Sino-British Joint Declaration - Aftermath

Aftermath

After signing of the declaration, the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group was set up according to the Annex II of the declaration.

The transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong (referred to as the "return" or "handover" by the Chinese and British press respectively) occurred as scheduled on 1 July 1997. Since the return just a few things changed, such as the new flag of Hong Kong and the Prince of Wales building was renamed into the People’s Liberation Army building; the post boxes were repainted green, as it is the practice in China. Street names have remained unchanged and the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club has kept its “Royal” prefix, although the Hong Kong Jockey Club and other institutions have given up this title.

After the Asian financial crisis in 1997 the Hong Kong measures were taken with the full cooperation of the Chinese government in good cooperation. This did not mean that the Chinese government dictated what to do and therefore still follows the points of the declaration.

In 1999 the government of the HKSAR asked China’s State Council to seek an interpretation of a provision in the Basic Law by the National People's Congress Standing Committee. The Chinese government said that a decision by Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal would allow 1.6 million mainland immigrants to enter Hong Kong. As a result the Chinese authorities obliged and the Hong Kong judgment was overturned.

One year later, in 2000, after the election of pro-independence candidate Chen Shui-bian as Taiwan’s president, a senior mainland official in Hong Kong warned journalists not to report those Taiwan independence news. Another senior official advised businessmen not to do business with pro-independence Taiwanese.

In September 2002, the Tung administration published a consultation document containing its proposals for implementing Article 23. Many members of the public and legislature felt that the government was simply pushing its bill through without public support. In July 2003, this led to a public march of over half a million people, the biggest of its kind since the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989. In reaction, the Chairman of the Liberal Party, James Tien, resigned from the Executive Council and announced that his party wouldn't support the bill. Without enough votes, the government shelved the bill.

Despite other changes, ten years after the return, in 2007, the Guardian, a London newspaper, said that, "nothing has changed since the handover to China 10 years ago".