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Hongkong |
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A peninsula and island at the mouth of
the Zhu Jiang River in southeast China. Hong Kong was a British dependency
from 1842 to 1997. On July 1, 1997, it was transferred to China, which
administers it as a Special Administrative Region. Under British rule,
Hong Kong became one of the most active seaports in the Far East. The
colony's economy boomed after World War II, as its light manufacturing and
banking industry flourished. During the 1970s, Hong Kong came to enjoy one
of the highest per capita incomes in the world. In 1984, Britain and China
agreed upon Hong Kong's return to China and began a process of transition,
with guarantees of the territory's political and economic freedoms. Since
Hong Kong's return to China, political opposition has been curtailed and
the number of voters reduced. A degree of autonomy remains, however, and
Hong Kong continues to maintain its own currency and issues its own stamps. |
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