Hong Kong handover ceremony
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The flags of the United Kingdom and China, countries that were participants in the ceremony.
The handover ceremony of People's Republic of China. It was an internationally televised event with the ceremony commencing on the night of 30 June 1997 and finishing on the morning of 1 July 1997. The ceremony was held at the new wing of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai.
Representatives
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Other guests:
Alexander Downer, Australian Foreign Minister[1]- Foreign Minister of Japan[2]
Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand[1]- Secretary of State of the United States of America[2]
and representatives from more than 40 other countries and dozens of international organizations.
Order of events
Monday, 30 June 1997
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- (15:00 Beijing Police cleared more than 60,000 people off Tiananmen Squarefor the final preparations of the all-night official celebration gala to mark the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.
- (16:30 Hong Kong Time/08:30 London Time) – Governor Chris Patten departed from Government House for HMY Britannia after the flag lowering ceremony of the Governor's flag. The bugle call "Last Post" and Patten's favourite pipe tune "Highland Cathedral" was played during the ceremony.[3]
- (17:30 Hong Kong Time/09:30 London Time) – President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng arrived in Hong Kong by Air China Boeing 747 from Shenzhen.
- (18:15 Hong Kong Time/10:15 London Time) – Sunset farewell ceremony featuring East Tamar Garrison parade on Hong Kong waterfronts. Chris Patten began his final speech as a governor of Hong Kong with "Today is a day of celebration, not sorrow". The bugle call "Sunset" was played for the final time to mark the end of official duties of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. Auld Lang Syne and Rod Stewart's Rhythm of My Heart was also performed during the ceremony.[4]
- (18:30 Hong Kong Time/10:30 London Time) – Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen met with British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.
- (20:45 Hong Kong Time/12:45 London Time) – Prime Minister Tony Blair meets for summit talks with President Jiang Zemin.
- (21:00 Hong Kong Time/13:00 London Time) – About 500 Pro-democracy advocates protest at the Legislative Councilin preparation of Chinese rule.
- (21:30 Hong Kong Time/13:30 London Time) – Cocktail reception for 4,000 guests at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
- (22:00 Hong Kong Time/14:00 London Time) – Beijing celebrations including live performances and fireworks were expected to run for 7 hours. The theme of Beijing Blesses you Hong Kong was under preparation.
- (23:45 Hong Kong Time/15:45 London Time) – Handover Ceremony officially begins. The Prince of Walesreads a farewell speech on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.
- (23:59:00-23:59:47 Hong Kong Time/15:59:00-15:59:47 London Time) – Exactly one minute before midnight the flag of British Hong Kong were slowly lowered to the British national anthem "God Save the Queen", symbolizing the end of British colonial rule in Hong Kong as very final and last time. A hiatus of exactly twelve seconds occurred between the British and the Chinese anthems due to a timing misunderstanding.[5][6]
Tuesday, 1 July 1997
- (00:00:00 People's Republic of China. The Flag of the People's Republic of China and the new Hong Kong regional flag were simultaneously raised to the Chinese national anthem "March of the Volunteers", to officially mark the beginning of the Chinese rule in Hong Kong. Chinese leader Jiang Zemin gave a speech expressing his optimism for the "one country, two systems" implementation. Grand celebrations begin in the mainland with fireworks displays over Tiananmen Square.
- (00:15 Hong Kong/Beijing Time) – Charles, Prince of Wales and Governor Chris Patten with his family, bid the citizens of Hong Kong farewell at the
- (01:30 Hong Kong/Beijing Time) – A swearing-in ceremony was held at the HKCEC for various HKSAR officials including Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan, Financial Secretary Donald Tsang and Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung.
- (02:45 Hong Kong/Beijing Time) – The provisional legislature held its first meeting after the handover to adopt handover-related laws.
- (06:00 Hong Kong/Beijing Time) – 4,000-People's Liberation Army troops from the Hong Kong Garrison arrive by land, air and sea.
- (10:00 Hong Kong/Beijing Time) – The new Hong Kong government hosted a celebration for 4,600-guests. Newly appointed Chief Executive's Tung Chee-hwa makes his inaugural speech.
- (16:00 Hong Kong/Beijing Time) – Chinese Premier Li Peng makes a speech at a reception in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
- (18:00 Hong Kong/Beijing Time) – Festival Performance by Hong Kong mainland and international celebrities at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
- (19:00 Hong Kong/Beijing Time) – Grand convention and art spectacle begins at the Workers Stadium in Beijing.
- (20:00 Hong Kong/Beijing Time) – The 1997 Hong Kong Spectacular across Victoria Harbour from Causeway Bay to Central, Hong Kong fireworks display begins.
Reactions
In 2005, the British goose-steps in the ceremony and claimed his trip on HMY Britannia out of Hong Kong was closely watched by Chinese warships.
The 12-second silence between the British and Chinese anthems has been adapted into the 2019 film My People, My Country.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Australia to attend handover ceremony". 13 June 1997.
- ^ a b "Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan".
- ^ The Governor's Last Farewell
- ^ Martin4Peters (25 January 2017). "Hong Kong Handover Sunset Farewell Ceremony & Parade". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Zhou, Emily (30 June 2022). "The missing ten seconds during the Hong Kong Handover". Friday Everyday. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ "解放军三军仪仗队原大队长追忆香港回归前的最后12秒". China News Service. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- ^ "How Hong Kong Changed Countries". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Charles sues Mail for printing his 'waxworks' jibe at Chinese leaders", The Guardian,, 19 November 2005
- ^ "《我和我的祖国》幕后全纪录：平民视角，以小见大". Sohu. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.