Hong Kong has endured a turbulent history since being handed over from Britain to China 27 years ago.
Here are some key dates:
1997: HANDOVER
Photo: AP
On July 1, at midnight, Hong Kong is returned to Chinese sovereignty after 156 years of British rule.
The tiny territory has its own mini-constitution that governs its autonomy as a Special Administrative Region within China.
Beijing promises a “One Country, Two Systems” approach to the territory, meaning it will maintain freedoms not available to mainland Chinese.
The city is governed by a chief executive, chosen by a Beijing-controlled committee. Laws are passed by a legislative council, of which a minority of members are democratically elected.
FINANCIAL, THEN HEALTH CRISIS
In October, just months after the handover, the Asian financial crisis grips Hong Kong, plunging the banking hub into economic slowdown.
Five years later, the pneumonia-like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus kills 299 people in Hong Kong and 1,800 worldwide, devastating Asian economies.
2003: NATIONAL SECURITY BILL
Beijing seeks to relaunch Hong Kong’s economy, moving in 2003 to gradually lift customs barriers on Hong Kong products exported to the mainland. Travel restrictions on Chinese from the mainland are eased, boosting tourism numbers.
In July, an unprecedented half a million of Hong Kong’s seven million people march against an unpopular national security bill, which they see as an attempt by Beijing to restrict their freedoms.
The bill is subsequently dropped — a rare government climbdown.
2004: CALLS FOR DEMOCRACY
In January, 100,000 people march through the city calling for more democracy, bringing to a head a simmering row over the constitution’s lack of clarity on electing lawmakers. In April, China rules out a swift change.
2007: UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE PROMISED
Beijing schedules for 2017 the first democratic election of the chief executive, and for 2020 elections to the legislative council. The promises disappoint pro-democracy demonstrators demanding universal suffrage from 2012.
2014: UMBRELLA MOVEMENT
Beijing proposes a limited version of universal suffrage meaning Hong Kongers will be able to choose from a small group of Beijing-vetted candidates.
The announcement sparks a 79-day occupation of major thoroughfares known as the “Umbrella Movement.” The protesters secure no concessions from Beijing, prompting a minority of protesters in subsequent years to harden their positions, including advocating Hong Kong’s independence.
2019: MASSIVE PROTESTS
The Hong Kong government tries to fast-track a bill allowing extraditions to China’s Communist Party-controlled courts, sparking the biggest protests since the handover.
Millions take to the streets during seven months of unrest while a smaller section of hardcore protesters frequently battle police in often violent confrontations that see thousands arrested.
The movement soon morphs into a new call for democracy and police accountability, but is eventually suppressed.
2020: COVID-19
In January, Hong Kong is one of the first places affected by the coronavirus epidemic.
The executive takes drastic measures, including a ban on public gatherings, effectively ending the pro-democracy demonstrations.
2020: NATIONAL SECURITY LAW
In June, Beijing passes a national security law for Hong Kong, bypassing the local legislature.
China’s security agencies will be able to operate publicly in the city for the first time. Beijing will have jurisdiction over some cases, toppling the legal firewall that has existed between Hong Kong and mainland courts.
Calls for independence or greater autonomy are banned.
The move sees most pro-democracy leaders either jailed, giving up politics or fleeing abroad.
Several countries say the law has ended the principle of the “One Country, Two Systems” approach, which was supposed to be in place until 2047.
2021: ELECTORAL REFORM
In March, China approves a radical “patriots only” reform of the electoral system, which completely sidelines the opposition.
Under new rules, only those deemed politically loyal can stand for office, and the number of directly elected seats is slashed.
2022: XI VISITS
Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) visits Hong Kong for the 25th anniversary of the handover, the halfway point of the 50-year transitionary governance model.
He praises the “One Country, Two Systems” model, saying there is “no reason at all to change and it must be upheld in the long run.”
Hong Kong’s former security chief John Lee (李家超), who oversaw the clampdown on the pro-democracy movement, is sworn in as the city’s new leader following a selection process where he faces no rivals.
2024: HOMEGROWN SECURITY LAW
In March, Hong Kong passes an additional, homegrown national security law, which city leader Lee said fulfilled “a constitutional responsibility that is overdue for 26 years.”
The law — which stems from a requirement under Hong Kong’s Basic Law Article 23 — punishes five major categories of crimes, including treason, insurrection, espionage, sabotage and foreign interference, with penalties up to life in prison.
In November, the city’s largest trial under the 2020 national security law comes to a close after a years-long process.
Forty-five democracy campaigners from across Hong Kong’s once-diverse political spectrum are jailed for subversion, with chief organizer Benny Tai (戴耀廷) receiving a 10-year sentence.
In the March 9 edition of the Taipei Times a piece by Ninon Godefroy ran with the headine “The quiet, gentle rhythm of Taiwan.” It started with the line “Taiwan is a small, humble place. There is no Eiffel Tower, no pyramids — no singular attraction that draws the world’s attention.” I laughed out loud at that. This was out of no disrespect for the author or the piece, which made some interesting analogies and good points about how both Din Tai Fung’s and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) meticulous attention to detail and quality are not quite up to
April 21 to April 27 Hsieh Er’s (謝娥) political fortunes were rising fast after she got out of jail and joined the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in December 1945. Not only did she hold key positions in various committees, she was elected the only woman on the Taipei City Council and headed to Nanjing in 1946 as the sole Taiwanese female representative to the National Constituent Assembly. With the support of first lady Soong May-ling (宋美齡), she started the Taipei Women’s Association and Taiwan Provincial Women’s Association, where she
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) hatched a bold plan to charge forward and seize the initiative when he held a protest in front of the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office. Though risky, because illegal, its success would help tackle at least six problems facing both himself and the KMT. What he did not see coming was Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (將萬安) tripping him up out of the gate. In spite of Chu being the most consequential and successful KMT chairman since the early 2010s — arguably saving the party from financial ruin and restoring its electoral viability —
It is one of the more remarkable facts of Taiwan history that it was never occupied or claimed by any of the numerous kingdoms of southern China — Han or otherwise — that lay just across the water from it. None of their brilliant ministers ever discovered that Taiwan was a “core interest” of the state whose annexation was “inevitable.” As Paul Kua notes in an excellent monograph laying out how the Portuguese gave Taiwan the name “Formosa,” the first Europeans to express an interest in occupying Taiwan were the Spanish. Tonio Andrade in his seminal work, How Taiwan Became Chinese,