From British to Chinese language rule: Hong Kong, in photographs

In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sat at a protracted desk with Chinese language Premier Zhao Ziyang in Beijing. They signed giant red-bound paperwork with black fountain pens and shook arms. The group behind them applauded.

Virtually 13 years later, at midnight on July 1, 1997, the colonial Hong Kong flag bearing the Union Jack was lowered for the final time, marking town’s handover from British to Chinese language rule — and its new standing as a “particular administrative area” beneath a framework often known as “one nation, two programs.”

Within the 25 years that adopted, the “Pearl of the Orient” confronted two monetary crises, the SARS epidemic, the Covid-19 pandemic, and political upheaval that culminated in a sweeping nationwide safety regulation that has remodeled town’s social and political panorama — elevating questions on whether or not a 50-year promise of restricted autonomy can be saved.

Midway to the 2047 deadline, we glance again on the former British colony’s roots — and the place it is headed subsequent.