Editing Hong Kong (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Hong Kong}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Hong Kong history}}

=== Prehistory and Imperial China ===
Earliest known human traces in what is now called Hong Kong are dated by some to 35,000 and 39,000 years ago during the [[Paleolithic]] period. The claim is based on an archaeological investigation in [[Wong Tei Tung]], [[Sai Kung Peninsula|Sai Kung]] in 2003. The archaeological works revealed [[Knapping|knapped]] [[stone tool]]s from deposits that were dated using optical [[luminescence dating]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Davis|first1=Vin|last2=Ixer|first2=Rob|date=2009|title=The Petrology of the Wong Tei Tung Stone Tool Manufacturing Site, Sham Chung, Hong Kong Sar, China|url=http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue26/davisixer_index.html|journal=Internet Archaeology|issue=26|doi=10.11141/ia.26.8|access-date=8 June 2020|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326063250/https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue26/davisixer_index.html|url-status=live| issn = 1363-5387}}</ref>

During the [[Neolithic|Middle Neolithic]] period, about 6,000 years ago, the region had been widely occupied by humans.<ref name="Meacham2">{{harvnb|Meacham|1999|p=2}}.</ref> Neolithic to [[Bronze Age]] Hong Kong settlers were semi-coastal people. Early inhabitants are believed to be [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesians]] in the Middle Neolithic period and later the [[Baiyue|Yue]] people.<ref name="Meacham2" /> As hinted by the archaeological works in Sha Ha, Sai Kung, rice cultivation had been introduced since [[Late Neolithic]] period.<ref name="Li38">{{harvnb|Li|2012|p=38}}.</ref> Bronze Age Hong Kong featured coarse pottery, hard pottery, quartz and stone jewelry, as well as small bronze implements.<ref name="Meacham2" />

[[File:Sung Wong Toi.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sung Wong Toi]]]]
The [[Qin dynasty]] incorporated the Hong Kong area into China for the first time in 214 BCE, after [[Qin campaign against the Yue tribes|conquering the indigenous Baiyue]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ban|Ban|Ban|111}}.</ref> The region was consolidated under the [[Nanyue]] kingdom (a predecessor state of [[Vietnam]]) after the Qin collapse<ref name="KeatGinOoi">{{harvnb|Keat|2004|p=932}}.</ref> and recaptured by China after the [[Han conquest of Nanyue|Han conquest]].<ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|p=9}}.</ref> During the [[Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty|Mongol conquest of China]] in the 13th century, the [[Song dynasty|Southern Song]] court was briefly located in modern-day [[Kowloon City]] (the [[Sung Wong Toi]] site) before its final defeat in the 1279 [[Battle of Yamen]] by the Yuan Dynasty.<ref name="Barber">{{harvnb|Barber|2004|p=48}}.</ref> By the end of the [[Yuan dynasty]], seven large families had settled in the region and owned most of the land. Settlers from nearby provinces migrated to Kowloon throughout the [[Ming dynasty]].<ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|p=10}}.</ref>

The earliest known European visitor was [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portuguese]] explorer [[Jorge Álvares]], who arrived in 1513.<ref>{{harvnb|Porter|1996|p=63}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Edmonds|2002|p=1}}.</ref> Portuguese merchants established a trading post called [[Tamão]] in Hong Kong waters and began regular trade with southern China. Although the traders were expelled after [[Battle of Tunmen|military clashes]] in the 1520s,<ref>{{harvnb|von Glahn|1996|p=116}}.</ref> Portuguese-Chinese trade relations were [[Luso-Chinese agreement (1554)|re-established by 1549]]. Portugal acquired a [[Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking|permanent lease]] for [[Macau]] in 1887.<ref>{{harvnb|Wills|1998|pp=342–344}}.</ref>

After the [[Transition from Ming to Qing|Qing conquest]], maritime trade was banned under the ''[[Haijin]]'' policies. From 1661 to 1683, the population of most of the area forming present day Hong Kong was cleared under the [[Great Clearance]], turning the region into a wasteland.<ref name="HK story">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/History/download/the_hk_story_exhibition_materials_e.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418213756/http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/History/download/the_hk_story_exhibition_materials_e.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Hong Kong Museum of History: "The Hong Kong Story" Exhibition Materials|archive-date=18 April 2009}}</ref> The [[Kangxi Emperor]] lifted the maritime trade prohibition, allowing foreigners to enter Chinese ports in 1684.<ref>{{harvnb|Zhihong|2006|pp=8–9}}.</ref> Qing authorities established the [[Canton System]] in 1757 to regulate trade more strictly, restricting non-Russian ships to the port of [[Guangzhou|Canton]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schottenhammer|2007|p=33}}.</ref> Although European demand for Chinese commodities like tea, silk, and porcelain was high, Chinese interest in European manufactured goods was insignificant, so that Chinese goods could only be bought with precious metals. To reduce the trade imbalance, the British sold large amounts of Indian [[opium]] to China. Faced with a drug crisis, Qing officials pursued ever more aggressive actions to halt the opium trade.<ref>{{harvnb|Chen|2011}}.</ref>

=== British colony ===
{{Main|British Hong Kong}}
[[File:Hong Kong 1868.jpg|thumb|left|Hong Kong in 1868, photograph by [[John Thomson (photographer)|John Thomson]]]]

In 1839, the [[Daoguang Emperor]] rejected proposals to legalise and tax opium and ordered imperial commissioner [[Lin Zexu]] to eradicate the opium trade. The commissioner destroyed opium stockpiles and halted all foreign trade,<ref>{{harvnb|Hoe|Roebuck|1999|pp=82, 87}}.</ref> triggering a British military response and the [[First Opium War]]. The Qing surrendered early in the war and ceded Hong Kong Island in the [[Convention of Chuenpi]]. British forces began controlling Hong Kong shortly after the signing of the convention, from 26 January 1841.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2003/english/chapter21/21_02.html|title=Hong Kong 2003 – History|website=www.yearbook.gov.hk|access-date=26 June 2021|archive-date=25 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025152631/https://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2003/english/chapter21/21_02.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, both countries were dissatisfied and did not ratify the agreement.<ref>{{harvnb|Tsang|2007|p=12}}.</ref> After more than a year of further hostilities, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded to the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] in the 1842 [[Treaty of Nanking]].<ref name="Courtauld">{{harvnb|Courtauld|Holdsworth|Vickers|1997|pp=38–58}}</ref>

Administrative infrastructure was quickly built by early 1842, but piracy, disease, and hostile Qing policies initially prevented the government from attracting commerce. Conditions on the island improved during the [[Taiping Rebellion]] in the 1850s, when many Chinese refugees, including wealthy merchants, fled mainland turbulence and settled in the colony.<ref name="CarrollEarlyHistory" /> Further tensions between the British and Qing over the opium trade escalated into the [[Second Opium War]]. The Qing were again defeated and forced to give up [[Kowloon Peninsula]] and [[Stonecutters Island]] in the [[Convention of Peking]].<ref name="SecondOpiumWar">{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|pp=21–24}}.</ref> By the end of this war, Hong Kong had evolved from a transient colonial outpost into a major [[entrepôt]]. Rapid economic improvement during the 1850s attracted foreign investment, as potential stakeholders became more confident in Hong Kong's future.<ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|p=30}}.</ref>

The colony was further expanded in 1898 when the United Kingdom obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories.<ref name="NTLease">{{harvnb|Scott|1989|p=6}}.</ref> The [[University of Hong Kong]] was established in 1911 as the territory's first institution of higher education.<ref>{{harvnb|Chu|2005|p=90}}.</ref> [[Kai Tak Airport]] began operation in 1924, and the colony avoided a prolonged economic downturn after the 1925–26 [[Canton–Hong Kong strike]].<ref name="KaiTak">{{harvnb|Wordie|2007|p=243}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|p=103}}.</ref> At the start of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] in 1937, Governor [[Geoffry Northcote]] declared Hong Kong a neutral zone to safeguard its status as a free port.<ref>{{harvnb|Yanne|Heller|2009|p=71}}.</ref> The colonial government prepared for a possible attack, evacuating all British women and children in 1940.<ref>{{harvnb|Snow|2003|p=43}}.</ref> The [[Imperial Japanese Army]] [[Battle of Hong Kong|attacked Hong Kong on 8 December 1941]], the same morning as its [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref>{{harvnb|Snow|2003|pp=53–73}}.</ref> Hong Kong was [[Japanese occupation of Hong Kong|occupied by Japan]] for almost four years before the British resumed control on 30 August 1945.<ref>{{harvnb|Kwong|2015}}.</ref>

[[File:Flag of Hong Kong 1959.svg|thumb|right|The [[Flag of Hong Kong (1871–1997)|flag of British Hong Kong]] from 1959 to 1997]]
[[File:578a Hong Kong 1971 (51321892645).jpg|thumb|left|[[Peking Road]] in Tsim Sha Tsui in 1971]]
Its population rebounded quickly after the war, as skilled Chinese migrants fled from the [[Chinese Civil War]] and more refugees crossed the border when the [[Chinese Communist Party]] took control of mainland China in 1949.<ref name="Wiltshire">{{harvnb|Wiltshire|1997|p=148}}.</ref> Hong Kong became the first of the [[Four Asian Tigers|Four Asian Tiger]] economies to industrialise during the 1950s.<ref>{{harvnb|Buckley|1997|pp=64, 92}}.</ref> With a rapidly increasing population, the colonial government attempted reforms to improve infrastructure and public services. The [[Public housing in Hong Kong|public-housing estate programme]], [[Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong)|Independent Commission Against Corruption]], and [[MTR|Mass Transit Railway]] were all established during the post-war decades to provide safer housing, integrity in the civil service, and more reliable transportation.<ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|pp=145, 174–175}}.</ref><ref>{{cite AV media | people=Forsyth, Neil (Director) |year=1990 | title=Underground Pride | medium=Motion picture | location=Hong Kong | publisher=[[MTR Corporation]]}}</ref>

Nevertheless, widespread public discontent resulted in multiple protests from the 1950s to 1980s, including pro-[[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] and pro-[[Chinese Communist Party]] protests. In the [[1967 Hong Kong riots]], pro-[[China|PRC]] protestors clashed with the British colonial government. As many as 51 were killed and 802 were injured in the violence, including dozens killed by the [[Royal Hong Kong Police]] via beatings and shootings.<ref>Chu, Yingchi (2003). Hong Kong Cinema: Coloniser, Motherland and Self! Routledge Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7007-1746-3}}.</ref>

Although the territory's competitiveness in manufacturing gradually declined because of rising labour and property costs, it transitioned to a service-based economy. By the early 1990s, Hong Kong had established itself as a global [[financial centre]] and shipping hub.<ref>{{harvnb|Dodsworth|Mihaljek|1997|p=54}}.</ref>

=== Chinese special administrative region ===
{{Further|Handover of Hong Kong}}
[[File:Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong (2052819038).jpg|thumb|[[Victoria Harbour]] and [[Hong Kong Island]], 2007]]

The colony faced an uncertain future as the end of the New Territories lease approached, and [[Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch|Governor Murray MacLehose]] raised the question of Hong Kong's status with [[Deng Xiaoping]] in 1979.<ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|pp=176–178}}.</ref> Diplomatic negotiations with China resulted in the 1984 [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]], in which the United Kingdom agreed to the handover of the colony in 1997 and China would guarantee Hong Kong's economic and political systems for 50 years after the handover.<ref name="Carroll181">{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|p=181}}.</ref> The impending handover triggered a [[Waves of mass migrations from Hong Kong|wave of mass emigration]] as residents feared an erosion of civil rights, the rule of law, and quality of life.<ref>{{harvnb|Wong|1992|p=9}}.</ref> Over half a million people left the territory during the peak migration period, from 1987 to 1996.<ref name="2002Pop">{{harvnb|Population Policy Report|2002|pp=27–28}}</ref> The Legislative Council became a [[1995 Hong Kong legislative election|fully elected legislature]] for the first time in 1995 and extensively expanded its functions and organisations throughout the last years of the colonial rule.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gargan |first1=Edward A. |title=Pro-China Party Appears Big Loser in Hong Kong Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/18/world/pro-china-party-appears-big-loser-in-hong-kong-election.html |work=The New York Times |date=18 September 1995 |access-date=20 November 2020 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508195434/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/18/world/pro-china-party-appears-big-loser-in-hong-kong-election.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The handover of Hong Kong to China was at midnight on 1 July 1997, after 156 years of British rule.<ref name="NYTHandover">{{harvnb|Gargan|1997}}.</ref>

Immediately after the handover, Hong Kong was severely affected by several crises. The Hong Kong government was forced to use substantial [[foreign exchange reserves]] to maintain the Hong Kong dollar's currency peg during the [[1997 Asian financial crisis]],<ref name="Wiltshire" /> and the recovery from this was muted by an [[Influenza A virus subtype H5N1|H5N1 avian-flu]] outbreak<ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|p=218}}</ref> and a housing surplus.<ref>{{harvnb|Cheung|Ho|2013}}.</ref> This was followed by the [[2002–2004 SARS outbreak|2003 SARS epidemic]], during which the territory experienced its most serious economic downturn.<ref>{{harvnb|Lee|2006|pp=63–70}}.</ref>

Chinese communists portrayed the return of Hong Kong as key moment in the PRC's rise to [[great power]] status.<ref name=":172">{{Cite book |last=Crean |first=Jeffrey |title=The Fear of Chinese Power: an International History |date=2024 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |isbn=978-1-350-23394-2 |edition= |series=New Approaches to International History series |location=London, UK}}</ref>{{Rp|page=51}}

[[File:Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protest (48108527758).jpg|thumb|[[2019–2020 Hong Kong protests|Hong Kong protests]], August 2019]]

Political debates after the handover have centred around the region's [[Democratic development in Hong Kong|democratic development]] and the [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|Chinese central government]]'s adherence to the "one country, two systems" principle. After reversal of the last colonial era Legislative Council [[1994 Hong Kong electoral reform|democratic reforms]] following the handover,<ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|p=200}}.</ref> the regional government unsuccessfully attempted to enact [[National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill 2003|national security legislation]] pursuant to [[Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23|Article 23 of the Basic Law]].<ref>{{harvnb|Carroll|2007|pp=226, 233}}.</ref> The central government decision to implement [[2014 NPCSC Decision on Hong Kong|nominee pre-screening]] before allowing [[2014–2015 Hong Kong electoral reform|chief executive elections]] triggered a series of [[2014 Hong Kong protests|protests in 2014]] which became known as the Umbrella Revolution.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaiman|2014}}.</ref> Discrepancies in the electoral registry and disqualification of elected legislators after the [[2016 Hong Kong legislative election|2016 Legislative Council elections]]<ref>{{harvnb|Bland|2016}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Haas|2017}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Huang|2016}}.</ref> and enforcement of national law in the [[Hong Kong West Kowloon railway station|West Kowloon high-speed railway station]] raised further concerns about the region's autonomy.<ref>{{harvnb|Siu|Chung|2017}}.</ref> In June 2019, [[2019–2020 Hong Kong protests|mass protests erupted]] in response to a [[2019 Hong Kong extradition bill|proposed extradition amendment bill]] permitting the extradition of fugitives to mainland China. The protests are the largest in Hong Kong's history,<ref name="EconomistRestoreCalm">{{harvnb|"To restore calm in Hong Kong, try democracy", ''The Economist''}}</ref> with organisers claiming to have attracted more than three million Hong Kong residents.

The Hong Kong regional government and Chinese central government responded to the protests with a number of administrative measures to quell dissent. In June 2020, the Legislative Council passed the [[National Anthem Ordinance]], which criminalised "insults to the national anthem of China".<ref>{{cite web |title=CE signs National Anthem Ordinance (with photos) |url=https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202006/11/P2020061100793.htm |website=HKSAR Government Press Releases |access-date=12 June 2020 |archive-date=12 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612041953/https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202006/11/P2020061100793.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Chinese central government meanwhile enacted the [[2020 Hong Kong national security law|Hong Kong national security law]] to help quell protests in the region.<ref name="cnn20200630">{{cite web|last=Regan|first=Helen|date=29 June 2020|title=China passes sweeping Hong Kong national security law: report|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/29/china/hong-kong-national-security-law-passed-intl-hnk/index.html|access-date=29 June 2020|publisher=[[CNN]]|archive-date=1 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701113134/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/29/china/hong-kong-national-security-law-passed-intl-hnk/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Nine months later, in March 2021, the Chinese central government introduced [[2021 Hong Kong electoral changes|amendments to Hong Kong's electoral system]], which included the reduction of directly elected seats in the Legislative Council and the requirement that all candidates be vetted and approved by a Beijing-appointed [[Candidate Eligibility Review Committee]].<ref name="france2420210311">{{cite news |date=11 March 2021 |title=China approves plan to veto Hong Kong election candidates |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210311-china-approves-plan-to-veto-hong-kong-election-candidates |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312063804/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210311-china-approves-plan-to-veto-hong-kong-election-candidates |archive-date=12 March 2021 |access-date=6 September 2022 |work=[[France 24]]}}</ref>

In May 2023, the Legislative Council also introduced legislation to reduce the number of directly elected seats in the district councils, and a [[District Council Eligibility Review Committee]] was similarly established to vet candidates.<ref name="dc2023_freepress01">{{cite news|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2023/07/06/hong-kong-cuts-directly-elected-district-council-seats-as-overhaul-unanimously-approved/|title=Hong Kong cuts directly elected District Council seats as overhaul unanimously approved|publisher=Hong Kong Free Press|date=6 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="dc2023_gld01">{{cite web|url=https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20232745e/egn2023274569.pdf|title=Ordinance passed and promulgated|publisher=Hong Kong Government Gazette|date=10 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710090226/https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20232745e/egn2023274569.pdf|archive-date=10 July 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dc2023_gld02">{{cite web|url=https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20232745e/es12023274519.pdf|title=District Councils (Amendment) Ordinance 2023—Ordinance No. 19 of 2023|publisher=Hong Kong Government Gazette|date=10 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710090315/https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20232745e/es12023274519.pdf|archive-date=10 July 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>