History de Hong Kong et Macao

Around 2000 years ago, China absorbed Hong Kong and its hinterland. Previously, these lands were inhabited by the ancestors of the Tanka, a fishing people. Referred to as "people of the sea" by the English, the Tanka lived in the floating villages of Aberdeen and Causeway Bay until the 1960s.

During the Three Kingdoms (220-581), China - of which Hong Kong is a part, although the territory was of little importance at the time - was divided into three rival kingdoms. The Sui dynasty (581-618) united the empire. The Tang (618-907) saw the printing of the first book and the invention of gunpowder. After the break-up of the Empire, the Mongols of the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) established Beijing as their capital.

In the ^14th century, the first Cantonese emigrants, the Punti, settled on Hong Kong territory, followed by the Hakka. Long before the arrival of Europeans, the region was an important salt producer for southern China, a pearl market and an active commercial port of call.

From the early ^16th century, Westerners settled in Hong Kong to trade in porcelain, tea and silk. During these three centuries, Hong Kong and its surroundings were also a hotbed of rebellion and piracy.

Since 1685, England has maintained trade links with the Middle Kingdom. This trade, however, was much more favorable to the Chinese. England, which paid for all its silk and tea purchases in silver ingots, was running a deficit, and was tired of depleting its central bank's reserves. These commercial terms were reversed with the introduction of the opium trade. The product gradually flooded Chinese markets through English traders. Opium, previously used as a simple medicine, became a real drug. Despite drastic measures, the Chinese authorities were never able to rid themselves of the scourge. From then on, bales of opium imported from British India were used as currency, and the British made a fortune.

The first Opium War broke out between China and Great Britain, mainly due to the illegal opium trade. The British, taking advantage of the high demand for opium in China, flooded the Chinese market with the drug, provoking a serious social and economic crisis. In response, the Chinese emperor ordered the mass destruction of 20,000 chests of "this foreign mud" in Canton, triggering British anger. Tensions culminated in an armed conflict in which China, poorly equipped, suffered heavy defeats. The war ended with the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, which forced China to cede the island of Hong Kong to the British and open several ports to foreign trade.

Hong Kong became a Crown colony on June 26, 1843, attracting traders and adventurers as a free port. There was a clear separation between the British and the Chinese. The island, a veritable no-man's-land, was home to deserters, criminals and adventurers, with numerous gambling dens, brothels and opium dens. The trade in coolies, precarious migrant workers, flourished until China banned it in 1869.

The Second Opium War began in 1856 when the British sought to further open up the Chinese market. Supported by France, they invaded Peking and looted the Summer Palace. The British eventually gained control of the Kowloon peninsula, just opposite Hong Kong Island. This territory was added to the colony in 1860, following the signing of the Peking Convention.

In 1898, a key event in Hong Kong's history took place: the signing of the Convention for the Extension of the Territory of Hong Kong between Great Britain and China. Under this agreement, China ceded to the British the New Territories, a vast area north of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, as well as 235 surrounding islands. This cession was granted in the form of a 99-year lease, taking effect on July¹, 1898. In 1997, Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty. Hong Kong developed rapidly as a trading port and financial center, attracting Chinese immigrants and international traders. Modern infrastructure, such as the tramway and the first skyscrapers, began to appear.

In 1941, the Japanese Empire invaded Hong Kong. After 18 days of resistance, the colony fell on December 25, 1941, a date known as "Black Christmas". Hong Kong remained under Japanese occupation until August 1945. The economy was ruined, and mass emigration of Hong Kongers reduced the population from 1.6 million to 0.5 million.

The civil war in China, followed by the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, led to a mass exodus of Chinese to Hong Kong. From the 1950s onwards, Hong Kong experienced an industrial boom, becoming a global manufacturing center, particularly for textiles and electronics. Waves of Chinese emigrants followed, fleeing communism, subsequent famines and the massacres of the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s. These new arrivals formed a cheap labor force, making a major contribution to the economic miracle of the British colony.

In the 1980s, Hong Kong reoriented itself towards finance and services, taking advantage of industrial relocation to China, particularly to special economic zones such as Shenzhen. It became a major financial center in Asia.

On December 19, 1984, Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping signed an agreement stipulating that Hong Kong would be handed back to China in 1997, but would retain broad autonomy under the "one country, two systems" principle for 50 years.

On July^1, 1997, Hong Kong was officially handed back to China. This marked the end of 156 years of British colonial rule and the beginning of the "one country, two systems" model. Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China for a period of 50 years. The Basic Law, drawn up in 1990, came into force on the handover. It is intended to guarantee Hong Kong's way of life, economic and legal system for the next 50 years. With the exception of the defense and foreign affairs sectors, which will henceforth be under Beijing's jurisdiction, Hong Kong remains independent in all other areas.

After the handover, Hong Kong intensified its economic relations with mainland China, consolidating its role as a bridge between China and the rest of the world. In 2003, Hong Kong is hit by the SARS epidemic. The economy and tourism were severely affected.

In 2014, a massive protest movement erupted in response to a Chinese government decision regarding Hong Kong's electoral reforms. Although Beijing promises elections by universal suffrage for theChief Executive, it requires candidates to be pre-approved by a pro-Beijing committee. Thousands of people, mostly students and young activists led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, occupy several parts of Hong Kong for almost 79 days, demanding genuine democracy. At the peak, there were 2,000 tents on Harcourt Road. Demonstrators used umbrellas to protect themselves from tear gas, hence the name of the movement.

In 2019, a controversial bill is proposed by the Hong Kong government, allowing the extradition of residents to mainland China for trial. This triggers widespread protests from citizens who fear an attack on freedoms and the independence of Hong Kong's judicial system. The anti-extradition movement quickly gains momentum, turning into a series of pro-democracy demonstrations calling for broader reforms, such as an investigation into police brutality and elections with universal suffrage. On June 9 and 16, 2019, the protests bring together between one and two million people: the largest demonstration in Hong Kong's history. In September 2019, Chief Executive Carrie Lam withdraws the extradition bill, but this is not enough to put an end to the protests.

In June 2020, in response to the 2019 protests, China imposed a law on Hong Kong criminalizing secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, threatening the freedoms guaranteed by the Basic Law. Since then, several pro-democracy figures have been arrested, newspapers closed and political space for opponents reduced.

Hong Kong is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic from January 2020. In 2021, a strict "zero Covid" policy is adopted. This policy includes extended quarantines for travelers and local containment as soon as a case is detected. Hong Kong's economy and population suffer considerably. The situation does not improve until the end of 2022.

In March 2024, Hong Kong's Legislative Council passed a new text to supplement the 2020 National Security Act. Due to the city's political uncertainty, some 200,000 Hong Kongers have emigrated to Canada or Europe. On the economic front, Hong Kong is strengthening its ties with the Greater Bay Area, a proposed economic zone that brings together several cities, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai. Infrastructures such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge are part of this project.