In modern times, with the implementation of the Qing government's policy of closing the country to the outside world, China gradually cannot keep up with the trend of the development of the times, the strength of the Chinese nation is weakening step by step, and the great powers have a "map of the current situation" for the fat meat of China, which details the loss of China's land, which makes countless people feel pain.
Since the Opium War, China has been oppressed by the great powers again and again, and Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories and other places have left the embrace of the motherland one after another, but the reunification of the motherland has always been the most persistent pursuit of every Chinese son and daughter.
Finally, in 1979, Deng Xiaoping met with the Governor of Hong Kong, and on the issue of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, he used a few short words to make the British delegation feel more pressure, and today he will let us enter this dusty period.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > debate will determine the fate of Hong Kong</h1>
Hong Kong has been part of China's territory since the Qin Dynasty, and it has not changed in the change of dynasties in our country, where the people live and work in peace and contentment, living a secluded life, but with a debate in the distance, all this will change.
On April 7, 1840, the House of Commons in London, England, held a debate, the main content of this debate is if the war of aggression against China is launched, the trade-off between advantages and disadvantages, after fierce discussion, 271 votes to 262 votes, the British House of Commons won the victory of the debate with the advantage of 9 votes, and it is these 9 votes that have separated Hong Kong from the motherland for more than 150 years.
After that, the British government launched a war of aggression against China under the pretext of Lin Zexu's sale of cigarettes, and by virtue of its superiority in weapons and equipment, Britain won a complete victory in the naval battle, successively capturing Zhoushan, Humen, Xiamen, Ningbo, Wusong, Zhenjiang and other places, and occupying Hong Kong Island.
In the face of the enemy army with hundreds of warships, more than 1500 Eight Banner soldiers stationed in Zhenjiang did not flinch, and the loss of the naval battle with the British soldiers engaged in street battles, the contrast between the numbers and equipment of the two sides has determined the situation of this battle, this battle played the bloody nature of the Qing army, but shattered the people's faith.
Frightened by the British, the rich merchants of Yangzhou took out half a million silver as a condition and asked the British not to occupy it, and then the Daoguang Emperor also chose to negotiate peace talks with the British army. The Treaty of Nanking signed after the war ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain, and made indemnities, opened treaty ports, etc., this war completely broke the last psychological defense line of the Qing government, and also let the great powers see the benefits, and the century of humiliation had just begun.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > centuries of rise and fall</h1>
Merchant greed is never-ending, and after devouring Hong Kong Island, ambitious invaders, unwilling to stop there, turned their attention to the neighboring Kowloon. The British government continued to use the tactic of occupying first and then forcing the Qing government to accept the cession, sending troops to capture Tsim Sha Tsui and redeploying the force under the condition of the original military strength, in an attempt to force the Qing government to recognize it with powerful armed equipment.
As the Qing government made concessions again and again, the capitalists decided to join forces, and in March 1960, Britain and France gathered their forces to form an Anglo-French coalition army to launch the Second Opium War.
At this time, the Qing government also gradually realized that blindly seeking peace in exchange for the only way to continue to be encroached upon, but with the first time, it is now too late, in the face of the British consul Pasha Li submitted a peace document, The governor of the two factories at the time, Lao Sogo, who was the governor of the two factories at the time, saw the news of the lease of Kowloon Tsim Sha Tsui in the document with a grim look, hoping to negotiate with the British government on the details, but under the strong attitude of the British side, there was no change, and the "Beijing Treaty" came into being.
The treaty indicated that the southern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula was officially administered by the British side, and as an important representative of the negotiations, Pasha Li was knighted.
At the end of the nineteenth century, in the process of continuous indemnity and land cutting, the Qing government's national strength continued to weaken, and they were no longer able to resist the capitalists, and could only passively accept all this, and even openly discussed the issue of territorial ownership in other countries on Chinese soil.
After the end of the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War in 1895, the British government saw that Japan, a new force, appeared in the land of China, and immediately accelerated its rule and expansion of the Hong Kong area.
In the treaty, it was stated that the Chinese side was willing to lease Hong Kong Island after the expansion of its sphere of influence with the British side in 99 years, and the new Hong Kong land boundary area reached 975.1 square kilometers, an increase of 11 times compared with the previous one, and the rise and fall of the century officially began.
On the one hand, the British army has caused indelible damage on this land, but it has also promoted the development of Hong Kong's economy to a certain extent. After the British government occupied Hong Kong, the British side was keenly aware of the trade advantages brought about by Hong Kong's geographical location, and used Hong Kong as a treaty port, which could be traded with the inland on the one hand, and can also be used as a transit station and trading station for materials on the other hand.
At the same time, in the previous trade process, the British side found that the demand for opium in the Chinese mainland was extremely large, so more and more opium was transported inland through Hong Kong, and the black assets brought by opium were used for population resale, in this transaction, British merchants made a lot of money, and most of the assets were invested in the development of Hong Kong, thus laying the absolute leadership of British forces in Hong Kong.
Under the trade needs of British businessmen, Hong Kong's economy is developing in a rapid state.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Hong Kong's import and export trade ushered in a blowout period, according to incomplete statistics, in 1931 alone, Hong Kong's total trade volume reached 1280 million Hong Kong dollars, Hong Kong officially marched into the trading city.
Of course, the benefits of economic development are far more than trade, but also the booming financial industry, with the establishment of the first Guangdong Bank in 1912, in the following years, the major capitalist forces have sent personnel, the establishment of various capital banks, the Hong Kong finance carried out a major water exchange, in the process of enterprise competition, Hong Kong's prosperous financial industry can be the first glimpse.
After the end of the "Second World War", the economic level of the countries that suffered from the war ushered in a bottleneck period, how to develop to break the deadlock, has become a big problem faced by all countries, in this period, Hong Kong is also facing the risk of tearing down and rebuilding, the then Governor of Hong Kong Yang Muqi in the discussion and study with the commissioners, promulgated the import and export trade freedom decree, the decree made the chaotic Situation in Hong Kong ushered in a glimmer of dawn, so that Hong Kong has the opportunity to develop towards the trade port.
Among them, the British government also played multiple roles, as an aggressor, the British side never regarded the Hong Kong compatriots as one of them, just ordinary people.
During the chaos in Hong Kong, the British side disregarded the safety of the people and directly suppressed it by force, allowing Hong Kong to quickly return to the development process. It has to be said that this decisive way of handling has reduced a lot of internal friction, but this kind of behavior of the British side has also completely broken the hearts of the Hong Kong masses, and at this moment, the children on both sides of the strait are looking forward to the day of the first meeting, and the children who have left home will one day return to their mother's arms.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="37" > adhere to the "one China" principle</h1>
The official founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949 marked the end of a century of humiliation in China, and China will appear on the world stage with a new look.
First of all, in the years of war, the national economy was in ruins, and the Kuomintang forces had not yet been completely eliminated; at the same time, the United States, which had originally tried to use the Kuomintang as a springboard to enter the Asian market, joined hands with other capitalist countries to impose a comprehensive economic and diplomatic blockade on China after its hopes were dashed, and it was the long-cherished wish of our people for many years to take Hong Kong back to the motherland.
In the face of this situation, the CPC Central Committee fundamentally denied the British government's aggressive behavior, first of all, the Chinese side refused to recognize the three unequal treaties that Britain had forced the Qing government to sign through the threat of force, the three unequal treaties did not have any binding force on the Chinese side, the Chinese side had reason and the right to take the initiative to recover the national sovereignty of Hong Kong when the time was ripe, and the Chinese side was willing to negotiate how to peacefully resolve the Hong Kong issue through negotiations, but did not accept any unreasonable conditions from the British side, and was willing to use peaceful and friendly means to maintain the diplomacy between the two countries.
On the Hong Kong issue, Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou broke their hearts, and as an important member of the leading body of the CPC Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping began to make preparations from the beginning of proposing to solve the Hong Kong issue; as a son and daughter of china, he deeply understood the desire of the Chinese people for reunification, and he actively discussed, planned, formulated, and implemented the plan for the Hong Kong issue with relevant departments.
Deng Xiaoping once said that as descendants of Yan huang, in order to keep the inheritance left by our ancestors, we must unify the motherland, only when we are unified can we have a complete country, and can we raise our heads in the face of foreign forces.
The fact that the predecessors could not do it does not mean that they could not do it, the times are changing, the conditions that were not available at that time, now there are, this is the opportunity, and he has been doing what he thinks he should do with practical actions.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="46" > the time comes, seize the opportunity</h1>
Finally, at the Third Plenary Session of the Thirteenth Central Committee of the CPC Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping chose the idea of adapting measures to local conditions and put forward the model of the "one country, two systems" plan, that is, one country, in different regions, chose two systems, and the emergence of this system impacted the ideas of the older generation and also gave people more choices in dealing with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other places.
At the same time, the original 99-year lease period will end in 1997, and as the time draws on, the British government is more and more anxious, they are reluctant to Hong Kong, the largest trade market, so in 1979, 18 years before the lease, the British have sent a delegation led by the Governor of Hong Kong, MacLehose, to China, in an attempt to find out China's attitude towards the return of Hong Kong.
On March 24, 1979, Beijing time, the British delegation led by MacLehose arrived in Guangzhou by plane, and the Guangzhou Provincial Revolutionary Committee held a welcome party for them on behalf of the Chinese side, which was also the first delegation led by the Governor of Hong Kong, which was enough to see the attention of the British government.
After two days of talks with Guangzhou officials, the delegation flew to Beijing two days later in the afternoon.
After receiving the news of the delegation's departure, in order to show the importance it attaches to the talks, the Chinese side was received by Vice Minister of Foreign Trade Jia Shi and assistant foreign minister, and the hosts and guests were entertained at the banquet, and the Hong Kong delegation was informed the next day that Deng Xiaoping, then vice premier of China, would hold a new round of talks with them on the Hong Kong issue on the 29th.
On the 29th, Deng Xiaoping officially received the Governor of Hong Kong, MacLehose, in the capital, this meeting was the first time that China and Britain formally launched negotiations on the Hong Kong issue, before the negotiations, MacLehose had heard of Deng Xiaoping, Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping had encountered many tribulations, but he not only did not lose his will in the tribulations, but stood up again and again to prove his ability and wisdom to the world.
At 10:00 a.m., the two sides met at the Great Hall of the People, and after seeing the kind-looking Deng Xiaoping, the hanging heart of the Governor of Hong Kong slowly let go, but Deng Xiaoping did not give the Governor of Hong Kong a buffer opportunity, but bluntly put forward the Chinese side's views on the Hong Kong issue, which caught MacLehose off guard.
The discourse proposes that Hong Kong has been part of China's inherent territory since ancient times, and that China has no possibility of any regression on the sovereignty issue of Hong Kong, and now that some people in the news reports have tricked the Hong Kong masses into fearing Chinese governance, here I can guarantee that our management must be the most preferred in the interests of the public, and now Hong Kong is a trading city, and we will not only not change this, but also make Hong Kong's trade more prosperous.
Now there are 18 years to 1997, we are willing to wait for a buffer time for the British side, and we will also build and experiment with various measures to govern Hong Kong in this time, and in our subsequent negotiations, there is a foundation and a fundamental, Hong Kong must be part of China's territory, which is beyond doubt.
Deng Xiaoping's words can be described as a sharp point out the most critical points and issues in the negotiations, but as the leader of the Hong Kong mission, MacLehose is certainly not a nameless person, he started from the side and raised questions to Deng Xiaoping, first of all, the issue of Hong Kong ownership is decided by the two governments, but in the process of British governance, a large amount of Hong Kong territory is leased to private individuals, so if China takes back sovereignty, how will these people be handled, and how will the rights and interests of these people be guaranteed, so they hope that the ownership can be China. But the right to govern should remain in the hands of the British side, which can bring benefits to both sides at the same time.
However, this hand can be described as poisonous, and if the Chinese side agrees, sovereignty can only exist in name only.
After realizing this, Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping said emphatically:
On the Hong Kong issue, the details can be discussed, but the sovereignty does not need to be mentioned again, British governance can only be a fantasy, it cannot become a reality, before China did not exercise sovereignty, britain only managed on behalf of china, all major decisions on the Hong Kong side, by and can only be decided by China, the United Kingdom instead of constantly going wrong on the Hong Kong issue, it is better to go hand in hand with China, China is very willing to carry out in-depth cooperation with the British side in foreign trade, so that the two sides can avoid conflicts while achieving the greatest interests.
MacLehose, who was in deep thought, gave his own answer after sorting out his thoughts, if the Chinese side would take over Hong Kong in 1997, then the British side would take back the territory previously sold, and the recovery would definitely make investors doubt, if you want hong Kong to maintain the current rapid development, then canceling the recovery period is undoubtedly the best choice.
Hearing this, Deng Xiaoping also put forward his view: First of all, the Chinese government as the leader will not prevent the emergence of any investor, and in our strategic deployment, there are already two sides of the policy.
For example, now the mainland is moving forward under the leadership of socialism, but this does not mean that the Chinese government can not accept the emergence of other doctrines, socialism is an inclusive doctrine, we can agree to Hong Kong to maintain the original capitalism, under such a premise, the interests of investors will not be affected, the idea of this aspect can be temporarily terminated, and after the founding of New China, the mainland's economy is developing in a state of take-off, Hong Kong businessmen can completely change direction, turn their vision to the Chinese mainland.
After receiving a reply from Deng Xiaoping, MacLehose seemed to have a new vision of Hong Kong's future, returning to Hong Kong with a new theoretical knowledge, and this negotiation also officially put the Chinese government's acceptance of Hong Kong back to china on the agenda.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="67" > finalize the details and wait for the return</h1>
On September 24, 1982, Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, came to China, hoping to reach a consensus with the Chinese side on the Hong Kong issue, as the main person in charge of the Hong Kong issue, Deng Xiaoping received and negotiated with him in the Great Hall of the Chinese, as the first female prime minister in British history, Margaret Thatcher has always been known for her iron blood and sharpness.
As soon as the negotiations began, she directly proposed that if China took back Hong Kong in 1997, it would certainly face problems that the Chinese government could not solve, the stable economic development that China had maintained for many years would certainly be broken, the financial crisis, national sovereignty and other issues would follow, and the British side would consider from China's point of view that the three unequal treaties signed by China and Britain could be lifted by the British side, and Hong Kong's sovereignty could also be handed over to the Chinese side, but for the future of Hong Kong, the right to govern must remain in the hands of the British.
But Margaret Thatcher could not have imagined that Chinese was never frightened, and she would soon hear a sharper answer from Deng Xiaoping.
Deng Xiaoping said in a majestic voice:
"China has made all preparations for the issue of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Hong Kong's sovereignty and right to govern brook no interference, if various problems arise, China will do its best to bear the consequences, if the British side talks about cooperation, the Chinese side will certainly discuss with the most eager attitude, but if the British side has other ideas, the Chinese government will make its own choices for the time and means to take back."
After hearing Deng Xiaoping's words, Thatcher's expression gradually became solemn, as a country's leader, how to maximize the interests of the people is a problem she must consider.
Sure enough, in the next two years, although the two sides held many conversations on the Hong Kong issue, the British government did not mention it again in terms of sovereignty, and on September 26, 1984, the representatives of China and the United Kingdom jointly drafted and signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration and three annexes, in which it was clearly stated that the Chinese government would formally recover hong Kong sovereignty on July 1, 1997.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="78" > the return of Hong Kong, one country, two systems was successfully realized</h1>
On July 1, 1997, at 00:00:00, Hong Kong was officially returned.
The CPC Central Committee has also fulfilled its own commitments, telling Hong Kong local investors with practical actions that "one country, two systems" has become a vivid reality from a great concept, and Hong Kong can not only maintain the previous trade market, but also get greater opportunities, and with the support of the CPC Central Committee, the future of Hong Kong must be bright.
This also marks that our country is one step closer to completing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese dream, Chinese has finally washed away a century of humiliation history, and as the five-star red flag rises over Hong Kong, the people of the whole country are smiling and singing and dancing.
Judging from today's actual situation, "one country, two systems" is the best answer to the solution to the Hong Kong issue; our motherland has been bullied in modern times, but countless people with lofty ideals have won great victories in the great revolutionary struggle and established an independent and democratic new China.
On these days of return, we must not forget the contributions made by the revolutionary martyrs. At the same time, the steady development of Hong Kong, Macao and other places also gives us reason to believe that as long as all Chinese compatriots work together and the masses on both sides of the strait can exchange and explore peacefully and friendlyly, then the future of the motherland will be even better!