Hong Kong marks 25 years since it was returned to Chinese rule on July 1.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to travel to the territory to mark the occasion, which comes three years after mass protests calling for democracy that led to the introduction of a sweeping National Security Law that critics say has “decimated” Hong Kong’s freedoms.
Xi will oversee the inauguration of former security chief John Lee as the territory’s new leader. Lee, who started his career in the police, has promised “strong governance” and to address the territory’s housing issues, which Beijing has pinpointed as a source of upset in one of the world’s most unequal cities.
Below are the major events that have taken place in Hong Kong since the handover in 1997.
June 30, 1997
Just before midnight on a rainy Monday evening, Prince Charles, United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair and Hong Kong’s 28th and final British governor Chris Patten attend a sombre ceremony that brings 156 years of colonial rule to an end.
Patten and the other officials leave the territory on the Royal Yacht Britannia.
July 1, 1997
Shipping tycoon Tung Chee-hwa is sworn in as Hong Kong’s chief executive and the territory’s first post-colonial leader at a specially-built convention centre overlooking the harbour. Veteran civil servant Anson Chan becomes his deputy.
Under the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, Beijing had promised to respect Hong Kong’s freedoms and “way of life” for at least 50 years, and the territory was to be governed under the so-called “one country, two systems” framework.
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