ENG-2018 — Page 410

22

History

In 1966, as the Cultural Revolution began on the Mainland, tension mounted in Hong Kong. During 1967, this developed into a series of civil disturbances, affecting all aspects of life and temporarily paralysing the economy. The disturbances were contained by the year end and the community resumed its tradition of peaceful progress.

Hong Kong continued to expand as an entrepôt, particularly for trade with China. Coupled with tourism, this led to vastly improved communications, with an increasing number of people entering the Mainland each year from or through Hong Kong, the natural gateway.

In the 1970s, the government launched two far-sighted initiatives that have physically shaped Hong Kong to this day. The first was a decision in 1972 as part of a 10-year housing programme. to develop new towns in the New Territories. Nine new towns were developed over the next two decades and these now accommodate about 47 per cent of the population, easing pressure on the development of the main urban areas. And with the enactment of the Country Parks Ordinance in 1976, Hong Kong created a legal framework to establish country parks and special areas. There are now 24 country parks and 22 special areas, which cover about 40 per cent of land in Hong Kong to conserve its varied habitats.

The end of the Vietnamese war in 1975 saw a fresh influx of refugees, this time from Vietnam. By the time the last refugee camp was closed in 2000, over 200,000 Vietnamese had made their way to Hong Kong. Of these, more than 143,000 were resettled overseas and some 72,000 repatriated to Vietnam.

Into the New Millennium

In the 1970s, the approaching expiry of the lease on the New Territories in 1997 caused uncertainties in Hong Kong, and in 1982 the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, visited China to discuss the city's future with Chinese leaders. That visit marked the start of two years of negotiations between the Chinese and British governments, culminating in the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong on 19 December 1984. The Joint Declaration set out the basic policies of the People's Republic of China regarding Hong Kong, including the PRC's decision to establish a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

On 1 July 1997, the HKSAR was established and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the HKSAR's constitutional document, took effect. The Basic Law prescribes the systems to be practised in the HKSAR and enshrines, in the form of law, the important principles of 'one country, two systems', 'Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong' and a high degree of autonomy. Reflecting those principles, the Basic Law provides that the socialist system and policies shall not be practised in the HKSAR, and that the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years.

The city's changes were not only political. Over the years, the manufacturing sector moved its focus from simple, labour-intensive products to sophisticated, high value-added products. Taking advantage of the abundant supply of land and labour in the Pearl River Delta, industrialists expanded their production bases across the boundary while retaining their headquarters in Hong Kong. This mode of operation has contributed to economic

336