Speaking of the return of Hong Kong, although more than two decades have passed, the scene of the return is still vividly remembered. Of course, Hong Kong can finally return to the embrace of the motherland, and it is really through countless hardships. Remember that on the eve of Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 1997, the British government, which had an immortal heart, actually made a move that made the mainland very angry, and Deng Xiaoping, who had always been moderate, was also angry. Deng Xiaoping directly stated that if the British army dared to delay time, the People's Liberation Army would directly advance into Hong Kong.
In fact, the mainland and the United Kingdom have been playing games with each other over the issue of Hong Kong for nearly a hundred years, which has also led to the return of Hong Kong being repeatedly blocked by the United Kingdom. As we all know, Hong Kong has been an inseparable part of the mainland since ancient times, but due to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government, the Western powers have extended their claws into the mainland. Remember that during the Opium War in 1840, Britain, which took the lead in realizing the Industrial Revolution, opened the door of the mainland with its strong ship cannons, and since then it has been burning and looting in the mainland.
Although many countries in recent history have invaded and occupied the mainland and divided various interests from the mainland, among them, it is the British who have gained the most benefits in China. Of course, among the vast territories of the mainland, the most favored area of the United Kingdom is Hong Kong on the mainland. Therefore, since the 19th century, the British have constantly forced the cowardly Qing government to sign various treaties, so that Hong Kong has gradually become the jurisdiction of the British. Not only that, in 1898, the British once again forced the Qing government to sign a new treaty, so that the British had the right to lease Hong Kong for 99 years.
However, with the formal establishment of New China, the international situation was becoming more and more unfavorable to the British occupation of Hong Kong. Especially under the leadership of the great men, the People's Liberation Army successfully liberated Guangzhou in 1949, which frightened many British officials stationed in Hong Kong to pack their bags and prepare to flee back to the British mainland. However, at that time, the People's Liberation Army did not take Hong Kong back with a single blow, but because the great man had a longer-term plan.
Although New China was formally established, most countries in the world, especially the Western powers, did not recognize China's sovereignty at all. In this case, Chairman Mao made full use of the strategic dispatch, and he decided to let Hong Kong maintain its current state for the time being without considering taking it back by force. It has to be said that Chairman Mao was indeed far-sighted, and it is precisely because of his wise decisions that Hong Kong not only maintains a stable economy, but also the safety of the people is greatly guaranteed. It was also because China was not in a hurry to fight with Britain, making Britain the first country to recognize the sovereignty of New China.
Subsequently, through the joint efforts of the people of the mainland for decades, the strength of the mainland has achieved leapfrog development. Moreover, at this time, it was less than twenty years before the so-called Lease period of the British, so the question of when to recover Hong Kong and how to recover Hong Kong was put on the agenda. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited China in September 1982, and the important purpose of this visit to China was to discuss the issue of Hong Kong's return to China.
On the issue of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Comrade Deng Xiaoping had already thought it through, so he directly raised the issue of Hong Kong's return to sovereignty to Mrs. Thatcher, and China was still willing to implement the one country, two systems system. Who knew that the arrogant Margaret Thatcher ignored Deng Xiaoping's proposal and directly proposed a plan to exchange sovereignty for self-control. The so-called sovereignty exchange, that is, Hong Kong can nominally return to China, but all affairs in Hong Kong are still under british jurisdiction.
Thatcher's assertion of sovereignty for self-control clearly shocked everyone present. Although on the surface, Thatcher's proposal may sound justifiable, it is a violation of the sovereignty of the mainland. It is important to know that jurisdiction is also an important part of national sovereignty, and if Hong Kong's jurisdiction is still in British hands, then what is the significance of Hong Kong's return? If Margaret Thatcher's proposal is truly agreed, it will undoubtedly mean that the mainland has once again ceded sovereignty over Hong Kong to Britain.
The mainland has always advocated courtesy before soldiers, and since Deng Xiaoping put forward a good proposal and Thatcher still insisted on undermining the mainland's sovereignty, then the mainland naturally had no need to be polite. After a brief silence, Deng Xiaoping solemnly stated that China had no room for negotiation on the issue of sovereignty, and that Hong Kong must be returned to China in 1997, and of course China did not rule out the use of force to resolve the issue of Hong Kong's return. Deng Xiaoping's tough attitude was obviously unexpected by Margaret Thatcher. But through this incident, Margaret Thatcher also realized that China is no longer a weak country that can be invaded by a few cannons.
However, when the countdown to Hong Kong's return to China is still not dead, and even wants to do something to save some of their face. In October 1992, a plan on how to take over Hong Kong was put in front of Deng Xiaoping, who said that in the face of the national territorial issue, we must be firm in our attitude, and we must be prepared for both a peaceful handover and a military handover. Moreover, Deng Xiaoping bluntly said that January 1997 was the deadline, and China must smoothly recover Hong Kong.
Seeing that there were still a few days to go before the official return of Hong Kong, the British began to make small moves in secret, and they actually sent a large-scale mixed fleet in the name of maintaining a safe area. After departing from the British military port, this mixed fleet came directly to the waters of the South China Sea. It should be known that this mixed fleet of the British dispatch this time is the largest maritime fleet that has appeared in Asia since World War II, and it is still easy to attract people's attention now in a hurry on the eve of Hong Kong's return to The Motherland.
Soon the Continental Army also discovered this anomaly, so it ordered all the front-line soldiers to wait and intercept as soon as they found any misconduct in this fleet. The British were indeed prepared this time, and by the evening the two warships had openly gone to China's territorial waters to provoke. However, Britain's wishful thinking this time was very wrong, after all, Today's China is no longer as weak and incompetent as it was during the Qing government.
In the face of Prepared British provocations, the Continental Navy directly sent the Yibin guided-missile destroyer to intercept it. The Endangered Yibin immediately rushed to the South China Sea, and then, while approaching the British warship, our army directly shouted that this was China's territorial waters hoping that they would be able to leave as soon as possible. Apparently, the British knife frigates did not take the warnings of the mainland as a thing, but rather stated that they were on the high seas and that all their activities were legitimate.
The British warship's reply completely infuriated the continental generals, so the captain of the Yibin immediately ordered the removal of the British large knife frigate. In this way, the two frigates began an interesting racing game on the surface of the South China Sea on the mainland. It was clear that the mainland's Yibin frigate had an advantage in terms of speed, and soon narrowed the distance between the two frigates. However, after seeing that the Continental Warships were in hot pursuit, the British warships not only did not accelerate away, but turned around and rushed towards our army.
Obviously, the officers and men of our army did not expect such an operation on the British warship, and after a short shock, the captain of the Yibin immediately ordered to drive according to the established route, not to evade, and to crash directly into it. The mainland's Yibin frigate has no advantage in size over the British large knife frigate, and if it really wants to force a collision, it is bound to end up with the destruction of the ship. But all the soldiers on the mainland did not flinch, but the British warships suddenly turned at the last moment. Britain's last bit of face was lost in the South China Sea, and then the British obediently returned Hong Kong to New China.