What was Hong Kong's past like?

Early rule

1842, the Qing Dynasty was defeated by the British Empire in the First Opium War, and the treaty of nanking was signed with Britain the following year, ceding Hong Kong Island and its adjacent Ap Lei Chau to Britain. 1860, the Qing court was defeated by the British and French allied forces again, and was forced to sign the Beijing Treaty, ceding the southern part of Kowloon Peninsula, which often disturbed public order on Hong Kong Island, and the adjacent Stonecutters Island to Britain. At that time, the new boundary of Kowloon Peninsula was only separated by short barbed wire, which is on today's Boundary Street. 1898, Britain and the Qing court signed a series of lease treaties, such as "Special Provisions on Expanding the Boundary of Hong Kong", and leased more than 200 outlying islands in the northern part of Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories and its adjacent areas. Except for Kowloon Castle, the lease period was 99 years. This series of leases and transfers formed the boundary of Hong Kong today.

After the founding of the Republic of China, the national government intended to cancel the unequal treaties. However, the national strength did not last, and the Northern Expedition left the National Government with no leisure to consider recovering Hong Kong's sovereignty. However, at that time, the Hong Kong Government still opened the border between China and Hong Kong, and citizens of the two places could still travel freely. At that time, in order to build the country, many Hong Kong people not only donated money to return to China, but also joined the work of the National Government. Wu, former foreign minister of the National Government, was a celebrity in Hong Kong at that time.