Progress then setbacks in Hong Kong's pursuit of democracy: a timeline - Action News
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Progress then setbacks in Hong Kong's pursuit of democracy: a timeline

Twenty-five years ago, the United Kingdom handed the governance of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in what became known as the Hong Kong handover. Here is a timeline of Hong Kong's pursuit of democracy since that historic moment.

July 1 marks 25 years since the U.K. handed governance to the People's Republic of China

Chinese and Hong Kong flags are on display in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China on June 17, 2022. (Kin Cheung/AP)

Twenty-five years ago, the United Kingdom handed the governance of Hong Kongto the People's Republic of China in what became known as the Hong Kong handover.

Before Hong Kong became the international financial hub it is today, it was a small fishing village in the southern part of China's Guangdong province, and while formerly a British colony,its history is intertwined with mainland Chinesepolitics.

Until 1997, Hong Kong was ruled by a British-appointed governor. The governor selected members of the city's legislative council until1985 when Hong Kongersbegan electing lawmakers. However, not all the seats were directly elected by the people:some were functional constituencies, and others were geographical,mostly with pro-Beijing interests.

On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong's governor stepped down, and retired shipping tycoon Tung Chee-hwa became the city's first chief executive after being elected by a selection committee whose 400 members were chosen by Beijing.

Residents were promised universal suffrage one person, one vote inHong Kong's constitution, known as The Basic Law. And yet, successive chief executives have been chosen by a small circle of elites with strong ties to the Chinese government.

Since the 2000s, millions of Hong Kongers have calledfor the chief executive to be directly elected, butunder Beijing's mandate, there has been no meaningful progress toward universal suffrage.

Here is atimeline of Hong Kong's progress and setbacks in its pursuit of democracy:

1842: Hong Kong Island becomes a Crown colony of the British Empire after it winsthe First Opium War with Imperial China and signsthe Treaty of Nanking.

Officials of Imperial China and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Nanking on the British naval ship HMS Cornwallis on Aug. 29, 1842. (John Platt)

1860: The Crown colony expandsto include the Kowloon Peninsulaafter the United Kingdom wins the Second Opium War with China and signsthe Convention of Peking.

Officials of Imperial China and the United Kingdom sign the first Convention of Peking at China's Ministry of Rites building in Beijing on Oct. 24, 1860. (Lord Elgin and Prince Kung)

1898: Britain signsthe Second Convention of Peking with China to lease the New Territories for 99 years until June 30, 1997.

1949:The Chinese Communist Party establishes the People's Republic of China. Many people fleeto Hong Kong to escape the Communist takeover.

Chinese leader Mao Zedong stands in Beijing's Tiananmen Square declaring the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949. (Dong Xiwen)

1966-1976: Chinese leader Mao Zedong launchesthe Cultural Revolution, purging anyone the government deemsto be promoting non-Communist values. Another wave of people try to make their way to Hong Kong by sea.

Young people join a rally early in the Cultural Revolution on Sept. 14, 1966, waving copies of Chinese Leader Mao Zedong's writings and carrying a poster of Karl Marx. (The Associated Press)

1976: The United Kingdom ratifiesthe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which extendsto Hong Kong and other British-dependent territories.

1979: Hong Kong governor Murray MacLehose representsthe United Kingdom in a visit toChinese leader Deng Xiaoping in Beijingand asksthat British administration be extended beyond 1997. Deng rejectsthe request and saysChina intendsto resume sovereignty over Hong Kong.

1984: China and the United Kingdom signa joint declaration on Hong Kong's return to China on July 1, 1997, where the Chinese government promisesHong Kong's capitalist system and way of life willremain unchanged for 50 years after the handover under the "one country, two systems" arrangement.

Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, left, meets British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in Beijing on Dec. 19, 1984, the day of the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong's future. (Pierre-Antoine Donnet/AFP via Getty Images)

1985: Hong Kong holdsits first-ever legislative council election, in whichmore than half of its members are selected by mostly democratically elected district council deputies.

1989: The Chinese military cracksdown on student demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Chinese troops and tanks gather in Beijing, one day after the military crackdown on June 4, 1989, that ended a seven-week pro-democracy demonstration on Tiananmen Square. (Jeff Widener/The Associated Press)

1990: China's National People's Congress adoptsHong Kong's Basic Law, which stipulates that Hong Kong will apply the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights after the handover, and the chief executive and lawmakers will eventually be elected by universal suffrage.

1991: TheHong Kong Legislative Council introducesgeographical constituencies whose representatives are directly elected by the people.

1996: The Chinese government establishesa provisional Hong Kong Legislative Council withappointees to replace the Legislative Council elected by Hong Kong's electorate in 1995.

Hong Kong lawmakers elected in 1995 wave to the crowd from the Legislative Council chamber on June 27, 1997, as they close the final legislative session three days before the territory's return to Chinese rule. (Manuel Ceneta/AFP via Getty Images)

1997: A committee of 400 Beijing appointees selects the first chief executive of post-handover Hong Kongseveral months before the city's return to China.

Hong Kong's chief executive Tung Chee-hwa waves as he arrives for the APEC Summit held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on Nov. 25, 1997. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

2003: More than 500,000 people jointhe rally against the Hong Kong government's controversial draft national security legislationwhich, if passed,would empowerlocal police to prosecute people for treason, secession, sedition and subversion against the Chinese government. The city's security minister resigns several weeks after the rally.

Protesters carry a huge banner with slogans of protest against Hong Kong's draft national security legislation as they march through the streets on July 1, 2003. (Mike Clarke/AFP via Getty Images)

2004: China's National People's Congress rulesout direct elections of the chief executive in 2007 and of all legislators in 2008.

2007: China's National People's Congress rejectsthe electionof the chief executive and all legislators by universal suffrage by2012, saying it is delayed until 2017.

2010: Hong Kong's Legislative Council approvesgovernment-proposed electoral reforms that ruleout direct elections but increasesthe number of seats in the Legislative Council election by2012 and expandsthe size of the committee that selects the chief executive in the same year.

Lawmakers raise their hands to vote for the government's electoral reform proposal after a debate in Hong Kong's Legislative Council on June 25, 2010. (Reuters)

2012: Thousands of Hong Kongers hold parades and hunger strikes to protestthe Hong Konggovernment's proposed Chinese propaganda curriculum. The proposal isscrapped in little more than a week.

Protesters on hunger strike gesture to show they reject the Chinese curriculum during a demonstration outside the Hong Kong government's headquarters on Sept. 3, 2012. (Bobby Yip/Reuters)

2014: China's National People's Congress sayscandidates for Hong Kong's chief executiveshould be pre-screened before they can run and limited to three. The announcement sparksthe Umbrella Movementin reference to umbrellas used for defence against police pepper spray. The mass protests last from September to December but are not successful in gettingthe Chinese government to withhold its plan.

Thousands of colourful notes are displayed on the 'Lennon Wall' as a couple carrying a yellow umbrella, a symbol of the Umbrella Movement, walks past the Admiralty protest site in Hong Kong on Nov. 17, 2014. (Bobby Yip/Reuters)

2017: The Hong Kong government disqualifiespro-democracy lawmakers who modified their oaths of allegiance to the People's Republic of China during the swearing-in ceremony at the Legislative Council held in 2016.

Newly elected lawmaker Yau Wai-ching displays a banner that reads 'Hong Kong is not China' as she takes her oath at Hong Kong's Legislative Council on Oct. 12, 2016. The Hong Kong government stripped her lawmaker status the following year. (Kin Cheung/The Associated Press)

2019: TheHong Kong government introducesacontroversial draft extradition law that, if passed, would empower it to transfer people to mainland Chinese courts for criminal trials. The draft lawsparksprotests by millions of people.

Protesters gesture to riot police during a massive demonstration outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on June 12, 2019. (Kin Cheung/The Associated Press)

2020: China's National People's Congress passes a revampednational security law on Hong Kong,allowing the Chinese government to convict people of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign entities on vaguely defined terms.

A man walks past a government public notice banner advertising China's national security law in Hong Kong on July 15, 2020. (Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images)

2021: The Hong Kong government overhaulsthe electoral system so that all candidates running for the positions ofchief executive andlegislatorsare pre-screened for their allegiance to the People's Republic of China.

Pro-China candidates celebrate after winning in the Legislative Council election in Hong Kong on Dec. 20, 2021. (Lam Yik/Reuters)

2022: John Lee, Hong Kong's former security chief, who oversaw the police crackdown on protesters in 2019, isselected as the city's chief executive uncontested.

Former Hong Kong security minister John Lee celebrates after declaring victory in the election to become Hong Kong's chief executive on May 8, 2022. (Kin Cheung/AP)