Independant Hong Kong

[birdy]

is there any way to have britain grant Hong Kong independance as an independant city state like Singapore.

prehaps if somehow China collapses into civil war and at the same time HKongers get fed up with Colony status.

[Shadow Knight]

Originally Posted by birdy

is there any way to have britain grant Hong Kong independance as an independant city state like Singapore.

prehaps if somehow China collapses into civil war and at the same time HKongers get fed up with Colony status.

Well from what I understand the UK only had to return the environs of HK to China not the city itself. So let's say they do give HK independence in '98 while the environs are returned to China. Without something truly distracting China I don't foresee it lasting long though.

[HueyLong]

Except that such an invasion would be a slap against the US and UK.....

[Sargon]

Originally Posted by Shadow Knight

Well from what I understand the UK only had to return the environs of HK to China not the city itself. So let's say they do give HK independence in '98 while the environs are returned to China. Without something truly distracting China I don't foresee it lasting long though.

The New Territories were on the 99 year lease, Hong Kong island was given in perpetuity. Unfortunately, the New Territories are much larger than the Island, and the majority of the city itself is on the NT side of the water. It's pretty much impossible to have Hong Kong island by itself, as you'd be literally cutting the city into two parts, and it's simply not viable. There's also the problem of the water supplies and reservoirs being in the NT and with tributaries coming across the border from China.

Interestingly, Lantau Island to the west is much bigger than Hong Kong island, but there has not been much development there until recently as it is quite mountainous.

Hong Kong is also not as small as you'd think. It takes about 1 hour 20 mins to get to Mongkok in Kowloon from Southern Lantau if one leaves from Cheung Sha taking bus and the MTR. It takes about 2 hours to reach HK Island itself. One can always take the ferry from Mui Wo on eastern Lantau to the Central Ferry Terminal, but that's also about 1 hour or so, and is often disrupted or cancelled during the typhoon season. Most of the population live in the NT as there are several satellite towns there, some of them a fair distance from Kowloon. Tuen Mun for example is over 1 hour bus journey away from Kowloon, and it's not even the furthest such town.

Simply put, holding on to HK island is just not viable at all, and that's why the whole lot was given back. You either have the whole lot together independent, or not at all. It had little to do with fears of a Chinese invasion, but more about how the heck people were going to get to and from work each day etc.

Btw, it was the 1st of July 1997 that HK was handed back to China.


Sargon