Published : 2025-07-01

On July 1, 1997, as the national flag of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were hoisted in Hong Kong, the Chinese government officially resumed exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, marking its official return to the motherland.

From midnight on June 30 to the early hours of July 1, 1997, the power transferring ceremony was solemnly held in the grand hall on the 5th floor of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

At exactly midnight on July 1, 1997, the entire hall stood in silence as thousands of eyes watched the five-star red flag and the Bauhinia regional flag being raised. From this moment, Hong Kong officially returned.

At 12:04 am on July 1, the then Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) solemnly declared that, according to the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Hong Kong issue, the two governments held the power transferring ceremony as scheduled, declaring that China resumed exercising sovereignty over Hong Kong.

In September 1982, the then British Prime Minister Mrs. Thatcher visited China to negotiate with Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) on the future of Hong Kong.

Deng proposed solving the issue of reclaiming Hong Kong's sovereignty through the "One country, Two systems" approach. He also emphasised that on the issue of sovereignty, China had no room for compromise.

China and Britain ultimately reached a consensus to resolve the Hong Kong issue via diplomatic means.

After over two years and 22 rounds of negotiations, the Sino-British Joint Declaration was officially signed on December 19, 1984.

It was decided that starting from July 1, 1997, China would establish a special administrative region in Hong Kong and resume exercising sovereignty over Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.