Timeline Hong Kong
Return to home
Hong Kong is about 6 times the size of Washington
DC.
(SSFC, 10/9/05, Par p.27)
About Hong Kong: www.allstays.com/content/all-about-hong-kong.htm
ICL: http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/law/hk__indx.html
Hong Kong Home Page: http://www.csudh.edu/global_options/375Students-Sp96/HongKong/Default.htm
South China Morning Post: http://www.scmp.com/
USSD: http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/hong_kong_0899_bgn.html
1600-1700
Hong Kong, the name means fragrant harbor, was founded by British
Naval officers in the 17th century as a western trading post for
tea.
(SFEC, 4/16/00, Z1 p.2)(SFC, 2/10/04, p.A22)
1832 Jardine Matheson was
founded as a trading house in Hong Kong.
(Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.13)
1838 Obscure oil paintings show
a sophisticated irrigation system on the Island.
(SFEC, 11/10/96, p.A18)
1839 Aug 23, The British
captured Hong Kong from China.
(MC, 8/23/02)
1841 Jan 20, The Convention of
Chuenpi ceded the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain from China as
part of the concessions from the Opium War. It became a capitalist
bastion as opposed to the rest of China. The British won the first
Opium War and forced China to open markets to foreign trade. Britain
soon established a formal police force commanded mostly by British
officers. Hong Kong returned to Chinese control in July 1997.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_Chuenpee)(WSJ, 10/26/95,
p.A-1)(SFEC, 11/10/96, Par p.14)(SFC, 3/11/97, p.A12)(SFC, 7/1/97,
p.A8)(AP, 1/20/98)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R49)(WSJ, 2/2/04, p.A12)
1841 Jan 26, Britain formally
occupied Hong Kong, which the Chinese had ceded to the British.
(AP, 1/26/98)
1842 Aug 29, Britain &
China signed the Treaty of Nanking and ended the Opium war. The
Treaty of Nanking opened the port of Shanghai to foreigners. The
1997 Chinese film "The Opium War" was directed by Xie Jin. It was
about the events leading up to the Treaty of Nanking. The treaty of
Nanking ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain in perpetuity.
(AMNHDT, 5/98)(SFC, 5/20/98,
p.E3)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Nanjing)
1842 Jardine, Matheson &
Co., founded in Canton in 1832, built the first substantial house
and established their head office on the recently acquired island of
Hong Kong. This began an era of increased prosperity and expansion.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardine_Matheson_Holdings)
1843 Apr 5, Queen Victoria
proclaimed Hong Kong a British crown colony.
(HN, 4/5/99)
1843 Jun 26, Hong Kong was
proclaimed a British Crown Colony. [see Apr 5]
(MC, 6/26/02)
1856-1858 The 2nd Anglo-Chinese Opium War.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)
1855-1910 History: Picturing Hong Kong:
Photography 1855-1910.
http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/readings/r000206.htm
1857 Cheong Ah Lum, the
colony’s foremost baker, so hated the Britons that he tried to
poison 400 of the most important gwailos with arsenic laced bread.
No one died but many got sick.
(SFEC, 11/10/96, p.A18)
1860 In the Convention of
Peking China ceded the Kowloon Peninsula to Britain for all time.
(SFC, 3/11/97, p.A12)(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)(SFC,
7/1/97, p.A8)
1861 The British firm
Butterfield & Swire began trading in Hong Kong and China.
(Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.13)
1865 Mar, Thomas Sutherland of
Scotland founded the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
(HSBC) to finance the growing trade between China and Europe.
It established the Shanghai branch on April 3, 1865.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporation)
1888 A funicular railway,
cable-based with counter-balanced up and down cars, was built to
ascend Hong Kong's 1,300 foot Victoria Peak.
(SFC, 2/10/04, p.A22)
1892 Sun Yat-Sen (d.1925),
Chinese statesman and revolutionary leader, graduated from the Hong
Kong School of Medicine.
(HFA, '96, p.18)(AP, 6/22/97)(HNQ, 6/3/98)
1893 The Royal Hong Kong Police
set up a police training school for its British led force.
(WSJ, 2/2/04, p.A12)
1898 Jun 9, China leased Hong
Kong's New Territories to Britain for 99 years by a convention
signed in Peking, respecting an extension of Hong Kong territory,
the New Territories, comprising the area north of Kowloon up to the
Shum Chun (Shenzhen) River and 235 islands.
(www.info.gov.hk/yearbook/2003/english/chapter21/21_03.html)
1898 Jul 1, China leased the
New Territories and 235 adjacent islands to Britain on a 99-year
lease.
(SFEC, 11/10/96, Par p.14)(SFC, 3/11/97,
p.A12)(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)
1918 Feb 26, Stands at the Hong
Kong Jockey Club collapsed and burned, killing 604.
(SC, 2/26/02)
1919 Hueng Chin, father of
filmmaker Charles Hueng, founded the Sun Yee On triad, a secret
criminal society.
(SFC, 2/18/98, p.A7)
1933 Wing Lung Bank was founded
in Hong Kong. It survived a forced relocation to Macau during the
Japanese occupation. In 2008 China Merchants Bank launched a
takeover of Wing Lung for $4.7 billion.
(Econ, 6/7/08, p.86)
1941 Dec 8, Japanese troops
occupied Hong Kong. [see Dec 18,19]
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1941 Dec 18, Japanese troops
landed on Hong Kong. [see Dec 8,19]
(MC, 12/18/01)
1941 Dec 19, Japanese landed on
Hong Kong and clashed with British troops.
(HN, 12/19/98)
1941 Dec 23, The Japanese
occupied Hong Kong.
(WUD, 1944, p.1683)
1941 Dec 25, Japan announced
the surrender of the British-Canadian garrison at Hong Kong. Major
John Crawford (d.1997) and some 1,975 Canadian soldiers were
captured and incarcerated at the Sham Shui Po prison camp at Kowloon
for 44 months.
(G&M, 7/30/97, p.A24)(HN, 12/25/02)(AP,
12/25/07)
1945 Aug 14, Japanese
occupation of Hong Kong ended.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1945 Aug 29, British liberated
Hong Kong from Japan.
(MC, 8/29/01)
1945 Sep 16, Japan surrendered
Hong Kong to Britain.
(HN, 9/16/98)
1945 Nov 8, A riverboat sank
off Hong Kong and 1,550 were killed.
(MC, 11/8/01)
c1945 Nadya Jacobova Moiseeva
(daughter of Jacob Moiseef) and John Henry McCann, a former officer
with Gen’l. Claire Chennault and the Flying Tigers, managed CAT
Airlines, formed by formed by former Flying Tiger pilots. The couple
had met and married in Shanghai in 1944.
(SFC, 12/2/97, p.A22)
1946 The Hong Kong airline
Cathay Pacific began operations with two DC3 planes.
(Econ, 12/23/06, p.96)
1946 Eric Halpern, a Jewish
émigré from Austria, started the Far Eastern Review in
Hong Kong. In 1987 it was taken over by Dow Jones. In 2004 it ended
as a weekly publication and re-emerged as a monthly. In 2009 Dow
Jones announced its closure.
(Econ, 9/26/09, p.58)
1949 Wang Din-shin, owner of
the Chinachem real estate empire centered in Shanghai, moved his
family and assets to Hong Kong. The business was later taken over by
his son, Teddy Wang Teh-huei.
(WSJ, 10/20/99, p.A23)
1949-50 Some 750,000 Chinese fled to Hong Kong as
the Communists took over the mainland.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1955-1972 Jin Yong, founder and publisher of the
Hong Kong Ming Pao newspaper, authored a series of Kung Fu novels
that ran to 36 volumes.
(WSJ, 3/9/00, p.A24)
1959 The Ming Pao newspaper was
launched under editor Louis Cha, who doubled as popular novelist of
martial arts epics.
(WSJ, 4/21/97, p.A1)
1961 Feb 22, British Foreign
Sec. Douglas-Home said in a "Top Secret" letter to Defense Minister
Harold Watkinson that, "It must be fully obvious to the Americans
that Hong Kong is indefensible by conventional means and that in the
event of a Chinese attack, nuclear strikes against China would be
the only alternative to complete abandonment of the colony." The
document was made public in 2006.
(AP, 6/30/06)
1961-1971 Scotsman John Cowperthwaite, who arrived
in Hong Kong in 1945, served as Financial Secretary of the British
colony. Cowperthwaite died in 2006 at age 90.
(http://garysweeten.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html)(Econ,
11/25/06, p.80)
1965 Two Hong Kong banks went
bust. Depositor calls on the government to be made good were
dismissed.
(Econ, 7/17/10, p.74)
1967 The Chinese Cultural
Revolution briefly spilled over into Hong Kong with street riots.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1967 In Hong Kong Television
Broadcasts Limited (TVB) received a rare license to operate by the
colonial government. In the 1970s Sir Run Run Shaw gained control.
Its film production ceased operations in 1985. In 1999 it sold its
vast library of films to a Malaysian firm.
(Econ, 5/24/08, p.88)
1971 Nov 28, The Anglican
Bishop of Hong Kong ordained the first two women as priests.
(HN,
11/28/98)(http://trushare.com/Mascall%20Women%20Priests.htm)
1971 Vincent Lo (b.1948)
founded the Shui On Group in Honk Kong with a family loan of
$16,700. In 2005 Lo and his partners sold land in Manhattan and
proceeded to purchase the Bank of America Center in SF.
(SSFC, 1/1/06, p.J6)
1971-1982 Lord MacLehose (d.2000 at 82) served as
the governor of Hong Kong.
(SFC, 6/1/00, p.C20)
1972 Jan 9, The RMS Queen
Elizabeth, the world’s largest ocean liner, sank after a major fire
in Hong Kong harbor. It had been purchased by Tung Chao-yung at a
bankruptcy sale in Florida. He had hoped to turn it into a floating
school. Arson was blamed and it was scrapped.
(WSJ, 2/6/97,
p.B1)(www.ocean-liners.com/ships/queenelizabeth.asp)
1972 China, newly admitted to
the UN, said it wanted Hong Kong back.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1973 Jul 20, Bruce Lee
(b.1940), [Lee Yuen Kam], American-born martial arts expert and film
actor, died in Hong Kong 3 weeks before the opening of his new film
"Enter the Dragon." He was born in San Francisco and raised in Hong
Kong. In 2000 Davis Miller authored "The Tao of Bruce Lee, A Martial
Arts Memoir."
(SFEC, 8/13/00, BR p.4)(SFC, 7/21/03,
p.D8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee)
1973 The Hong Kong film "Enter
the Dragon" starred Sammo Hung and Bruce Lee (d.1973).
(SFEC, 7/12/98, DB p.54)(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1973 Peter Godber, a corrupt
police official, avoided punishment by fleeing to England. People
marched in protest.
(SFC, 5/5/00, p.A14)
1974 Lord MacLehose, the
British governor, set up the Independent Commission on Corruption
(ICAC).
(SFC, 5/5/00, p.A14)
1975 Apr 25, The 1st Boeing
Jetfoil revenue service began between Hong Kong and Macao.
(SS,
4/25/02)(http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/1979/PV1979_2017.pdf)
1975 Nov 5, The scrapped
passenger ship Queen Elizabeth rolled over and disgorged several
tons of oil in Hong Kong.
(www.cunard.co.uk)
1975 The Hong Kong film "Hand
of Death" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1975 The Hong Kong Museum of
History was established.
http://www.usd.gov.hk/hkmh/e-hkmoh/introduction.html
1975 Hong Kong established
China’s first reserve to protect migrating shore birds at Mai Poi.
(Econ, 12/20/08, p.67)
1977 The Hong Kong film
"Iron-Fisted Monk" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1977 The Hong Kong film "Mighty
Peking Man" starred Danny Lee. It was also called Goliathon or
Colossus of the Jungle.
(SFC, 4/23/99, p.C13)
1978 The Hong Kong film
"Drunken Master" with Jackie Chan was produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1978 The Hong Kong film "Enter
the Fat Dragon" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1978 The Hong Kong film "Master
Killer" was produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1978 The Hong Kong film
"Warriors Two" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1979 Mar, China Premier Deng
Xiaoping received Sir Murray McLehose, Gov. of Hong Kong
(1971-1982). McLehose raised the issue of the 1997 end of lease and
Deng said Hong Kong can rest at ease.
(SFC, 7/1/97,
p.A8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_of_the_sovereignty_of_Hong_Kong)
1979 Sep, British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Beijing. Deng refused her request
for continued British administration of Hong Kong after 1997, but
agreed to open negotiations on handover.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)
1979 The Hong Kong film
"Knockabout" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1979 Sir Norman Foster, English
architect, designed the $815 million, 41-story Hong Kong and
Shanghai Bank headquarters in Hong Kong.
(WSJ, 5/14/97, p.B1)
1980 The Hong Kong film
"Encounters of the Spooky Kind" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1980 The film "Shaolin Temple"
was produced by a Hong Kong company about the Shaolin monks and
their unique martial arts style.
(WSJ, 10/23/96, p.A1)
1980 The Hong Kong film "Young
Master" was the directorial debut for Jackie Chan.
(SFC, 1/26/98, p.D2)
1982 The Hong Kong film "The
Dead and the Deadly" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1982 China and Britain began
negotiations on Hong Kong’s future.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_of_the_sovereignty_of_Hong_Kong)
1983 Oct, Hong Kong pegged its
currency to the US dollar. Hong Kong adopted a currency board. The
board is a type fixed exchange rate system that requires currency in
circulation to be fully matched by the country’s foreign exchange
reserves. The Hong Kong dollar was pegged at 7.8 to the US dollar.
(SFC, 2/16/98, p.A10)(WSJ, 8/10/98, p.A10)(Econ,
6/30/07, SR p.10)
1983 The Hong Kong film "The
Prodigal Son" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1983 The Hong Kong film
"Project A" (Part I) starred Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.
(SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)(SFEC, 3/1/98, DB
p.48)(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1983 The Hong Kong film
"Warriors of the Magic Mountain" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1983 The Hong Kong film
"Winners and Sinners" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1983 In Hong Kong Teddy Wang
Teh-huei, owner of Chinachem, was abducted by armed men and stuffed
into a refrigerator. He was released following an $11 million
ransom.
(WSJ, 10/20/99, p.A23)
1984 Sep 19, Britain and China
completed a draft agreement on transferring Hong Kong from British
to Chinese rule by 1997.
(AP, 9/19/99)
1984 Dec 19, British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang signed an
accord to return Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on Jul 1, 1997.
China pledged to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and
permit it to retain its capitalist system for 50 years.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)(SFC, 7/1/97,
p.A8)
1984 The Hong Kong film "Wheels
on Meals" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1984 The trading firm Jardine,
Matheson & Co., in Hong Kong since 1842, shifted its legal
domicile to Bermuda.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardine_Matheson_Holdings)
1985 May 27, In a brief
ceremony in Beijing, representatives of Britain and China exchanged
instruments of ratification on the pact returning Hong Kong to the
Chinese in 1997.
(AP, 5/27/97)
1985 The Hong Kong film "My
Lucky Stars" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1985 The Hong Kong film
"Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1986 The Hong Kong film
"Eastern Condors" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1986 The Hong Kong film "North
and South Shaolin" starred Jet Li.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1986 The Hong Kong film "Rouge"
starred Anita Mui (d.2003 at age 40).
(SFC, 1/1/04, p.A23)
1986 The Hong Kong film
"Shanghai Express" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1987 Oct, The Hong Kong stock
market suffered a 46% decline in October.
(SFC,10/27/97, p.B2)
1987 The Hong Kong film
"Dragons Forever" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1988 Jun 15, Hong Kong
announced a clampdown on "boat people," saying newly arriving
Vietnamese refugees would be incarcerated and returned to Vietnam if
they could not prove that they had fled religious or political
persecution.
(AP, 6/15/98)
1988 The Hong Kong film
"Painted Faces" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1988 The Hong Kong film "Paper
Marriage" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1988 Heung Wah Yim, the eldest
son of Heung Chin, was convicted of being the boss of the Sun Yee On
triad, but the conviction was overthrown on a technicality.
(SFC, 2/18/98, p.A7)
1989 Dec 12, Amid international
criticism, Britain forcibly removed 51 Vietnamese from Hong Kong and
returned them to their homeland.
(AP, 12/12/99)
1989 The Hong Kong film
"Pedicab Driver" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1990 The Hong Kong cop film
"New Kids in Town" was directed by Lau Kar Leung.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1990 China promulgated the
Basic Law, a mini-constitution for post-1997 Hong Kong. It granted
any child of a permanent resident the right to live in Hong Kong.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)(SFC, 4/29/99, p.D7)
1990 Apr 10, Teddy Wang
Tei-huei (57), Hong Kong real estate tycoon, was kidnapped for a 2nd
time. Abductors demanded $60 million. His wife Nina Wang paid a $34
million installment, but it was too late. His body was never found.
Wang was declared legally dead in 1999.
(WSJ, 10/20/99, p.A23)(Econ, 7/3/04, p.52)
1990 Dec 14, In Hong Kong 10
Vietnamese boat people set fire to themselves to protest screening
policy that could prevent them from settling in the West.
(AP, 12/14/02)
1990-91 The Nung from Vietnam made their way to
Hong Kong as boat people.
(SFC, 6/18/97, p.A10)
1991 Nov 9, Police in Hong Kong
forcibly repatriated 59 Vietnamese boat people, carrying them onto a
transport plane.
(AP, 11/9/01)
1991 The Hong Kong murder
mystery film "Hong Kong Pretty Woman" was produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1991 The Hong Kong romantic
comedy film "Perfect Match" with Maggie Cheung was produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1991 The Hong Kong film
"Swordsman II" was directed by Ching Siu-tung.
(SFEC, 4/13/97, DB p.44)
1992 The Hong Kong film "The
Actress" was directed by Stanley Kwan. It was about the first Asian
silent film icon, Ruan Ling Yu, and starred Maggie Cheung.
(SFC, 1/9/98, p.D4)
1992 The Hong Kong film "Dead
End of Besiegers" contrasted Japanese and Chinese martial art
techniques.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1992 The Hong Kong action
comedy film "Twin Dragons" starred Jackie Chan and Maggie Cheung and
was directed by Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam.
(SFC, 4/10/99, p.E1)
1992 Christopher Patten became
the 28th British governor. He began electoral reforms that were
denounced by China. He served to 1997 and in 1998 published “East
and West: China, Power and the Future of Asia.”
(SFEC, 11/10/96, Parade p.14)(SFC, 7/1/97,
p.A8)(WSJ, 9/16/98, p.A20)
1992 The Hong Kong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation (HSBC) bought Britain’s Midland Bank as part of
a strategy of global expansion.
(Econ, 12/4/10, p.71)
1992 A US Senate report linked
the Sun Yee On triad to criminal organizations in Canada, the
Dominican Republic, and 7 US cities including SF. The report stated
that the syndicate was in outright control of the entertainment
industry in Hong Kong. The book “Hong Kong Babylon” by Fredric
Dannen describes the Hong Kong movie industry.
(SFC, 2/18/98, p.A7)
1993 The film "Drunken Master
II" with Jackie Chan was produced.
(SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)
1993 The Hong Kong cop film
"Project S: Once a Cop" with Michelle Khan was produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1993 The lesbian assassin film
"Naked Killer" with Carrie Ng and Chingmy Yau was produced.
(SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)
1993 China set up a Preliminary
Working Committee (PWC) to shape the post-1997 Hong Kong
administration.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)
1993 Anson Chan was named by
Gov. Chris Patton as the 1st Chinese person to run the civil
service.
(SFC, 1/13/01, p.A14)
1994 The Hong Kong film "Ashes
of Time" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1994 The film "Chinese Torture
Chamber" was produced.
(SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)
1994 The Hong Kong film
"Chungking Express" was directed by Wong Kar-wai.
(SSFC, 10/19/03, p.C10)
1994 The Hong Kong murder
mystery film "Dream Killer" was produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1994 The Hong Kong film "Great
Conqueror’s Concubine, Part Two" with Gong Li and Rosamund Kwan was
produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1994 The film "Naked Killer"
was produced in Hong Kong. It featured nonstop sex and violence
(SFEC, 5/11/97, DB p.37)
1995 Sep 18, Pro-democracy
candidates won a sweeping victory in the last legislative election
under British rule. Democrats took 70% of the direct vote. China
vowed to disband the legislature.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)
1995 Hong Kong, a weekly news
magazine was published by millionaire Jimmy Lai, a virulent critic
of China. 88% of Hong Kong's population speaks Cantonese. It is
scheduled to revert to Chinese control in 1997.
(WSJ, 10/26/95, p.A-1)
1995 The film "High Risk" with
Jet Li and Jackie Cheung was produced.
(SFC,11/28/97, p.C18)
1995 The Hong Kong film
"Thunderbolt" starred Sammo Hung.
(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1996 Mar, British Prime
Minister John Major visited Hong Kong and said that Britain will
fight for the 1984 treaty to be respected by China.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)
1996 May 10, Riots broke out
here where more than 18,000 Vietnamese have been held in what
amounts to prison camps. The government is in the process of
returning them to Viet Nam from whence they fled as boat people.
(SFC, 5/11/96, p.A-10)
1996 May, The Hong Kong listed
Millennium Group, partly owned by the Tanuwidjaja family of
Indonesia, bought 25% of World Wide Golden Leaf, a tobacco company
owned by Ted Sioeng.
(WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A22)
1996 Jun 4, The financial
leaders have staked out their firm intention to retain monetary and
regulatory independence after reversion to Chinese control.
(WSJ, 6/4/96, p.A13)
1996 Nov 20, In Hong Kong a
fire raged in the 16-story Garley Building and 39 people died.
(SFC, 11/21/96, p.C3)(SFC, 11/22/96, p.A22)
1996 Nov, China formed a
Selection Committee to choose the first post-colonial chief
executive and provisional legislature in Hong Kong.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)
1996 Nov, Cambodian leader Hun
Sen and businessman Theng Bunma attended the wedding of Indonesian
businessman Ted Sioeng’s daughter Laureen and Subandi Tanuwidjaja.
(WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A22)
1996 Dec 11, A panel of 400
business leaders approved Tung Chee-hwa as the chief executive of
the semi-autonomous government when China recovers sovereignty on
Jul 1, 1997.
(SFC, 12/11/96, p.C3)
1996 Dec 21, China’s rulers
named 60 pro-Beijing stalwarts to a new interim legislature to
replace the panel elected in 1995.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1996 The Hong Kong film "Beyond
Hypothermia" with Wu Chin Lin was produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1996 The Hong Kong film
"Comrades, Almost a Love Story" with Maggie Cheung was produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1996 The Hong Kong film "The
Stunt Woman" with Michelle Khan was produced.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1996 The Hong Kong film "Viva
Erotica," a satire on the porn industry, was directed by Derek Yee.
(SFC, 7/18/97, p.D7)
1996 China set up the
Preparatory Committee to replace the PWC and oversee the transition
of Hong Kong in line with the Basic Law and decisions of China’s
parliament.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A8)
1997 Jan 16, Panama's Law No. 5
was passed and confirmed a deal in which Hutchison Whampoa, a
Chinese Hong Kong corporation, agreed to pay $22.5 million a year
plus what one Panamanian called "bucket loads of money" under the
table.
(www.eagleforum.org/psr/1999/nov99/psrnov99.html)
1997 Feb 1, A Beijing-appointed
committee voted to repeal several key civil liberties laws.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1997 Feb 23, China’s
legislature voted to dilute Hong Kong’s civil liberties laws.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1997 Apr 9, The future
government unveiled plans to restrict political ties with
foreigners, require police approval for protests, allow political
parties to be banned and prohibit political groups from forming
links with foreign organizations.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1997 Apr 27, The Tsing Ma
Bridge that connects the mainland part of Hong Kong with the islet
of Chek Lap Kok was opened. It was hailed as the longest
road-and-rail suspension bridge in the world.
(SFC, 4/28/97, p.A12)
1997 Apr, Shops sold out of the
Tamagochi cyber pet in ten minutes on the first day of sale.
(SFC, 6/17/97, p.D2)
1997 May 9, In Hong Kong a
3-year-old boy became ill with the flu. He died May 21 and the flu
was identified as subtype H5N1, a bird flu.
(SFC, 2/26/01, p.A9)
1997 May 16, Fei Long (Fat
Dragon) was described as a local celebrity for his articles on
prostitution on Portland St., the heart of the red-light district.
His columns have been compiled as the “Fat Dragon Handbook.”
(WSJ, 5/16/97, p.A1)
1997 Jun 3, The “Pillar of
Shame,” a sculpture symbolizing oppression by Jans Galschiot of
Denmark was erected in Victoria Park, Honk Kong.
(SFC, 6/4/97, p.A11)
1997 Jun 5, China announced
that diplomat Ma Yuzhen would be its top civilian representative in
Hong Kong beginning July 1. Domestic affairs will be run by Hong
Kong residents but foreign affairs will be under the central
government.
(SFC, 6/6/97, p.E3)
1997 Jun 9, The 1898 British
lease of Hong Kong's New Territories from China for 99 years
expired.
(www.info.gov.hk/yearbook/2003/english/chapter21/21_03.html)
1997 Jun 14, The provisional
legislature voted to give police broad powers to ban even peaceful
demonstrations and to outlaw foreign donations to political parties.
(SFEC, 6/22/97, p.A14)
1997 Jun 27, China announced
that it would send 4,000 troops into Hong Kong six hours after the
former colony is handed over to Chinese control.
(SFC, 6/28/97, p.A1)
1997 Jun 30, In Hong Kong, the
Union Jack was lowered for the last time over Government House as
Britain prepared to hand the colony back to China after ruling it
for 156 years. The 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland
Regiment) became the last British unit to leave Hong Kong.
(AP,
6/30/98)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_British_Army#1990-present)
1997 Jul 1, Hong Kong reverted
to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony. Britain
relinquished Hong Kong as a colonial territory, and China became
master. Many rights were guaranteed for 50 years under a
Sino-British treaty.
(WSJ, 11/14/94, p.A9)(SFC, 5/30/96, p.A9)(AP,
7/1/98)
1997 Aug 2, Typhoon Victor
struck Hong Kong and one person was killed. The typhoon battered the
surrounding Guangdong province and at least 65 people were killed.
(SFEC, 8/3/97, p.A18)(SFC, 8/9/97, p.A12)
1997 Sep 27, In Hong Kong
lawmakers approved an election law that reduced the number of people
who could vote and increased the power of big business.
(SFC, 9/29/97, p.A12)
1997 Oct 8, Hong Kong leader
Tung Chee Hwa announced a goal to build 85,000 new housing units a
year. The plan failed and the property market soon began a steep
drop.
(WSJ, 3/3/05, p.A11)
1997 Nov 14, The Hong Kong
stock market was down 30% over the last month.
(SFEC,11/16/97, p.A24)
1997 Dec 16, In Hong Kong it
was reported that 2 people died of an avian flu. It was the first
known instance of human infection. The flu came from chickens
imported from Guangdon province in China. The first case was
reported in May.
(WSJ, 12/16/97, p.A1)(SFC,12/17/97, p.A2)
1997 Dec 29, In Hong Kong the
government planned to start killing over 1.4 million chickens to
combat the new strain of avian flu. Four people had already died of
the illness.
(SFC, 12/29/97, p.A1)(AP, 12/29/98)
1997 The Hong Kong film "The
Day the Sun Turned Cold" was directed by Yim Ho.
(SFC, 1/9/98, p.D4)
1997 The Hong Kong film
"Eighteen Springs" was directed by Ann Hui.
(SFC,11/12/97, p.E3)
1997 The Hong Kong film
"Hu-Du-Men" (Stage Door) was directed by Shu Kei.
(SFC, 1/9/98, p.D4)
1997 The film "The Soong
Sisters" was produced.
(SFC, 6/16/97, p.A8)
1997 The Hong Kong film "Summer
Snow" was directed by Ann Hui.
(SFC, 1/9/98, p.D4)
1997 Wong Kwan, real-estate
speculator, spent $70 million for the Genesis mansion overlooking
the city. This was the most money ever paid for a house.
(WSJ, 6/20/01, p.A15)
1998 Jan 12, The Peregrine
finance house collapsed due to a debt burden to an Indonesian cab
company of $260 million. It was founded less than 10 years ago by
former members of Citicorp’s Hong Kong securities team.
(SFC, 1/13/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A22)
1998 Jan 30, It was reported
that real estate prices were diving down. Prices were reported down
25% since August.
(SFC, 1/30/98, p.A1)
1998 May 24, Voters turned out
in record numbers for elections of a Legislative Council. They
returned to office pro-democracy politicians ousted by Beijing.
Democrats won 13 of 60 seats in the legislature.
(SFC, 5/25/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 5/26/98, p.A1)
1998 Jun 22, Hong Kong
suspended government land sales to bolster prices and announced a
stimulus package to revive the economy.
(SFC, 6/23/98, p.A9)
1998 Jul 5, The 73-year-old Kai
Tak Airport closed after 73 years of operation.
(SFC, 3/18/98, p.A10)(SFEC, 7/5/98, p.A9)
1998 Jul 6, The new Hong Kong
Int’l. Airport at Chek Lap Kok welcomed its first commercial flight.
Pres. Clinton flew in here a week prior to the official opening. The
$20.6 billion project was built on reclaimed land off the northern
coast of Lantau island. Inefficient coordination led to chaos on the
1st day.
(SFEC, 7/5/98, p.A9,T3)(WSJ, 3/3/05, p.A11)
1998 cJul, Barrie Cook helped
found the Hong Kong Business Coalition on the Environment to push
for a cleaner Hong Kong. Pollution kept the skies gray regardless of
the weather.
(SFC, 7/16/99, p.D3)
1998 Nov 13, Near Hong Kong 2
oil tankers collided and left a 6-mile oil slick near the Pearl
River delta that threatened the local rare pink dolphins.
(SFC, 11/21/98, p.A6)
1998 Nov, The Hong Kong
freighter ship Cheung Son (Chang Sheng), loaded with iron ore, was
hijacked and all 23 crewmen were lined up on deck and gunned down by
pirates. In 1999 38 defendants went on trial in China on charges of
murder, robbery and possession of firearms and drugs.
(SFC, 7/7/99, p.C12)(SFC, 12/16/99, p.C9)
1998 Dec 5, Cheung Tze-keung, a
reputed Hong Kong crime boss known as Big Spender, was executed in
China. He had been convicted of kidnapping and arms trafficking.
(SFC, 12/5/98, p.A14)(SFC, 11/24/99, p.C4)
1998 The Hong Kong film
"Ballistic Kiss" was directed by Donie Yen. It was about the
relationship between a policewoman and a loner in Hong Kong.
(SFC, 6/15/98, p.D2)
1998 The Hong Kong film "Hero,"
with Takeshi Kaneshiro, was directed by Corey Yuen. It was a remake
of the 1974 Boxer of Shantung.
(SFC, 1/21/98, p.E5)
1998 The Japanese film "Mr.
Nice Guy" starred Jackie Chan and was directed by Sammo Hung.
(SFC, 3/20/98, p.D3)(SFEC, 4/11/99, Par p.18)
1998 The Hong Film "The
Replacement Killers" starred Chow Yun-Fat.
(SFEC, 2/1/98, DB p.33)
1998 The Hong Kong film "The
Storm Riders" starred Eking Chang, Aaron Kwok and Sonny Chiba. it
was directed by Andrew Lau.
(SFC, 9/2/98, p.E3)
1998 Hong Kong suffered a slump
in GDP of over 6% as did Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and
Thailand.
(Econ, 11/22/08, p.51)
1999 Jan, An appeals court
ruled that the Basic Law of Hong Kong in regards to residency
extends to illegitimate children and children born before their
parents acquired Hong Kong residency.
(SFC, 4/29/99, p.D7)
1999 Jan 29, The Hong Kong
Court of Final Appeals ruled that any mainland Chinese with at least
one Hong Kong parent had the right to live in Hong Kong. The Hong
Kong government appealed to China.
(SFC, 6/26/99, p.A16)
1999 Apr 29, China announced
that 1.6 million people would be allowed to move to Hong Kong over
the next 10-13 years.
(SFC, 4/29/99, p.D7)
1999 Jun 26, China's
legislature revised a Hong Kong ruling on immigration and reasserted
its right to decide issues that concern the mainland and Hong Kong.
In Dec the high court in Hong Kong affirmed the Chinese decision.
(SFC, 6/26/99, p.A16)(SFC, 12/4/99, p.A12)
1999 Aug 22, In Hong Kong a
China Airlines plane with over 300 passengers overturned while
landing under high winds from Typhoon [Tropical Storm] Sam. 3 people
were killed and 211 injured of the 313 survivors.
(SFC, 8/23/99, p.A14)(AP, 8/22/04)
1999 Sep 16, In Hong Kong
typhoon York left one man dead and 466 injured.
(USAT, 9/17/99, p.13A)
1999 Oct 12, In Hong Kong it
was reported that a $2.6 billion Cyberport was to be developed
beginning in 2001.
(SFC, 10/12/99, p.A10)
1999 Nov 1, In Hong Kong Disney
announced a new theme park. Hong Kong will put up $2.88 billion and
have a 57% stake.
(SFC, 11/2/99, p.A14)
1999 Dec 14, It was reported
that Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa had recently announced
a $3.75 billion environmental crusade in an effort to reduce
pollution. An 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions by 2005 was
planned. Hong Kong's yearly emissions for sulfur dioxide was 80,000
tons. Guangdong Province on the Chinese mainland put out 630,000
tons.
(SFC, 12/14/99, p.A,12,14)
1999 The Hong Kong film "Expect
the Unexpected" starred Lau Ching Wan, Simon Yam and Ruby Wong. It
was directed by Patrick Yau.
(SFC, 11/19/99, p.C4)
1999 The Hong Kong film
"Running Out of Time" starred Andy Lau and Lau Ching Wan. It was
directed by Johnny To.
(SFC, 10/20/99, p.D3)
1999 Hutchinson Whampoa of Hong
Kong sold Orange, its 2G telecoms operator to Germany’s Mannesmann
for some $20 billion. The company was controlled by Li Ka-shing,
Asia’s richest man. The money from the sale of Orange was put into
3G mobile-phone services.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.58)
2000 Mar 6, The Stock Exchange
of Hong Kong Limited, Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited together
with Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited merged under a
single exchange HKEX. In June Hong Kong sold shares in its combined
stock exchange and clearing house to the public. In 2007 HKEX bought
back a stake of almost 6%.
(Econ, 9/15/07,
p.93)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Exchanges_and_Clearing)
2000 Aug 2, Chinese immigrants
set fire to the lobby of the immigration center in frustration over
residency permits. The Hong Kong announced the immediate deportation
of 1,000 mainlanders the next day.
(SFC, 8/4/00, p.A16)
2000 Sep 6, Two top officials
of Hong Kong Univ. resigned after it was found that they and an
advisor had pressured a prominent pollster to suppress surveys
critical of Tung Chee-hwa.
(SFC, 9/6/00, p.A10)
2000 Sep 10, Elections were
held. Democrats gained seats in the legislative council but most
seats were filled with pro-Beijing and big-business candidates.
(WSJ, 9/12/00, p.A1)
2000 Sep, Dredging for a new
Disney theme park left some $3.5 million worth of fish dead in
Penny’s Bay.
(SFC, 1/23/01, p.A12)
2000 Richard Li, chairman of
PCCW, took over Hong Kong Telecom with help from his father Francis
Leung.
(Econ, 7/15/06, p.61)
2001 Apr 8, It was reported
that foot-and-mouth disease was endemic in Asia and that 3,282 cases
were confirmed in Hong Kong over the past year.
(SSFC, 4/8/01, p.C3)
2001 May 8, In Hong Kong AOL
Time Warner sponsored a business conference attended by Pres. Jiang
Zemin of China and Bill Clinton. Followers of Falun Gong were barred
from entering Hong Kong.
(SFC, 5/9/01, p.A16)
2001 May 10, At the Fortune
Global Forum Bill Clinton urged that China be admitted to the WTO.
(SFC, 5/11/01, p.D8)
2001 May 18, In Hong Kong
officials ordered the slaughter of some 1.2 million chickens and
other poultry to halt the deadly avian flu virus.
(SFC, 5/19/01, p.A12)
2001 Anson Chan, the chief
secretary for administration, resigned.
(SFC, 1/13/01, p.A14)
2001 Lam Sai-wing, Hong Kong
jeweler, opened his doors to a glittering golden bathroom complete
with two 24-carat solid gold toilets. The company earned two places
in the Guinness World Records by constructing the world's "most
expensive bathroom," and "most expensive toilet," made almost
exclusively out of gold.
(http://tinyurl.com/5urw7t)(WSJ, 7/7/08, p.A1)
2002 Feb 28, In Hong Kong Tung
Chee-hwa won a 2nd term after a nomination period expired with
challengers.
(SFC, 3/1/02, p.A17)
2002 Apr 12, In Hong Kong
police began expelling an estimated 4,300 mainland-born Chinese, who
were refused the right of residence.
(SFC, 4/13/02, p.A11)
2002 May 25, A Taiwanese China
Airlines Boeing 747 airliner bound for Hong Kong crashed into the
sea and 225 people were killed.
(SSFC, 5/26/02, p.A12)(SFC, 5/27/02, p.A7)(AP,
5/25/03)
2002 Jul 7, In Hong Kong tens
of thousands of civil servants staged a huge street protest against
a government plan to pass a law that would cut their pay by up to
4.42 percent.
(Reuters, 7/7/02)
2002 Dec 1, Martin Lee, Hong
Kong's pre-eminent champion of democracy, stepped down as leader of
the territory's most popular political party.
(Reuters, 12/1/02)
2002 Dec 15, Tens of thousands
of Hong Kong people took part in one of the territory's biggest
marches in years, denouncing plans for an anti-subversion law they
fear will erode freedom and civil liberties.
(Reuters, 12/15/02)
2003 Mar 19, Doctors in Hong
Kong reportedly identified the deadly pneumonia virus as belonging
to the paramyxoviridae family. The severe acute respiratory illness
(SARS) had killed at least 11 people and left hundreds ill. The
outbreak is believed to have began in southern China in November.
Later reports held that it could be a coronavirus, part of a group
that cause the common cold. Many people treated with corticosteroids
later developed an irreversible bone disease called avascular
necrosis. By July 12, 2003, SARS killed 812 people worldwide.
(SFC, 3/15/03, p.A8)(SFC, 1/19/02, p.A4)(WSJ,
4/3/03, p.B1)(WSJ, 12/23/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 31, Hong Kong
authorities quarantined more than 200 other residents in an
apartment block in an effort to contain the SARS virus.
(AP, 3/31/03)
2003 Apr 1, In Hong Kong Leslie
Cheung, Chinese pop singer and movie star, jumped to his death at
the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
(NW, 3/17/03, p.58)
2003 Apr 19, Hong Kong reported
12 SARS patients died in a single day. Malaysia banned workers from
Vietnam, which considered sealing its border with China due to the
disease.
(AP, 4/19/03)
2003 May 5, Hong Kong reported
three more SARS deaths, for a total of 187, and 8 new infections. In
Singapore SARS has killed 26 of the 203 people infected, a fatality
rate of 12.8 percent, more than double the global average.
(AP, 5/5/03)
2003 Jun 23, The World Health
Organization removed Hong Kong from its list of SARS-infected areas.
(AP, 6/23/03)
2003 Jun 29, Hong Kong and
China signed a free-trade agreement, the Closer Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA).
(AP, 6/29/03)(Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.11)
2003 Jul 1, In Hong Kong the
"Article 23" measures targeting crimes against the state drew
hundreds of thousands of people into the streets in a protest that
overshadowed the 6th anniversary of the handover of the territory
from Britain to China.
(AP, 7/1/03)(WSJ, 7/2/03, p.A8)
2003 Jul 4, Tung Chee-hwa, Hong
Kong's leader, withdrew parts of an anti-subversion bill that
triggered massive street protests.
(AP, 7/5/03)
2003 Jul 10, In Hong Kong a
double-decker bus collided with a truck and plunged off a bridge,
killing 21 people and injuring 20 more.
(AP, 7/10/03)
2003 Sep 5, In Hong Kong Tung
Chee-hwa withdrew his governments controversial "Article 23"
internal security bill.
(Econ, 9/13/03, p.36)
2003 Nov 2, In Hong Kong Robert
Kissel, a Merrill Lynch investment banker, was killed. Nancy Kissel
was soon accused of drugging her husband with a milkshake laced with
sedatives before fatally beating him on the head with a metal
ornament. In 2005 Kissel testified that the day her 40-year-old
husband died, he told her he was divorcing her and taking their 3
children. She said that during an argument, he hit her with a
baseball bat and she struck him with a metal statue with human
figurines. In 2007 Joe McGinniss authored “Never Enough,” a
non-fiction account of the crime. In 2010 Hong Kong's highest court
overturned her murder conviction and ordered that she be retried. On
March 25, 2011, Nancy Kissel was convicted of murder for a 2nd time.
The unanimous verdict carried an automatic life sentence.
(AP, 6/8/05)(AP, 8/4/05)(WSJ, 12/27/07, p.D7)(AP,
2/11/10)(AP, 3/25/11)
2003 Nov 23, Hong Kong
residents voted in elections seen as a showdown between pro-Beijing
politicians and democratic candidates. Voters turned out in record
numbers to hand the territory's top pro-Beijing party a stunning
defeat in local elections.
(AP, 11/23/03)(AP, 11/24/03)
2003 Dec 30, Anita Mui (40),
Canto pop diva and film actress, died in Hong Kong of cervical
cancer.
(SFC, 1/1/04, p.A23)(SFC, 1/10/04, p.D3)
2003 Hong Kong made insider
trading illegal.
(Econ, 9/19/09, p.85)
2003 Tung Chee-hwa, head of
Hong Kong, asked Allan Zeman, a Canadian entrepreneur, to take over
the operation of Ocean Park, a failing amusement park. Zeman had
already transformed warehouses into a popular drinking district
called Lan Kwai Fong. By 2007 Zeman managed to revive Ocean Park as
the local Disney theme park declined.
(Econ, 10/20/07, p.88)
2004 Jan 1, Hong Kong began a
de facto free-trade agreement with mainland China.
(SFC, 10/15/05, p.C1)
2004 Jan 21, Hong Kong
officials reported that Avian influenza was detected near 2 chicken
farms. 5 people in Vietnam had already died from the recent
outbreak.
(SFC, 1/22/04, p.A3)
2004 Feb 9, Culturecom Holdings
Ltd. of Hong Kong unveiled a DVD player and word-processing device
built with chips developed by Chinese computer scientist Chu
Bong-foo. Chu found a way to put Asia characters in position to
command binary code.
(WSJ, 2/9/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 6, China issued a
major ruling on how Hong Kong chooses its leaders, saying the
territory must submit proposed political reforms to Beijing for
approval.
(AP, 4/6/04)
2004 Apr 11, Thousands of Hong
Kong residents demanded full democracy and called on their unpopular
leader to quit as they marched past Beijing's representative office.
(AP, 4/11/04)
2004 Apr 26, Mainland China
dealt a crushing blow to Hong Kong's hopes for full democracy, when
its most powerful legislative panel ruled the territory won't have
direct elections for its next leader in 2007 or for all its
lawmakers in 2008.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2004 Jun 4, In Hong Kong tens
of thousands of residents rallied on the 15th anniversary of the
bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown.
(AP, 6/5/04)
2004 Jul 1, Hundreds of
thousands of people marched in Hong Kong to demand democratic rights
from China.
(AP, 7/1/05)
2004 Aug 24, Hong Kong
announced the official end to nearly 6 years of deflation.
(WSJ, 8/24/04, p.A10)
2004 Sep 12, People in Hong
Kong turned out in large numbers for a legislative election, many
venting anger at their leaders and hoping to hand pro-democracy
opposition politicians unprecedented clout in the Chinese territory.
Pro-democracy opposition figures gained more clout in Hong Kong's
legislature with three new seats, but they fell short of
expectations.
(AP, 9/12/04)(AP, 9/13/04)
2004 China and Hong Kong
entered into a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The
phased agreement eliminated tariffs on Hong Kong exports and by 2005
created 29,000 jobs in Hong Kong.
(WSJ, 10/19/05, p.A11)
2004 Hong Kong-based Ruyan,
which means "like smoking," introduced the world's first electronic
cigarette. It patented its ultrasonic atomizing technology, in which
nicotine is dissolved in a cartridge containing propylene glycol,
the liquid that is vaporized in smoke machines in nightclubs or
theaters and is commonly used as a solvent in food.
(AP, 2/2809)
2005 Jan 1, Hong Kong was
forecast for 4.7% annual GDP growth with a population at 7.1 million
and GDP per head at $22,970.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.90)
2005 Mar 10, Hong Kong's leader
said he tendered his resignation because of failing health and
repeatedly denied speculation China pushed him out in a bid to
tighten its grip on the former British colony.
(AP, 3/10/05)
2005 Mar 12, Donald Tsang,
career bureaucrat, took office as interim leader of Hong Kong.
(SSFC, 3/13/05, p.A16)
2005 May 18, Hong Kong said it
would place a cap on its currency's exchange rate to the U.S dollar,
but an official denied that the move signaled China would soon
revalue its currency.
(AP, 5/18/05)
2005 Jun 15, Veteran civil
servant Donald Tsang effectively won Hong Kong's leadership race,
filing papers that showed he had the solid backing of an election
committee that picks the Chinese territory's leaders.
(AP, 6/15/05)
2005 Jun 21, China appointed
Donald Tsang as Hong Kong's new leader for the next 2 years. The
veteran civil servant expressed confidence the territory will become
more democratic.
(AP, 6/21/05)
2005 Jul 21, Hong Kong said it
would maintain its 21-year-old peg to the US dollar.
(Econ, 8/6/05, p.60)
2005 Aug 24, A Hong Kong judge
ruled that laws against gay sex, including one that demands a life
sentence for men under 21 who engage in sodomy, are unconstitutional
and discriminatory.
(AP, 8/24/05)
2005 Sep 1, A Hong Kong jury
convicted Nancy Kissel of murdering her wealthy investment banker
husband in Nov, 2003, by drugging him with a milkshake laced with
sedatives and beating him to death in their luxury apartment. She
received a mandatory life sentence.
(AP, 9/1/05)
2005 Sep 12, The new Hong Kong
Disneyland theme park on Lantau Island opened. Zeng Qinghong,
China’s vice-president, presided over opening ceremonies.
(SSFC, 9/18/05, p.C2)(Econ, 9/17/05, p.44)
2005 Sep 23, The newly opened
Hong Kong Disneyland said it prefers that its 5,000 workers not
unionize as activists described tough work conditions at the park
such as long hours, harsh turnarounds and lack of breaks.
(AP, 9/23/05)
2005 Sep 25, A group of
pro-democracy lawmakers from Hong Kong crossed into mainland China
for the first time since being barred for criticizing Beijing after
the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989. They put their case for
electoral reform directly to a Chinese communist leader for the
first time, but complained that they were rebuffed.
(Reuters, 9/25/05)(AFP, 9/25/05)
2005 Sep 27, A research team
from Hong Kong reported that the horseshoe bat is the source of the
SARS virus. A 2nd team from China, Australia and the US reported
similar findings 2 days later. The syndrome 1st appeared in China in
2002 and killed 774 people worldwide.
(SFC, 9/30/05, p.A12)
2005 Oct 14, A trade delegation
of some 300 Chinese officials and business executives visited SF for
the 1st Hong Kong-Guangdong Business Conference USA.
(SFC, 10/15/05, p.C1)
2005 Oct 27, In Honk Kong the
IPO of China Construction Bank raised $8 billion from foreign
investors for a 12% stake. Ahead of the float CCB sold a 9% stake to
Bank of America and a 5.1% stake to Temasek, a Singapore investment
agency.
(Econ, 10/29/05, p.71)
2005 Dec 4, Tens of thousands
of protesters marched through the streets of Hong Kong to pressure
the government to speed up political reforms that would allow voters
to pick the territory's leader and entire legislature.
(AP, 12/04/05)
2005 Dec 11, About 4,000
anti-globalization activists some carrying a giant spider and others
wheeling statues of emaciated people marched in the first mass
protest against the World Trade Organization's summit in Hong Kong.
(AP, 12/11/05)
2005 Dec 12, Trade ministers
gathered in Hong Kong to work on a deal to open markets and boost
the global economy, with the EU quickly under fire for its refusal
to cut farm subsidies further.
(AP, 12/12/05)
2005 Dec 13, A 6-day
ministerial meeting of the WTO opened in Hong Kong.
(Econ, 12/24/05, p.97)
2005 Dec 17, In Hong Kong
hundreds of protesters wielding bamboo sticks broke through police
lines and tried to storm the convention center hosting global trade
talks. Security forces scattered the crowd with tear gas. Police
said 41 people were injured and 900 were detained.
(AP, 12/17/05)
2005 Dec 18, In Hong Kong World
Trade Organization negotiators approved a draft agreement requiring
wealthy nations to end farm export subsidies by 2013, a support
system that poor nations say puts them at a competitive
disadvantage. The agreement required approval by all 149 WTO
members.
(AP, 12/18/05)(SFC, 12/19/05, p.A3)
2005 Dec 19, US Federal
prosecutors said MSC Ship Management of Hong Kong had agreed to pay
$10.5 million to settle a pollution case.
(WSJ, 12/20/05, p.A1)
2006 Jan 31, In Egypt 14
tourists from Hong Kong were killed and 30 wounded when their bus
spun off the road along the Red Sea coast in one of the deadliest
crashes involving foreign nationals in recent years.
(AP, 1/31/06)
2005 A syndicate called China
Int’l. Fund or China Sonangol, created by a man named Sam Pa (aka Xu
Jinghua), signed contracts giving the company the right to export
Angolan oil and act as a middleman between Sonangol and Sinopec. The
company operated out of Hong Kong. By 2009 the company had bought
the JPMorgan Chase building at 23 Wall Street, NYC. Newbright
Int’l., a core company of the syndicate, was 70% controlled by
Veronica Fung.
(Econ, 8/13/11, p.21)
2006 Feb 22, Pope Benedict XVI
named 15 new cardinals, including John Paul II's longtime private
secretary and prelates from Boston and Hong Kong, adding his first
installment to the elite group of churchmen who will elect his
successor.
(AP, 2/22/06)
2006 Feb 23, China warned Hong
Kong’s new Cardinal Joseph Zen that he should avoid mixing religion
and politics.
(WSJ, 2/24/06, p.A4)
2006 Apr 29, In Hong Kong while
riding a bus Elvis Ho asked Roger Chan to lower his voice while
talking on his cellphone. Chan proceeded to berate Ho for nearly 6
minutes and the encounter was captured on video camera by another
passenger, Jon Fong. The video became famous as “Bus Uncle.” Some
phrases in the video, such as “I’ve got pressure” and “It’s not
over,” quickly became part of Hong Kong’s lexicon.
(WSJ, 6/6/06, p.A1)
2006 Jun 8, It was reported
that pollution in Hong Kong is worse than Los Angeles, the most
polluted city in the United States, and claims around 2,000 lives a
year.
(AFP, 6/8/06)
2006 Jul 1, Thousands chanted
slogans and marched through Hong Kong's streets in a pro-democracy
protest, while a pro-Beijing parade also drew a big crowd to mark
the ninth anniversary of the former British colony's return to
Chinese rule.
(AP, 7/1/06)
2006 Jul 10, Francis Leung
bought a 23% stake in PCCW, Hong Kong’s incumbent telecoms company,
held by his son and PCCW chairman Richard Li. This move prevented a
foreign takeover of PCCW.
(Econ, 7/15/06, p.61)
2006 Jul 12, Hong Kong's
supreme court struck down a ruling that allowed police to carry out
controversial government wiretaps, a move activists hailed as a
victory for freedoms in the Chinese city.
(AFP, 7/12/06)
2006 Aug 6, Hong Kong's
legislature passed a law regulating phone tapping and other
surveillance measures, a move critics fear will curtail civil
liberties in the former British colony now ruled by China.
(AP, 8/6/06)
2007 Jan 6, Hong Kong reported
that a wild bird found a few days earlier had tested positive for
the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
(WSJ, 1/8/07, p.A5)
2007 Jan 30, In Hong Kong Cheng
Siwei, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress, told the Financial Times in an interview: "There
is a bubble going on. Investors should be concerned about the
risks." He said 70% of the domestically traded companies were
worthless and should be delisted.
(Econ, 2/10/07, p.81)(http://tinyurl.com/2ubmjk)
2007 Jan, A 67% stake in
Hutchinson Essar, India’s 4th largest mobile operator, was put up
for sale by Hutchinson Telecom, which in turn was controlled by Li
Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest tycoon. The other 33% was owned by
Essar, an Indian steel and oil refining group controlled by the Ruia
family.
(Econ, 1/13/07, p.59)
2007 Feb 26, The SEC sued Blue
Bottle, a Hong Kong firm, alleging they hacked into computer systems
to get corporate news releases early and traded on that information,
making a profit of $2.7 million.
(Econ, 3/10/07, p.71)
2007 Mar 17, Two cargo ships
collided in the East China Sea, killing at least eight people. The
collision occurred off Zhejiang province between a cargo ship from
China and a Hong Kong-registered vessel. The Hong Kong ship, with 29
crew aboard, sank immediately.
(AP, 3/19/07)
2007 Mar 25, Incumbent Donald
Tsang trounced his challenger in Hong Kong's first contested
leadership race since it returned to Chinese rule, but the losing
candidate said the vote was rigged and demanded greater democracy.
Tsang beat pro-democracy lawmaker Alan Leong 649-123 in the vote by
an election committee loaded with tycoons and other elites.
(AP, 3/25/07)(AP, 3/26/07)
2007 Apr 3, Nina Wang (69),
Asia's richest woman, died in Hong Kong after reports she had been
battling cancer, leaving unanswered questions over her estimated
$4.2 billion (2.1 billion pound) fortune. Wang successfully battled
her father-in-law for a multi-billion dollar estate left by her late
husband Teddy Wang, a property tycoon who vanished in 1990. Wang
left her $4 billion fortune to Chan Chun-chuen, a master of feng
shui in a will dated Oct. 16, 2006. On Feb 2, 2010, a Hong Kong
court deemed the will a forgery.
(Reuters, 4/4/07)(AP, 4/20/07)(Econ, 4/21/07,
p.78)(AP, 2/2/10)
2007 May 1, Kenneth John
Freeman (44), a bodybuilder and computer expert from Benton County,
Washington, was arrested in Hong Kong. Freeman, who fled the US 13
months earlier, was accused of raping his daughter and posting a
video of the attack.
(www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2007/050207.htm)
2007 May 7, Hong Kong
newspapers reported that an unidentified animal illness has spread
in two southern Chinese cities, infecting at least 1,300 pigs and
killing more than 300. The diseased pigs began dying in Gaoyao and
Yunfu in Guangdong province following Chinese New Year celebrations
in February. The illness, which killed at least 300 pigs, was soon
identified as a strain of blue ear disease. Blue ear disease, also
called porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, was first
identified in the United States in 1987.
(AP, 5/8/07)(SFC, 5/8/07, p.A17)(AP, 5/10/07)
2007 Aug 8, Ma Lik (55), the
leader of Hong Kong's leading pro-Beijing political party, DAB, died
of complications from colon cancer.
(AP, 8/8/07)
2007 Aug 29, Hong Kong police
arrested two men accused of trying to smuggle more than 7,000 live
pet turtles to mainland China.
(AP, 8/31/07)
2007 Aug 21, China’s government
announced that mainland citizens would be allowed to invest in Hong
Kong. State media reported that a test run of traffic controls to
clear Beijing's smoggy skies for next year's Olympic Games
successfully improved air quality. Media also reported that China
will execute people who sabotage the electricity supply, reversing
recent steps to rein in widespread use of the death penalty.
(Econ, 10/6/07,
p.86)(http://tinyurl.com/2ugksh)(AP, 8/21/07)
2007 Sep 10, Kenneth John
Freeman (44), an American man accused of raping his daughter and
posting the videos on the Internet, agreed to be extradited from
Hong Kong to the United States.
(AP, 9/10/07)
2007 Oct 7, Thousands of people
marched through Hong Kong's streets to demand the right to pick
their city's leader and legislature and hoisted yellow umbrellas to
form the year 2012, their target year for full democracy.
(AP, 10/7/07)
2007 Oct 8, One of the rarest
gems in the world, a flawless blue diamond, sold for US$7.98 million
(3.91 million pounds) at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, making it
the most expensive gemstone in the world, per carat, sold at
auction.
(Reuters, 10/8/07)
2007 Oct 16,
A study in Hong Kong reportedly found that Lupeol, a compound
in fruits like mangoes, grapes and strawberries, appears to be
effective in killing and curbing the spread of cancer cells in the
head and neck.
(Reuters, 10/16/07)
2007 Nov 6, Chinese e-commerce
portal Alibaba.com soared in its debut on the Hong Kong stock
market. It opened at $3.86 and closed at $5.09.
(AP, 11/6/07)(SFC, 11/7/07, p.C1)
2007 Nov 7, The Cosco Busan, a
65,131 ton Greek-owned container ship leased by Hanjin Shipping of
South Korea, hit a protective shield at the base of a tower of the
Bay Bridge. The Bridge was not damaged, but the ship suffered a gash
and spilled 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel oil into the SF Bay. By
the end of the month estimated bird deaths due to the oil topped
20,000. The cleanup cost was later estimated at some $61 million. A
year later federal authorities still held 6 Chinese crew members for
their testimony. In July, 2009, Cosco Busan Capt. John Cota (61) was
sentenced to 10 months in prison, becoming the first ship’s pilot in
US history to be sent to prison for an accident. On August 13, 2009,
Fleet Management Ltd. of Hong Kong pleaded guilty to charges of
water pollution and falsifying documents and agreed to pay $10
million in fines. On Dec 4, 2011, a settlement was reached to pay
120 SF Bay Area commercial fishermen $3.6 million.
(SFC, 11/8/07, p.A1)(SFC, 11/27/07, p.A1)(SFC,
12/19/07, p.A1)(WSJ, 11/5/08, p.A2)(SFC, 7/18/09, p.C1)(SFC,
8/14/09, p.D1)(SFC, 1/5/11, p.C3)
2007 Nov 19, It was reported
that Chinese regulators in recent weeks have ordered commercial
banks to freeze lending through the end of the year. PM Wen Jiabao
acknowledged that vast amounts of currency were flowing out of China
through illegal channels. This followed the recent arrest of To Ling
(43), a Hong Kong resident, whose black market foreign exchange
business handled transactions worth more than $1 million a day.
(WSJ, 11/19/07, p.A1)(Econ, 11/24/07, p.78)
2007 Dec 2, Two outspoken
political veterans faced off in one of Hong Kong's most keenly
watched legislative elections. Pro-democracy candidate Anson Chan, a
hugely popular former government official, won a seat in Hong Kong's
legislature, a win she hailed as a victory for democracy in the
southern Chinese territory. Her closest opponent, former security
chief Regina Ip, who had the backing of Beijing-allied parties,
received 137,550, or 42.7% of votes.
(AP, 12/2/07)(AP, 12/3/07)
2007 Dec 29, China said Hong
Kong will be allowed to directly elect its leader in 2017 and all of
its lawmakers by 2020 at the earliest, an announcement that sparked
protests by pro-democracy activists who sought an earlier date.
(AP, 12/29/07)
2007 Dec, The 1,588-foot-tall
Int’l. Commerce Center, the tallest in Hong Kong and the 3rd tallest
in the world, opened for business on the Kowloon side of the city.
(WSJ, 12/5/07, p.B1)
2007 Anthony Hedley of the
Univ. of Hong Kong calculated that bad air in Hong Kong causes 1,600
deaths a year.
(Econ, 6/30/07, SR p.11)
2008 Feb 5, Ching Cheong (58),
a Hong Kong journalist charged with spying for Taiwan, was released
from prison in mainland China after being detained for nearly three
years.
(AP, 2/5/08)
2008 Feb 6, The US SEC settled
with David Li, head of the Bank of East Asia, charges of insider
trading regarding last year’s acquisition of Down Jones by News
Corp. Michael Leung, another Hong Kong tycoon, and his family also
settled for $8.1 million in disgorged profits and a similar amount
in fines.
(Econ, 2/9/08, p.83)
2008 Mar 22, Eighteen Ukrainian
sailors were missing after their tug boat sank off the Hong Kong
coast following a collision with a cargo ship. 7 people were
rescued. On Dec 13, 2010, a Hong Kong court convicted four seamen
over the deaths of the 18 Ukrainian sailors.
(Reuters, 3/23/08)(AFP, 1/13/10)
2008 Apr 9, Oasis Hong Kong
Airlines cancelled all flights and went into liquidation as a result
of high fuel costs.
(SFC, 4/10/08, p.C4)
2008 Apr 13, In Hong Kong the
historical epic "The Warlords" dominated the Hong Kong Film Awards
scooping 8 gongs including best film and best actor in martial arts
star Jet Li.
(AP, 4/13/08)
2008 Apr 30, The Olympic torch
returned to Chinese soil after a turbulent 20-nation tour, landing
in the bustling financial capital of Hong Kong where officials
deported at least seven activists before the flame's arrival.
(AP, 4/30/08)
2008 May 1, In Hong Kong 18
people were killed and at least 44 injured when a coach taking
elderly local residents to a religious ceremony overturned.
(AP, 5/1/08)
2008 Jun 7, In Hong Kong a
routine inspection found chickens infected with H5N1 bird flu in a
poultry market. Authorities slaughtered 2,700 birds and banned live
poultry imports from China.
(WSJ, 6/9/08, p.A12)
2008 Jun 11, Hong Kong
officials found bird-flu virus at three more food markets and
ordered the slaughter of some 3,500 birds at retail outlets.
(WSJ, 6/12/08, p.A13)
2008 Aug 22, Hong Kong issued
its highest storm warning in five years as Typhoon Nuri brought
hurricane-force winds and heavy rain, halting trade on financial
markets and shutting down most of the city.
(AP, 8/22/08)
2008 Sep 7, Hong Kong's
pro-democracy politicians lost several legislative seats in
elections, but held onto their veto power over major legislation as
they push for greater political freedoms in the Chinese territory.
Democratic parties won 23 of 60 legislative seats in the voting,
down from their previous 26.
(AP, 9/8/08)
2008 Sep 21, Hong Kong
authorities said they found traces of melamine in a batch of
Chinese-made Nestle commercial milk. The next day they forced Nestle
to recall the milk line.
(WSJ, 9/23/08, p.A22)
2008 Oct 5, Hong Kong said it
found two Cadbury chocolate products contained considerably more of
the industrial chemical melamine than the city's legal limit in a
growing scandal over Chinese tainted food. China attempted to
contain the fallout from the tainted milk scandal, announcing a new
survey of dairy products showed no traces of melamine and promising
to subsidize farmers hit by the scare.
(AP, 10/5/08)(AFP, 10/5/08)
2008 Nov 12, Hong Kong
officials said they had found elevated levels of melamine in fish
feed from China’s Fuzhou Haima Feed Co.
(WSJ, 11/13/08, p.A13)
2008 Nov 14, Thailand former PM
Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, who married in 1976, divorced at the
Thai consul general's office in Hong Kong. A political observer
suggested the divorce could have been aimed at protecting the
family's considerable assets, which are mostly held in Pojaman's
name.
(AP, 11/15/08)
2008 Dec 9, Hong Kong health
authorities said more than 80,000 chickens will be slaughtered after
bird flu was found on a poultry farm, the first outbreak at a farm
here in nearly six years.
(AFP, 12/9/08)
2008 Dec 11, Hong Kong's
government confirmed that the deadly H5N1 virus was found at a
poultry farm, the first outbreak on a farm here in nearly six years.
(AP, 12/11/08)
2009 Jan 5, In Hong Kong a new
survey said one in five residents is considering leaving the city
because of its dire air quality, raising fears over the financial
hub's competitiveness.
(AFP, 1/5/09)
2009 Jan 15, In Hong Kong Grace
Mugabe (43), the wife of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, struck
a photographer in the face repeatedly as her bodyguard grabbed him
when he was trying to snap photos of her leaving the five-star
Kowloon Shangri-la Hotel. She was later granted diplomatic immunity
from prosecution over her alleged assault of the British journalist.
(AFP, 3/22/09)(http://tinyurl.com/clw9hb)
2009 Feb 12, Hong Kong's High
Court quashed the conviction of Australian Kevin Egan, one of the
city's most high-profile lawyers, who had been jailed for leaking
the identity of a protected witness to a journalist.
(AFP, 2/12/09)
2009 Mar 11, More than 30
shipping containers of ammonium nitrate fell off a ship in stormy
seas off Australia, damaging the ship's hull and leaking up to 30
tons of oil [see Mar 13]. Swire Shipping's cargo liner Pacific
Adventurer released about 200,000 liters (53,000 US gallons) of
heavy fuel oil off the coast of Queensland state as it travelled
through cyclonic weather. Australia later sought more than 18
million US dollars in compensation from a Hong Kong-based shipping
company. In August the Hong Kong-based Swire Shipping company said
it will pay Australia 25 million dollars (21 million US) in
compensation for the oil spill.
(AP, 3/11/09)(AFP, 5/6/09)(AFP, 8/8/09)
2009 Mar 15, Thirty three
pro-democracy legislators from Hong Kong crossed to Macao to
confront the local government over banned visitors. 5 were
immediately returned over “security reasons” and the rest were
allowed to deliver a letter of protest.
(Econ, 3/21/09, p.43)
2009 May 15, In Hong Kong 63
governments approved the Int’l. Convention for the Safe and
Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. It aimed to make the
business of scrapping ships safer and greener by requiring higher
standards at recycling yards mostly located in South Asia. 107
environmental rights groups complained that the UN accord, doesn’t
go far enough.
(SFC, 5/16/09, p.A2)
2009 May 15, Hugh Van Es (67),
a Dutch photojournalist, died in Hong Kong. He covered the Vietnam
War and recorded the most famous image of the fall of Saigon in
1975, a group of people scaling a ladder to a CIA helicopter on a
rooftop.
(AP, 5/15/09)
2009 May 16, In Hong Kong two
bottles of acid were thrown into a crowd in a popular downtown
shopping district. 30 people suffered burns but none was seriously
injured. On the same street in December, 46 people suffered burns
when two plastic bottles filled with acid were thrown at
pedestrians.
(AP, 5/16/09)
2009 May 30, Taiwan officials
said they had confiscated nearly 18,000 cases of Red Bull imported
from Austria after finding traces of cocaine. On June 1 Hong Kong
officials reported founding traces of cocaine in Red Bull cans. Red
Bull moved quickly to deny the findings and said independent tests
on the same batch of drinks had found no traces of cocaine.
(AP, 6/2/09)
2009 Jun 8, In Hong Kong an
unidentified assailant hurled acid in the busy Mong Kok shopping
district, injuring 24 pedestrians including a 4-year old girl. It
was the third in a series of acid attacks that have hurt some 100
people.
(AP, 6/9/09)
2009 Jun 27, In Hong Kong
Michael Mudd, a student at California State University, Chico,
caused the crash of a taxi and the death of its driver before
commandeering the vehicle and slamming it into another cab. In 2010
Mudd (23) was sentenced to four years and three months in prison.
(AP, 10/28/10)
2009 Sep 6, In Hong Kong a man
hurled acid at pedestrians in the Mong Kok shopping district, in the
neighborhood's fourth acid attack in a year. The attacker (28),
arrested nearby, targeted a couple strolling through the district,
but also hurt nine others.
(AP, 9/6/09)
2009 Sep 13, In Hong Kong a
construction platform inside an elevator shaft collapsed, sending 5
workers 20 stories down to their deaths inside a skyscraper. One
worker was injured.
(AP, 9/13/09)
2009 Sep 18, In Hong Kong Du
Jun (41), a Beijing native and former managing director for Morgan
Stanley, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for insider trading. He
was also fined about $3 million.
(SFC, 9/19/09, p.D1)
2009 Oct 13, Guinea's military
government said it has signed a $7 billion mining agreement with a
Chinese company. Guinea is the world's largest producer of bauxite,
the raw material used to make aluminum, and also produces diamonds
and gold. The Hong Kong-based syndicate, China Int’l. Fund or China
Sonangol, transferred $100 million to the cash-strapped junta.
(AP, 10/13/09)(Econ, 8/13/11, p.23)
2009 Dec 1, In Hong Kong a
rare, 5-carat pink diamond was auctioned off for a record $10.8
million in Hong Kong.
(AP, 12/1/09)
2009 Dec 12, In Hong Kong 5
women and a man suffered burns in the incident in Causeway Bay, one
of a spate of acid attacks in the city. One woman's face and chest
were badly injured, with burns covering nearly 20 percent of her
body. On Jan 14 police charged a 23-year-old man over the acid
attack.
(AFP,
1/14/10)(www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200912/13/P200912130264.htm)
2009 Dec 12, In Thailand 4
Kazakhs and a Belarusian were detained and their New Zealand
registered aircraft impounded after it landed in the Thai capital
with tons of war weaponry on board that originated in North Korea.
The Ilyushin 76 transport from Kazakhstan was allegedly traveling
from North Korea to Sri Lanka when it asked to land in Bangkok to
refuel. According to a flight plan seen by arms trafficking
researchers, the aircraft was chartered by Hong Kong-based Union Top
Management Ltd. to fly oil industry spare parts from Pyongyang to
Tehran, Iran, with several other stops, including Bangkok, Colombo
in Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. A New Zealand shell company,
SP Trading Ltd., had leased the airplane.
(AP, 12/12/09)(AP, 12/23/09)(AP, 1/22/10)
2009 In Hong Kong 15 families
controlled corporate assets worth 84% of GDP.
(Econ, 2/14/09, p.88)
2010 Jan 1, Thousands of Hong
Kong residents marched to the Chinese government's liaison office
demanding that Beijing grant full democracy to the semiautonomous
financial hub.
(AP, 1/1/10)
2010 Jan 1, In Japan a robber
bored a hole through the wall of jewelry shop and walked off with
about 200 luxury watches worth 300 million yen ($3.2 million) in
Tokyo's upscale Ginza district. On Jan 7-8 three men and 3 women
were arrested in Hong Kong in connection with the jewelry heist.
Police suspect many of the watches were mailed from Japan to Hong
Kong, with some then sent to mainland China.
(AP, 1/2/10)(AP, 1/9/10)
2010 Jan 10, Hong Kong police
arrested a man after two bottles of corrosive liquid were hurled
into a crowd in the city's Kowloon area. At least 30 people were
injured in the city's latest acid attack.
(AP, 1/10/10)
2010 Jan 15, In Hong Kong
protesters against a national high-speed rail network scuffled with
police as they tried but failed to storm the legislature. Another
500 staged a sit-in in front of the Hong Kong leader's mansion,
shutting down traffic. The $55 billion Hong Kong dollar ($7.1
billion) project to link Hong Kong to a national high-speed rail
network has run into a growing protest movement.
(AP, 1/15/10)
2010 Jan 22, Sir Percy Cradock
(86), the British diplomat who negotiated the terms for returning
Hong Kong to Chinese rule, died. He was ambassador to Beijing in
1983 when Britain opened negotiations on the hand-over of Hong Kong.
Britain gained an agreement on the principle of "one nation, two
systems" which preserved some of Hong Kong's democratic and economic
freedoms.
(AP, 1/29/10)(Econ, 2/13/10, p.87)
2010 Jan 26, In Hong Kong 5
pro-democracy lawmakers resigned their seats, vowing to turn the
resulting elections into a populist campaign for universal suffrage
in defiance of warnings from China.
(AFP, 1/26/10)
2010 Feb 4, A Chinese ministry
statement ordered schools to sever all ties and cooperation with
Oxfam saying school administrators must ban all campus volunteer
recruitment efforts run by the group's Hong Kong office. It accused
the Hong Kong branch of having a hidden political agenda. Oxfam has
operated in mainland China for 20 years and worked in cooperation
with the government's poverty alleviation department. Oxfam, a
confederation of 14 national organizations that works in about 100
countries, was founded in Britain in 1942.
(AP, 2/23/10)
2010 Mar 22, Google announced
that its China search engine, google.cn, would automatically
redirect queries to its service in China's semiautonomous territory
of Hong Kong, where Google is not legally required to censor
searches.
(AP, 3/23/10)
2010 Apr 25, Police in Hong
Kong seized 820 pounds (372 kg) of cocaine from a suburban house
that was reportedly part of a botched drug shipment sent to the
southern Chinese territory by mistake. Police later said they have
arrested eight people, four men and four women aged 22 to 84, in
connection to the case, their largest seizure to date.
(AP, 4/27/10)
2010 May 8, In southeastern
China Zhou Yezhong (36) stabbed to death 8 people including his
wife, elderly mother and young daughter in Chengyuan village in
Jiangxi province. Another two people were killed and three wounded
in a stabbing spree by a man (42) in Hong Kong.
(AFP, 5/9/10)
2010 May 16, Hong Kong held
by-elections triggered by pro-democracy lawmakers seeking to
pressure Beijing into speeding up the pace of electoral reform in
the territory. Most Hong Kongers stayed away from special elections
that five opposition lawmakers had triggered. A low turnout returned
five opposition legislators who had resigned. Beijing loyalists
called the engineered election a failure.
(AFP, 5/16/10)(AP, 5/16/10)(AP, 5/17/10)
2010 May 23, In southern China
a fuel rod at the Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station
experienced a "very small leakage" that increased radioactivity
levels slightly in the nuclear reactor's cooling water. The plant
supplies power to Hong Kong.
(AP, 6/15/10)
2010 May 26, In Hong Kong a
10th employee of iPhone-maker Foxconn jumped to his death, just
hours after the company's chairman promised to make life better for
employees at the sprawling production site in southern China.
(Reuters, 5/27/10)
2010 May 29, Hong Kong police
confiscated a statue mourning victims of China's 1989 crackdown on
protesters in Tiananmen Square and arrested 13 activists, in what
critics called an escalation in political censorship in the
semiautonomous Chinese territory.
(AP, 5/29/10)
2010 Jun 4, Tens of thousands
of Hong Kong residents marked the bloody 1989 Tiananmen crackdown
with a candle-lit vigil, as agitation against Beijing intensifies in
the former British colony.
(AP, 6/4/10)
2010 Jun 23, In Hong Kong
thousands of protestors chanting slogans and blaring vuvuzelas faced
off as legislators debated a controversial plan to enact limited
political reforms in the Chinese territory. Pro-democracy Hong Kong
legislators attacked a proposal for limited political reforms made
by the territory's Beijing-appointed government and tried to stall a
vote expected to go in the administration's favor.
(AP, 6/23/10)
2010 Jun 25, Hong Kong's
legislature agreed to add 10 elected seats, completing a set of
Beijing-backed electoral changes that critics say reinforce the
territory's undemocratic political system.
(AP, 6/25/10)
2010 Jul 17, Hong Kong adopted
its first minimum wage law, but no rate was yet set
(Econ, 7/17/10, p.73)(http://tinyurl.com/2cx6os2)
2010 Aug 23, Philippine police
stormed a bus in downtown Manila after shots were heard from the
hostage-taker of 15 Chinese tourists. Former Senior Inspector
Rolando Mendoza (55), armed with a M16 rifle, had seized the busload
of Hong Kong tourists to demand his reinstatement in the force. 8
tourists were killed along with Mendoza. Ken Leung died trying to
subdue the gunman, who then killed his two daughters, Doris (21) and
Jessie (14). The only survivors were the mother, Amy, and son Jason
(18), who fell into a coma after suffering a head wound. Jason awoke
from his coma around mid October. On Dec 16 Manila said it will pay
compensation to the families of 8 Hong Kong tourists killed during
the botched hostage rescue.
(AP, 8/23/10)(AP, 8/24/10)(AP, 10/20/10)(AFP,
12/16/10)
2010 Aug 29, In Hong Kong an
estimated 80,000 people marched in honor of eight locals killed in a
bus hijacking in Manila, denouncing the Philippine government for
botching the rescue operation and demanding justice for the dead.
(AP, 8/29/10)
2010 Nov 14, Authorities in
Hong Kong detained the Decretive, a Maltese-flagged container
vessel, over a debt dispute with several European banks. The target
of the dispute is the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines
(IRISL), the guarantor of bank loans which funded the Decretive's
construction in 2008. Loan defaults totaled 268 million US dollars.
(AFP, 12/23/10)
2010 Dec 8, Brazilian mining
giant Vale made its Hong Kong trading debut, the first South
American firm to list in the city, as the company ramps up its
exposure to resource-hungry China.
(AFP, 12/8/10)
2010 Dec 15, Hong Kong police
said they have dealt a major blow to a notorious triad group, after
a territory-wide series of raids rounded up dozens of people,
including a suspected gang leader.
(AP, 12/15/10)
2011 Jan 2, Hong Kong democracy
activist Szeto Wah (b.1931) died. He was a leading campaigner for
the victims of Beijing's 1989 crackdown on protesters at Tiananmen
Square, a voice for mainland dissidents, and founder of the Hong
Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China.
(AFP,
2/27/11)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szeto_Wah)
2011 Feb 17, Hong Kong’s health
authority said at least 12 people have died from swine flu in less
than a month, after the latest death from the disease.
(AFP, 2/17/11)
2011 Feb 27, Britain’s Sunday
Times reported that Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing is set to clinch
the acquisition of a power distribution business in a deal which
would see him control half of Britain's electricity network.
(AFP, 2/27/11)
2011 Mar 5, In Hong Kong 15
families controlled more than two thirds of the stockmarket.
(Econ, 3/5/11, p.16)
2011 Mar 30, Hong Kong said it
had passed laws to comply with UN sanctions against Iran, two months
after 20 shipping firms in the city were accused of having links to
Tehran's weapons buildup.
(AFP, 3/30/11)
2011 Apr 17, Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev became the first Kremlin chief to tour Hong Kong,
seeking fresh investment as aides and executives signaled a rise in
Russian listings in the city.
(AFP, 4/17/11)
2011 May 15, Hong Kong-based
Galaxy Entertainment opened is new $1.9 billion Galaxy casino in
Macao.
(Econ, 5/21/11, p.70)
2011 May 18, Hong Kong’s new
Mercantile Exchange began trading a dollar-denominated futures
contract tied to the physical delivery of gold.
(Econ, 5/14/11, p.94)
2011 Jun 29, In Hong Kong
Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung (51), a one-time hairdresser
turned football tycoon, was arrested by police. The next day he
appeared in court and was charged with money-laundering. Prosecutors
said investigations had revealed around HK$720 million ($92 million)
passing through accounts connected with Yeung. He was released on
HK$7 million ($900,000) bail following a brief appearance at the
magistrates court.
(AFP, 6/30/11)
2011 Jul 1, In Hong Kong tens
of thousands of people vented anger over skyrocketing property
prices and government policies at an annual march held on the
anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule.
Police arrested 231 people and used pepper spray during the
demonstration.
(AP, 7/1/11)(AFP, 7/2/11)
2011 Jul 18, Hong Kong ordered
pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline to recall an antibiotic used to
treat infections in children after tests revealed the British firm's
Augmentin antibiotic tablet contained several plasticizers,
including diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP).
(AFP, 7/19/11)
2011 Aug 20, In Hong Kong about
300 reporters and photographers rallied against what they called the
suppression of press freedom and freedom of expression during the
visit earlier this week of China’s Vice Premier Li Keqiang's.
(AP, 8/20/11)
2047 Hong Kong’s status as a
special administrative Region of China was scheduled to expire.
Freedom of the press and free expression were guaranteed during this
period.
(SFC, 9/11/00, p.A12)
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Subject = Hong Kong
End of file.