Form 4 Citizenship and Social Development

Hong Kong under “One Country, Two Systems”

The meaning and implementation of “one country, two systems”

Reference Reading Material: History of Hong Kong and the Port

Name: _____________________________________ Class: F.4______ ( )

Learning Objectives:

 To know more about the history and long-term development of Hong Kong.
 To know the background of the three unequal treaties and linkage to the process of
handover of Hong Kong to China.
 To appreciate the significance of social security and stability.

Content retrieved from History of the Port of Hong Kong and Marine Department published by Marine Department on 2 Mar 2017
URL: https://www.mardep.gov.hk/theme/port_hk/en/p1ch3_4.html

1. The Opium War and the cession of Hong Kong Island (1839–42)

The Emperor Kangxi reopened the seaports in 1685, and the yuehaiguan (粵海關 Guangzhou
Customs) was established under the hubu (戶部 Ministry of Revenue). Western traders began to
call at Guangzhou, the major port in China, for trade. Trade grew and flourished throughout the
18th century. In 1757 Guangzhou was declared the only port open for western trade, and it
remained so until the opening of five treaty ports after the Opium War in 1842: Canton
(Guangzhou), Amoy (Xiamen), Foochow (Fuzhou), Ningpo (Ningbo), and Shanghai. Foreign
merchants from western countries made profits from the sale of tea, porcelain wares and silk in
their home countries, but their cargoes of cotton and woollen goods were sold at a loss in
Guangzhou. (In another words, who earns more in the trading?)

China
Western
Countries 1
From the late 18th century, the British merchants began to import opium grown in India to China,
and it soon became the main imported item, generating huge profits. The balance of trade was thus

reversed. The Qing court was alarmed, (WHY? Economic loss due to trade
imbalance after a trade reverse, in the past China export more than import
OR loss of productivity as labour force reduce; addicted people not
willing to work; bad reputation on the world stage – political; cause other
social problems e.g. worsening of interpersonal relationships / increase
demand of social welfare / medical expenditure) as the import of opium not only
resulted in the outflow of silver bullion, but increasing numbers of Chinese nationals were
becoming addicted to the drug. As a result, the import of opium was prohibited.

Import

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In 1839, being determined to stamp out the opium trade, Emperor Daoguang sent Commissioner
Lin Zexu to Guangzhou to enforce the imperial edict and suppress the trade. At Lin’s orders, the
opium chests at Guangzhou were confiscated and destroyed at Humen (虎門). Hostilities mounted
as battles broke out between the British merchant fleet and the Qing navy near Kowloon. A war
between the two nations became inevitable.

War at Humen

Westerners trading in Guangzhou had to abide by many stringent regulations imposed by the Qing
authorities. More importantly, trade could only be conducted through Hong merchants (行商)
appointed by the Qing court. Discontented with the condition of trade in Guangzhou, British free-
traders pressed the British Home Office to take military action to force the opening of China and
to secure an island where trade could be conducted under British administration and protected by
British law.

(Reason of starting Opium War: 1. destruction of goods (Opium) by Chinese gov. –

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Question: Why the British would like to pick Hong Kong as the location to promote trading?

Hong Kong was the obvious choice for various reasons: 1. its closeness
to Guangzhou, the major port for foreign trade; 2. its strategic
geographical location on the South China coast; and above all, its 3.
excellent natural harbor that could minimize the impacts of extreme
weather, which is deep and sheltered from the north-east wind in winter
and the south-west monsoon in summer. 4. Westerners trading in
Guangzhou had had knowledge of the island of Hong Kong and its
anchorages since the late 17th century. Foreign vessels heading for
Huangpu ( 黃 埔 ), the Guangzhou port, would take anchorage and
replenish their water supplies near Waterfall Bay close to today’s Wah Fu
Estate, before continuing their journeys.

From the early 19th century, when the import of opium was banned, illicit
trade was conducted on Lingding Island (伶仃島) (also known as Nei
Lingding Island (內伶仃)), at Urmston Road, Kap Shui Mun, and in the
harbour of Hong Kong where cargoes were discharged and loaded for re-
export. After hostilities began, British traders vacating Guangzhou and
Macao took shelter in Victoria Harbour.

4T: easier for Birtish gov. to occupy and control due to the far distance
from Chinese Capital

Suitable to be the entrepot to transport goods

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An expeditionary force led by Captain Charles Elliot and his cousin Rear-Admiral George Elliot
arrived at the mouth of the Pearl River in June 1840, then headed north to occupy Zhoushan,
reaching Baihe near Tianjin in August. The Manchu noble, Qishan was appointed as
plenipotentiary to hold talks with the British. Nevertheless, a surprise attack on the Bogue (Humen)
was mounted by the British on 8 January 1841 and Guangzhou was threatened. Alarmed by the
military action of the British, Qishan made concessions, and some preliminary agreements were
drafted, including seeking the emperor’s consent to cede the island of Hong Kong to the British.
Although the convention was not signed, Hong Kong was occupied by a naval force under
Commodore Gordon Bremer on 26 January 1841. Hostilities resumed, and Charles Elliot was
replaced by Sir Henry Pottinger in August 1841. The war waged on, and the British force reached
Nanjing in August 1842. The Qing court conceded, and the Treaty of Nanking was signed on 29
August 1842. Hong Kong was officially ceded to Britain.

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Knowledge Plus

The coolie trade

The living conditions of peasants deteriorated after the Opium War. Faced with unsettled
conditions and increasing poverty, the young generation of Chinese in Guangdong and Fujian were
forced to look for opportunities abroad. Thus, when gold was discovered in California (referred to
as Golden Mountain or Old Golden Mountain (舊金山) by the Chinese) in 1849 and subsequently
in Australia (referred to as New Golden Mountain) in 1851, a wave of emigrants from Guangdong
and Fujian left to work in the gold fields. From 1851 to 1872, the total number of coolie labourers
shipped to the Americas, Australia and South-East Asia from Hong Kong amounted to 320,349.
Hong Kong was thus the port from which most South China emigrants embarked for foreign
countries.

The Chinese emigrant workers could be divided into two categories, namely free emigrants and
contract coolie labourers. The latter constituted the majority and had to bear all kinds of hardships.
They were kept in closed barracoons prior to departure, and were shipped to various destinations
under inhumane conditions. Many of the ships were overloaded, and the mortality rate was high.
The ill-treatment of Chinese emigrants generated concerns in Hong Kong and Britain. Thus an
Emigration Officer was created in 1854 to deal with the matter, and ordinances were passed by the
colonial government from 1855 onwards with a view to regulating the coolie trade and improving
the conditions of labourers on board ship. Many local and foreign firms, including two major
British firms, Jardine Matheson & Co. and Dent & Co., were involved in this infamous yet
profitable trade. The expenses required for an agent to ship a coolie labourer to Peru or the West
Indies were on average $117 to $190 silver dollars, but the owner of the plantations would pay
$350 to $400 for each labourer. The profit from the shipment of each labourer was therefore around
$200. According to the research findings of a leading Chinese scholar on this subject, between
1851 and 1875, a private firm engaged in coolie trade would make a total profit of $84,000,000,
averaging $3.3 million each year. Migration continued to grow in the subsequent decades, and
continued to be a major factor in the growth of shipping in Hong Kong.

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 2. The Second Opium War and the annexation of Kowloon Peninsula (1856-1860)

The First Opium War ended two years later with the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842.
There was no mention of opium in the treaty, and as a result, the illegal imports opium trade
continued.

With a view to fostering a good relationship with China after the First Opium War, the first
Governor, Sir Henry Pottinger, was instructed to forbid opium ships from using Hong Kong as a
port. However, fearing that this action would not check the opium trade but only drive it into non-
British hands, the British suspended the prohibition a year later. Hong Kong thus became the hub
of opium trades. The second Governor, Sir John Davis, once remarked that almost every person in
Hong Kong in possession of capital and not connected with government employment was
employed in the opium trade. For the period 1845-49, it is said that three quarters of the Indian
opium crop were handled in Victoria Harbour, and that on average over 40,000 chests of opium
worth 16 million pounds sterling were being stored in Hong Kong. According to Sir Richard
MacDonnell, Governor from 1866 to 1872, the whole amount of opium imported annually into
Hong Kong was about 80,000 chests, of a total worth of about 11 million pounds sterling.

The Second Opium War is also known as the Anglo-French Expedition or the Arrow War. The
causes of the war were far-ranging and complicated. In general, 1. Economic cause:
_______________ the British were dissatisfied with what they had achieved from the Treaty of
Nanjing and wanted to gain more concessions, including the opening of more ports in China for
trade and the legalisation of the opium trade. Tension was mounting in the 1850s, reaching a head
in October 1856, when a Chinese-owned Hong Kong-registered lorcha (boat) was seized by
Chinese authorities in Guangzhou and the crew were imprisoned. 2. Social cause:
____________Rumours spread at the time that the British flag had been pulled down during the
incident, an act that was regarded as an insult to the British Crown. (It was later revealed that the
registration of the vessel had expired at the time of the incident.) Using this as an excuse, the
British attacked Guangzhou and waged war on China. Meanwhile, a French Mission Entrangere
priest was executed in Guangxi, and this incident prompted the French to join the military
campaign. The first phase of the war concluded with the Treaty of Tianjin in June 1858.

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In the Treaty of Tianjin of 1858, opium was legalised. (****does it relates to HK history &
ownership? ) Foreign vessels, after paying the opium import tariff and lijin (釐金), were allowed
to trade at the treaty ports. It also stipulated that opium should be carried into the interior only by
Chinese vessels. The local Chinese junks, taking advantage of this treaty, carried opium and other
goods into the mainland via non-Treaty ports, thus evading tax. The Chinese government, therefore,
lost potential opium revenues. Starting from November 1867, nine marine and land customs
stations were set up around Hong Kong, and Chinese customs revenue cruisers patrolled the nearby
waters, searching for native craft smuggling opium or other goods. Some of these stations were at
Fat Tau Chau, Cheung Chau, Kap Shui Mun and Lai Chi Kok. This was the so-called Chinese
customs blockade of Hong Kong. The blockade lasted from 1867 to 1886, and local trade suffered
greatly as a result. Both foreign and Chinese merchants made official complaints from time to time,
and they pressed the colonial government to take measures to resolve the matter. However, since
the foreign community was against any interference with the freedom of the port, no progress was
made.

However, hostilities were renewed in 1860. The British and French were reinforced and launched
an attack on the capital. They occupied Beijing and burnt
down Yuan Ming Yuan. The war ended in 1860 with the
signing of the Convention of Peking ceding Kowloon
Peninsula to Britain. Clauses also included the legalisation
of the opium trade, the opening of Tianjin as a treaty port,
and permission for British ships to carry indentured labour
to the Americas. From the day Hong Kong Island was
occupied in 1841 by the British to 1859, Kowloon
Peninsula had remained a part of Chinese territories and
had been governed by the Chinese government. It
essentially became a buffer area between the British
Government in Hong Kong and the Chinese garrison at
Kowloon City, and Sir John Davis remarked that it was
considered a kind of “neutral ground”. The British were
keen to extend their territories and to obtain complete
control of the harbour through the annexation of

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Kowloon Peninsula. The Governor, Sir John Bowring, pressed the Home Office to acquire
Kowloon Peninsula for military, commercial, sanitary, and police purposes. But the annexation of
the peninsula was not included in the Treaty of Tianjin in 1858. Bowring was instructed to
negotiate for a lease of Kowloon Peninsula with the Governor of Guangdong. However, hostilities
resumed and the war ended with the signing of the Convention of Peking, which stipulated the
annexation of Kowloon Peninsula south of Boundary Street and Stonecutters Island. Henceforth,
the colonial government acquired full control of Victoria Harbour. The Second Opium War had
other consequences. The burning of the factories in Guangzhou in 1856 led firms stationed there
to move their headquarters to Hong Kong, bringing with them their Chinese compradors(factor
promote development of HK secondary production?). They provided the capital, expertise and
experience for the development of trade in the later part of the 19th century.

From the 1880s onwards, the import of opium was on a downward trend. It faced competition from
Chinese-grown opium, which was much cheaper. On the other hand, under mounting pressure
from the Church and the British Government, Hong Kong was forced to close its opium dens and
to cease exporting the prepared drug to China. The opium trade eventually came to an end in 1917.

1. The lease of the New Territories

In response to the scramble for concessions in China by the European countries and Japan, Britain
negotiated with the Chinese government for the lease of a portion of the county of Xinan adjoining
the British Colony of Hong Kong. The two governments reached an agreement in April 1898, and
signed Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory in Beijing on 9 June 1898.
According to the convention, the lease of the territories would be in effect from 1 July 1898, and
would last for 99 years. The colonial government named the additional land the “New Territories”.
The boundary of the Colony was then extended to cover the land and sea between the Shenzhen
River to the north and latitude 22°9’ to the south, and between longitude 114°30’ to the east and
longitude 113°52’ to the west. As a result, the size of the Colony was enlarged by about 10 times.