Hong Kong–United Kingdom relations are the

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

between the post-colonial

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Hong Kong was a British colony from 1841 to 1941 and again from 1945 to 1997 when sovereignty was handed over to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. UK policy towards Hong Kong is underpinned by its substantial commercial interests, and fulfilling obligation as the other signatory of Sino–British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong, in addition to support Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and in accordance with China's policy of observing "

one country, two systems "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Deng Xiaoping developed the one country, two systems ...

". Hong Kong is also home to roughly 2.9 million

British National (Overseas) British National (Overseas), abbreviated as 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 wh ...

s, 350,000 of which hold an active British passport, giving it one of the largest populations of British passport holders in the world behind only the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the re ...

s and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

The United Kingdom and the group of offshore islands in the southeastern

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, ...

that is today known as Hong Kong have had a long history, playing a deeply important role in the formation of the modern Hong Kong. Sovereignty of Hong Kong was ceded to the UK "in perpetuity" on 29 August 1842 through the

Treaty of Nanking The Treaty of Nanking was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese ...

. The UK further expanded the territory of Hong Kong in 1860 by another cessation, plus a 99-year lease of the

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

in 1898. The stability, security, and predictability of British law and government enabled Hong Kong to flourish as a centre for international trade. Localisation of tertiary institutions, the Hong Kong government and the independent Judiciary in the run-up to the 1997 Handover of sovereignty, caused a progressive retirement of resident British citizens in Hong Kong Civil Service into a minority.

Bilateral agreements

Articles 151, 153 and 155 of

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). With nine chapters, 160 article ...

permits Hong Kong to conclude non-military bilateral agreements with foreign countries, while articles 152 permits Hong Kong joining international organisations. Both Hong Kong and the UK are full members of FATF and

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

, and are bilateral participants on air services agreement (since July 1997), Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (since April 1999), Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement (since 2002), Surrender of Fugitive Offenders and Transfer of Sentenced People Agreements (since March, 1998), and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (since 2010). Hong Kong institutions still retain full and associate memberships in

Association of Commonwealth Universities The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is a charitable organization that was established in 1913, and has over 400 member institutions in over 40 countries across the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth.Commonwealth Foundation The Commonwealth Foundation (CF) is an intergovernmental organisation that was established by the list of Commonwealth heads of government, Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1966, a year after its sister organisation, the Commonwealth Secre ...

umbrella.

Political relationships

Articles 82 and 92 of

permits Hong Kong to invite judges from other common law jurisdictions to sit on the Court of Final Appeal. Hong Kong Government continues to hire, promote, and appoint British citizens with Right of Abode in Hong Kong or not, to senior posts in

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. Pursuant to the one c ...

, and Hong Kong Judiciary. Lord Hoffmann, Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers are appointed to the Court of Final Appeal as non-permanent justices from other common law jurisdictions. Articles 99, 100, and 101 of

permits the continuous hiring of British citizens for posts in Hong Kong Civil Service, except policy-decision making posts. As co-signatory of the Joint Declaration with the People's Republic of China, the UK retains an enduring commitment to Hong Kong after the handover in 1997, including regular semi-annual reports on Hong Kong to the

UK parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

, and providing appropriate service to

Diplomatic missions

The British Consulate-General has been representing the UK Government from 1 Supreme Court Road in Hong Kong, since the Handover of Hong Kong Sovereignty in July 1997. In the UK, the Hong Kong SAR is represented through the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at Grafton Street in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

Trade and investment

A number of UK companies are based in Hong Kong, with the territory remaining an important springboard to the Greater China market. Over 300 UK-based companies have regional headquarters or offices in Hong Kong, and many more are expected to come, to serve Hong Kong's domestic market. UK's commercial interests in Hong Kong are extensive and range from banking, accounting, legal, engineering and information technology services, to retail and general trading, with book value of investment of more than £33 billion in 2011. UK exported more than £5 billion in goods, a 20.5% increase on the previous year from 2011, making Hong Kong the UK's 13th largest export destination and its third biggest in Asia Pacific, after China and India. Around 4.2% of UK exports to Hong Kong are re-exported to mainland China. Hong Kong companies have cumulative investments in the UK of more than £25 billion in 2011.

Cultural

The UK 2001 Census recorded 96,445 Hong Kong-born people residing in the United Kingdom.

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

estimates suggest that the Hong Kong-born resident population was 78,000 in 2009. These figures would have excluded people who were born elsewhere, yet raised in and emigrated to the UK from Hong Kong, and descendants of Hong Kongers born within the UK. British Consulate-General estimated a range between 25,000 and 30,000 UK expats based in Hong Kong in 2009. UK expat in Hong Kong includes decreasing number of settled British citizens due to waning colonial privileges, and increasing number of resourceful professionals varying pedigree known as FILTH (Failed In London, Try Hong Kong) who could adapt and aware of Hong Kong culture. Hong Kong Census 2011 recorded that over 33,000 British citizens resided in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is one of the main source markets for UK boarding schools and universities in terms of overseas born students – with more and more Hong Kong parents sending their children to UK boarding schools at an early stage. On the other way, a network of 20 internationals schools in Hong Kong run by the English Schools Foundation provides UK curriculum for IB seeking pupils. Hong Kong is one of the annual hosts of the Commonwealth sports calendar, hosting the

Hong Kong Cricket Sixes The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is a six-a-side international cricket tournament held at the Kowloon Cricket Club and Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok comprising between eight and twelve teams. Organised by Cricket Hong Kong, it is sanctioned by th ...

every late October.

Tourism

Hong Kong is Britain's 38th most important market for volume of visits and 27th for the amount spent by visitors as of 2013. Two-fifths of Hong Kong visitors to the UK are British citizens and Hong Kongers visiting friends and relatives and on holidays. The UK Home Office permits

of ages 18 to 30 to participate in the Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) without sponsor nor limits the number of places. Starting from 1 January 2014, both the UK and Hong Kong have offered "

Working Holiday A working holiday visa is a residence permit that allows travellers to undertake employment (and sometimes study) in the country issuing the visa to supplement their travel funds. For many young people, holding a working holiday visa enables the ...

Programs" for a maximum stay of 24 months. The programme allows 1000 young students with a Certificate of Sponsorship to holiday in Hong Kong or the UK and to take temporary employment as needed to cover the expenses of their visit. The programme aims to increase travel by young British citizens and young Hong Kong SAR passport holders, and to strengthen the links between the two regions. Participants receive the same treatment as Hong Kong permanent residents in all matters concerning the application of laws, regulations and practices regarding health and working conditions. This is a 24-month program – one of the longest offered by either government.

Causeway Bay Books disappearances

Between October and December 2015, five staff of Causeway Bay Books went missing. Lee Bo, also known as Paul Lee, a

British citizen The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...

and a

Hong Kong resident The Hong Kong Basic Law classifies residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region () as either permanent residents or non-permanent residents. Hong Kong residents have rights under the Basic Law including freedom of speech, freedom ...

, was suspected to be kidnapped by Chinese Communist agents to

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

after he was last seen in Chai Wan,

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

on 30 December 2015. The

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

of the United Kingdom expressed "deep concerns" over the disappearances. British Foreign Minister

Philip Hammond Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019 and Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, having previously served as Defence ...

requested Hong Kong and China to search for the missing people as it would be an "egregious breach of the one country, two systems policy, Hong Kong's Basic Law and the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration for someone to be spirited out of Hong Kong in order to face charges in a different jurisdiction". Concern on Lee Bo's case was further stressed in Hammond's report on Hong Kong for the second half of 2015.Six monthly report on Hong Kong: July to December 2015 (PDF)
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Government of the United Kingdom, 11 February 2016

References

External links

British Consulate-General in Hong Kong
Official Site
Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (London)
Official Site of HKETO in London
The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hong Kong-United Kingdom relations

Bilateral relations of the United Kingdom China–United Kingdom relations Relations of colonizer and former colony Hong Kong and the Commonwealth of Nations