Weihaiwei for Hong Kong

The British considered returning Weihaiwei in exchange for the lease on the New Territories to be made permanent.

What if this had occurred? Would Hong Kong have remained British, or could it ultimately have ended up as an independent city-state?
 

Good point. The Wiki article you link to says that Portuguese had tried to hand over Macau in 1967, 1975, 1977, and 1985 but it was the Chinese who kept saying no. It wasn't until 1986 that China and Portugal began talks about the possibility of transfer.

In 1971, the Chinese were the ones who requested that the UN remove Hong Kong and Taiwan from the UN's list of colonies.

In contrast, Thatcher in 1982 was bringing up the idea of extending the lease of the New Territories.



If the Portuguese were so intent on ditching Macau, I wonder if they would assent to it becoming part of Hong Kong.


EDIT:

I found this thread too. I wonder if the British could use Weihaiwei negotiations to get a better New Territories boundary as well.

https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...ible-hong-kong-new-territories-border.368563/

One of the possible borders that would fit the bill is running from the sea to the peak of Wutong Mountain, along the ridge towards the lake, from the lake north of Shenzen city up the hills, once more through the hills and then once more to the sea.

@trekchu
 
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The only way Britain can hold Hong Kong would be if China totally collapses. Any Chinese government, whether communist or Nationalist would demand its return, and there is simply no way Britain could continue to hold it.
 
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