July 1, 1997, was the most exciting moment in Chinese history. People across the country were celebrating that Hong Kong finally returned to the embrace of the motherland.
The moment when Hong Kong returned to did not come easily. The country and the UK had 22 negotiations in nearly two years and went through many obstacles.
On March 24, 1979, the Governor of the British Hong Kong Government MacLehose came to Beijing. The purpose of his coming to Beijing was to discuss the British government's lease in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong issue is an issue left over from history. In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking ceded Hong Kong Island to the United Kingdom, in the 1860 Treaty of Beijing, the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula was ceded, and in the 1898 Treaty of the New Territories, the northern part of the Kowloon Peninsula was leased for 99 years.
These degrading and humiliating treaties have separated Hong Kong from the motherland for nearly a hundred years.
In 1997, it happened to be the day when the lease expired. At this time, the British government relied on selling land to maintain Hong Kong's economy. Because of the "1997" deadline, many major projects were shelved, and Hong Kong's economy was greatly affected.
For this reason, MacLehose came to Beijing. Firstly, he wanted to extend the lease with China. Secondly, he came to talk about the situation and see the attitude of the Chinese government.
Obviously, regarding the issue of sovereignty and , the attitude of our government is very clear.
MacLehose brought China's attitude back to the UK, and the British government instantly became a mess.
For the United Kingdom, losing Hong Kong means losing a large part of their economic source. Because Hong Kong's strategic location has brought great economic profits to the British government, the United Kingdom does not want to lose this piece of "fat meat."
In 1982, Mrs. Thatcher visited China. The "Iron Lady ", who had always been tough on foreign affairs, also adopted an aggressive attitude on the Hong Kong issue. She believed that in addition to the lease terms signed in the "New Territories Treaty", the other two treaties clearly stated that the British governance power over Hong Kong was permanent. Hong Kong could only have long-term peace and stability under British governance.
Deng Xiaoping said that if he agreed to continue British colonial rule and could not explain it to the Chinese people, what was the difference between him and Li Hongzhang.
China must resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 and adopt special policies to ensure the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong's development.
However, the British Prime Minister was still unwilling to be outdone. On September 24, she stated at a press conference in Beijing: These three treaties are valid from the perspective of international law . The purpose of our negotiations is to maintain the continued prosperity of Hong Kong.
After what she said next, Mrs. Thatcher was stunned and turned pale. He did not expect that China's attitude would be so tough.
Deng Xiaoping said: Unless it is ruled out that if an unexpected incident occurs at this time, China will consider the time and method of accepting Hong Kong.
China's attitude is very clear. If the UK insists on its own way, China will take tough measures to take back Hong Kong.
What Mrs. Thatcher didn't expect was that Deng Xiaoping was so difficult to deal with. After the negotiation, her legs felt weak and she tripped over the steps when she went out.
Returning to Diaoyutai State Guesthouse , she said to the people accompanying her: Deng Xiaoping was so ruthless.
In fact, Mrs. Thatcher knew that Britain would inevitably recognize China's sovereignty over Hong Kong, but she could not admit defeat and could only keep bargaining. They had to take their time and delay, so the negotiations lasted for two years.
In the past two years, the British government made a sudden move, and the Hong Kong stock market plummeted. Faced with the British government's pressure on China,
Deng Xiaoping also made it clear that the United Kingdom must change its attitude, otherwise China will take unilateral actions.
China has become increasingly powerful and is no longer the poor and weak China it once was. Faced with sovereignty issues, China will never give in.
In this fierce negotiation that lasted for two years and 22 tense rounds, the two sides have been going back and forth.
During an interview at a foreign press conference, Defense Minister Geng Biao was hyped up by reporters because of a slip of the tongue. Deng Xiaoping was furious when he heard about it.
In 1984, two years of negotiations between the two countries were coming to an end. When it came to the most important issue of garrisoning troops, Britain opposed the Chinese government's garrison of troops in Hong Kong. We believed that we had the right to garrison troops on Chinese territory.
When Geng Biao was being interviewed at that time, the reporters were bombarded with questions one after another. Coupled with the exhaustion of work, when the reporter asked whether China would station troops in Hong Kong, Geng Biao replied, "Maybe not necessarily."
This slip of the tongue caused the British government to hype up the situation, saying that China did not dare to station troops in Hong Kong. Public opinion intensified. Deng Xiaoping was furious after seeing the report. The issue of stationing troops was the bottom line. If the Chinese government did not station troops in Hong Kong, it would be difficult to manage Hong Kong after the return, and the government would gradually lose credibility.
Deng Xiaoping was interviewed by reporters and clarified that Comrade Geng Biao was just a slip of the tongue. His slip of the tongue did not represent China's position. China would definitely station troops in Hong Kong. Seeing that China's attitude was so tough, Britain finally gave up its resistance. On December 19, 1984, China and Britain signed a statement, and Hong Kong returned to Hong Kong on July 1, 1997.
On June 30, 1997, at 23:42:20, the Sino-British handover ceremony officially began. The British flag slowly fell, and the Chinese flag and the Hong Kong regional flag slowly rose at 0:00 on July 1.
It is a pity that Deng Gong did not wait for that day and passed away five months before Hong Kong's return. It was a pity that he did not see this historic scene with his own eyes.
