The Chinese government's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and Macao is a historic achievement in the cause of the peaceful reunification of the motherland. In order to organize the handover celebrations to the satisfaction of Hong Kong compatriots and the

The Chinese government's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and Macao is a historic achievement in the cause of the peaceful reunification of the motherland. The two handover ceremonies were "solemn and appropriate" and became a beautiful memory that will forever be remembered in history.

Hong Kong Return Ceremony

On the afternoon of June 30, 1997, two special planes flew directly from Beijing to Hong Kong. The Chinese government delegation and spectators went to Hong Kong to attend the Hong Kong Return Ceremony. They were warmly welcomed by people from all walks of life in Hong Kong, adding to the festive atmosphere of the return.

The Hong Kong Return Ceremony was designed by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council together with the Preparatory Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In order to organize the handover celebrations to the satisfaction of Hong Kong compatriots and the people across the country, in preparing many details of the celebrations, we not only give full play to the mainland's advantages in hosting large-scale conferences and activities, but also fully consider the actual situation of Hong Kong and respect Hong Kong. habits of fellow citizens.

Deng Xiaoping met with Mrs. Thatcher to discuss the return of Hong Kong

In terms of the location and time of the ceremony, China integrated meteorological data from the past 20 years and, after careful analysis, deduced that there was a high possibility of rain on the day of the handover of power in Hong Kong. Therefore, they persuaded the British side to change their original idea of ​​holding the ceremony in the open air and instead hold it in the Hung Hom Stadium. However, during the on-site inspection, it was discovered that there were safety hazards in the Hung Hom Stadium. After various studies by the organizing committee, the event venue was moved to the Hung Hom Stadium. Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center under construction. Facts have proved that this adjustment is completely correct. However, the British side insisted on holding the farewell ceremony outdoors, but due to the rain, its "solemnity" and "decency" were greatly reduced.

requires "solemnity and decorum" in the layout of the ceremony venue. The original plan of the British side was to hang only the British flag and the "Hong Kong flag" (the flag that represented Hong Kong during the British Hong Kong period) on the flagpole of the ceremony. However, since the Chinese national leaders will arrive at the venue before 0 o'clock, if the Chinese flag is not hung, The overall atmosphere is not favorable to China. After repeated discussions, the British side finally agreed to fly the Chinese and British flags at the background of the rostrum to highlight that the sponsors of the ceremony were the Chinese and British governments.

In terms of the design of the name of the ceremony, the Hong Kong SAR government originally proposed the name "Inauguration Conference" commonly used in the mainland, but this is not in line with the habits of Hong Kong people. After the Party Central Committee learned of this situation, it changed the original name to "Celebration of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" that was easily acceptable to Hong Kong people.

The writing style of the speech submitted by Tung Chee-hwa, the first chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is also very different from that in the mainland. The central leadership fully respects his wishes and did not make any changes to the text, maintaining the style and characteristics of the original text. When arranging the swearing-in ceremony of the SAR government, considering that some SAR government officials did not speak Mandarin, the central government made a decisive decision with a broad mind to choose either Chinese or English when taking the oath.

In terms of the number of attendees, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center Grand Hall can only accommodate a maximum of 3,000 people. After repeated studies, the personnel from all parties were finally determined, namely members of the central delegation and the mainland viewing group, representatives from the British side, representatives from all walks of life in Hong Kong, and central Representatives of institutions in Hong Kong and representatives of Chinese-funded enterprises. During the specific implementation of the guest list, three rounds of invitations were adopted to determine the final guest list to prevent guests from being absent due to reasons.

The layout of the rostrum and the arrangement of seats are the focus of everyone's attention.

China believes that the handover ceremony is a matter between China and the UK, and the seating arrangements for the ceremony cannot be "overpowering the guests." The leaders of China and the UK are seated in front of the rostrum, facing the audience, and the number of leaders on each side has been increased to 5 on the rostrum. International guests They will be seated in the auditorium under the rostrum.

In order to reflect the spirit of " one country, two systems " and smooth transition, China arranged for key officials of the Hong Kong government to sit in the last row of the rostrum. After repeated negotiations, the Chinese design plan was finally adopted. At the same time, the British side's plan for the arrangement of the honor guard and the leaders of both sides receiving honor guard salutes has been significantly revised.

The speech procedures of Chinese leaders have also been adjusted. In the original British design, the speeches of Chinese leaders were arranged before the raising of the Chinese flag.China believes that the Chinese leader's speech is not a simple procedural issue, but a serious political issue. After China's repeated representations, the Chinese leader made the speech after the return of sovereignty and the raising of the Chinese flag. Accompanied by the five-star red flag flying over Hong Kong, the Chinese leader's magnificent and sonorous speech once again demonstrated the correctness of the great decision of "one country, two systems", and China's international status has also risen rapidly.

Regarding the choice of emcee, China proposed that China and Britain each have a emcee to co-host the ceremony. The British side initially said that it would be a film and television star according to its custom, while the Chinese side believed that the emcee must be an official from both sides. Finally, a consensus was reached: the Chinese side is headed by the Director of the Protocol Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the British side is headed by the Director of the Protocol Department of the British Hong Kong Government.

In the background music setting for the guests' entrance, when the central delegation ascended the rostrum, the Chinese side played "Singing the Motherland". The British side's original plan was to play music that was often played when members of the British royal family entered the ceremony. The Chinese side proposed to compose music specifically for this ceremony. After consultation, the British side agreed to jointly perform the "Welcome Ceremony Bugle" composed by the Chinese side.

The Chinese military band at the Hong Kong handover ceremony

In order to ensure that the Chinese national anthem was played and the five-star red flag was raised at 0:00 on July 1, 1997, the Chinese side conducted five rehearsals of the ceremony and tested it repeatedly. and calculate the time required for each procedure. Later, when the speech of Prince Charles of the United Kingdom was 30 seconds longer than expected, China immediately accelerated the entry of the Hong Kong flag guard according to the plan, gained precious 30 seconds, and successfully played the national anthem on time at 0:00. and raised the Chinese flag.

China is full of the demeanor of a great country and the tradition of a land of etiquette, but it does not just accommodate some requirements that are not in line with etiquette and international practices. After repeated negotiations and frictions, the Hong Kong handover ceremony was finally a complete success and recorded in history. . Hong Kong's return to the embrace of the motherland has wiped away the century-old humiliation of the Chinese nation. It is the successful practice of the great concept of "one country, two systems" and completed an important step towards the complete reunification of the motherland. The successful practice of Hong Kong's return has also provided examples for many countries and regions around the world to solve similar problems, and is of great significance to the development of world politics.

Macao's return ceremony

Macao's return is another grand event for the Chinese nation in realizing the reunification of the motherland after Hong Kong's return to the motherland.

Macau handover ceremony

"The handover ceremony of Hong Kong's power is very successful, but our handover ceremony in Macau does not need to imitate theirs. We have our own practices. Because they are Chinese and British, they are Hong Kong, and we are Chinese Portugal is Macau. "This is what Gao Shuwei, the Chief Secretary of the Macau Portuguese Government, said to Zong Guangyao, deputy director of the Macau Power Transfer and Celebration Preparatory Committee, one day in early August 1997.

In fact, the Macao return ceremony has many similarities with the Hong Kong return ceremony, but it also has higher requirements.

For example, it is guaranteed that the five-star red flag will be raised at 0:00 on December 20, 1999, calculated in seconds, not minutes. Do not applaud when the Portuguese flag is lowered, but applaud after the five-star red flag is raised.

In terms of venue selection, the handover of power and the establishment of the Macao SAR Government were held in different venues. The Macao Government built the venues for the handover ceremony. The Chinese side received funding from the central government to decorate the Macao Variety Hall as the main venue for the establishment of the SAR Government. venue.

The guest arrangements for the Macao handover ceremony were arranged. Although only 2,500 people attended the ceremony, it was of a higher standard than the Hong Kong handover ceremony. The so-called higher standard means that China's president, prime minister, and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, and Portugal's president, prime minister, and speaker of the parliament are all present to attend the ceremony. This is higher than Hong Kong's standard.

Secondly, when the Macao SAR government solicited the Macao regional flag and regional emblem, it received a total of 782 designs. After several reviews by the preparatory committee, it was finally determined that the Macao regional flag and regional emblem should use green as the background color. When the regional flag was changed on the street, 4 a.m. was chosen to avoid media hype and maintain the dignity of both China and Portugal.

The design of Macao's return ceremony drew on a lot of experience in the design of Hong Kong's return ceremony, and also innovated the return ceremony in a targeted manner based on the characteristics of Macao and Portugal.

Beijing Normal University Press

"Original Intentions: One Hundred Party History Stories"

Editor-in-chief: Wang Binglin

"Modern Reading" magazine subscription method