the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing the Judicial Committee of t ...
was seen as problematic by the HKSAR government as it would have allowed up to 1.6 million mainland immigrants to enter Hong Kong. The Chinese authorities obliged and the Hong Kong court's judgment was overturned, stopping the potential immigration.
[Ching, Frank]
"The System Works – More or Less"
1 January 2006.
Pressures from the mainland government were also apparent, for example in 2000, after the election of pro-independence candidate
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
as
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 ...
's president, a senior mainland official in Hong Kong warned journalists not to report the news. Another senior official advised businessmen not to do business with pro-independence Taiwanese.
With this and other changes,
ten years after the return, in 2007, ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' wrote that on the one hand, "nothing has changed since the handover to China 10 years ago", but this was in comparison to the situation before the last governor
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, (; born 12 May 1944) is a British politician who was the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life pe ...
had introduced
democratic reforms three years before the handover. A chance for democracy had been lost as Hong Kong had just begun to develop three vital elements for a western-style democracy (the
rule of law
The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...
, official accountability and a political class outside the one-party system) but the Sino–British deal had prevented any of these changes to continue according to Jonathan Fenby of ''The Guardian''.
Wu Bangguo
Wu Bangguo (born 12 July 1941) is a retired high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China. He was the Chairman and Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 t ...
, the chairman of the
National People's Congress Standing Committee
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
stated in a conference in Beijing 2007, that "Hong Kong had considerable autonomy only because the central government had chosen to authorize that autonomy".
Dispute over treaty's continued binding status
The Chinese and Hong Kong governments have stated since 2014 that they consider the Joint Declaration to have ceased any legal effect after the transfer of sovereignty, and that the central government's basic policies as elaborated in the document were a unilateral statement not actually binding. These statements are directly contradicted by the 50-year period of unchanged policies in Hong Kong that the central government committed to as part of the Joint Declaration. Former LegCo president and
Standing Committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
member
Rita Fan
Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai (; ' Hsu; ''born'' Hsu Ching-li; born 20 September 1945) is a senior Hong Kong politician. She was the first President of the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council from 1998 to 2008 and a member of the Standing Committee of ...
has asserted that Britain's supervisory responsibility over the Joint Declaration's implementation lapsed when the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group disbanded in 2000.
The United Kingdom,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and
G7 maintain that the Joint Declaration remains valid and in force. The Foreign Office has labelled the
Causeway Bay Books disappearances
The Causeway Bay Books disappearances are a series of international disappearances concerning five staff members of Causeway Bay Books, a former bookstore located in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Between October and December 2015, five staff of ...
in 2015, enactment of the
Hong Kong national security law
The Hong Kong national security law, officially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a piece of national security legislation concerning Hong Kong. It ...
in 2020,
disqualification of opposition Legislative Council candidates in 2020, and
electoral reform
Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:
* Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-r ...
in 2021 as serious breaches of the treaty. Since 2021, the UK has considered China to be in a "state of ongoing non-compliance" with the Joint Declaration.
China disregards accusations of Joint Declaration breaches as foreign interference and
neocolonist tampering, and considers Hong Kong matters to be part of its internal affairs. Chinese foreign ministry spokespersons have repeatedly stated that the United Kingdom lacks supervisory authority over Hong Kong following the handover in 1997 and that the treaty is a historical document with no extant binding authority. The central government's primary regional agency, the
Hong Kong Liaison Office
The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (; abbr. LOCPG or 香港中聯辦) is the agency that represents the Chinese Central People's Government in Hong Kong. It replaced the New Ch ...
, declared in April 2020 that it was exempt from Basic Law restrictions on mainland government interference in local affairs.
Following China's imposition of
national security legislation on Hong Kong in 2020, the UK extended residence rights and created a new path to citizenship for Hong Kong residents with British National (Overseas) status. The Chinese government derided this change as "gross interference" and subsequently withdrew recognition of BN(O) passports as valid travel documents in 2021. The United States enacted the
Hong Kong Autonomy Act
The Hong Kong Autonomy Act is legislation passed by the United States Congress following the enactment in June 2020 by the Chinese Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the Hong Kong national security law.
The Act was signed ...
in response to the national security law, and imposed economic sanctions on 34 individuals that the US
State
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
and
Treasury Departments determined to have materially contributed to Joint Declaration breaches. The list of sanctioned persons includes Chief Executive
Carrie Lam
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Sec ...
,
principal officials of the Hong Kong government, and members of the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
See also
*
Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau
The Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau, or Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, was a treaty between Portugal and the People's Republic of China over the status of Macau. The full name of the treaty is Joint Declaration of the Government of ...
References
Citations
General and cited sources
Publications
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Further reading
* Mark, Chi-kwan (2017). "To 'educate' Deng Xiaoping in capitalism: Thatcher's visit to China and the future of Hong Kong in 1982". ''Cold War History'' 17.2: 1–20. .
* Tang, James T. H. (May 1994). "From empire defence to imperial retreat: Britain's postwar China policy and the decolonization of Hong Kong". ''Modern Asian Studies'' 28.02: 317–337. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sino-British Joint Declaration
1984 in China
1984 in Hong Kong
1984 in the United Kingdom
British Hong Kong
China–United Kingdom relations
Cold War treaties
December 1984 events in Asia
History of Hong Kong
Politics of Hong Kong
Treaties concluded in 1984
Treaties entered into force in 1985
Treaties extended to British Hong Kong
Treaties involving territorial changes
Treaties of the People's Republic of China
Treaties of the United Kingdom