this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2024
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“We are basically seeing the Hong Kong government trying to slam shut the really last vestiges of room for criticizing it,” said Kevin Yam, one of 13 overseas pro-democracy activists accused of national security offenses by Hong Kong authorities.

When Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing assured the former colonial power that civil liberties in the city would be preserved.

On Saturday, Hong Kong enacted a measure that critics charge will further stifle free expression in a city that until recently was known for its freewheeling style, aggressive media and politically active populace.

The bill, called the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance but also referred to as the Article 23 law, took effect following unanimous approval earlier this week by Hong Kong’s opposition-free legislature, where it was deliberated over and passed in a record 11 days.

Article 23 is designed to supplement an earlier national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, one that critics say supercharged the erosion of civil liberties here.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

TL;DR: Only New Territories is leased for 99 years, remaining part of Hong Kong is ceased. So the statement is partly correct.

About "China only leased Hong Kong to Britain" is partly correct, and here is why:

After the first opium war, Hong Kong Island (including Aberdeen Island/Ap Lei Chau and surrounding islands) was cesed to British under Treaty of Nanking, which stated that

His Majesty the Emperor of China cedes to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, &c., the Island of Hong-Kong, to be possessed in perpetuity by Her Britannic Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and to be governed by such Laws and Regulations as Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, &c., shall see fit to direct.

Wikipedia source

Treaty source

Then, after the second opium war, Kowloon Peninsula was cesed under Convention of Peking, which stated:

With a view to the maintenance of law and order in and about the harbour of Hongkong, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China agrees to cede to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and to Her Heirs and Successors, to have and to hold as a dependency of Her Britannic Majesty’s Colony of Hongkong, that portion of the township of Cowloon, in the province of Kwangtung, of which a lease was granted in perpetuity to Harry Smith Parkes, Esquire, Companion of the Bath, a Member of the Allied Commission at Canton, on behalf of Her Britannic Majesty’s Government, by Lau Tsung Kwang, Governor General of the Two Kwang.

Convention source

Wikipedia source

Note: Kowloon Peninsula was leased initially, but latter ceased to British, see cite 1.

So , the remaining part of Hong Kong, the New Territories, is leased under The Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting an Extension of Hong Kong Territory , but English translation is not available, so here is a machine translated version:

After many years of investigation, it was learned that a non-extension site in Hong Kong was not sufficient to defend, and now the Chinese and British governments have agreed on a general plan to expand the British boundary as a new leased land according to the attached map. The detailed demarcation shall be drawn after the two countries have sent personnel to survey and demarcate it, with a deadline of 99 years....

Convention source

Wikipedia source

To sum up, only the New Territories is leased and the remaining part is ceased. For more detail, please read Cession of Hong Kong from wikipedia (Chinese Version only, you may use machine translation)

Map of Hong Kong

Cite 1:

The Arrow Incident in 1856 triggered the Second Opium War. On 18 March 1860, the British 44th Regiment occupied Tsim Sha Tsui, and on 20 March the Governor of Liangguang, Lo Chong-guang, agreed to "temporarily lease" Kowloon.

Chapter 2 British Occupation of Hong Kong and the Establishment of the Colonial System from A Brief History of Hong Kong—From Ancient Times to the 1997 Handover, by 劉智鵬; 劉蜀永, ISBN 978-962-937-420-4.