Under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, Hong Kong was ceded in perpetuity to Britain. The UK also acquired the Kowloon peninsula in 1860, and the New Territories, under a 99-year lease, in 1898.
* 1941╨1945 Japanese occupation.
* 1981û1982 First wave of Vietnamese refugees arrive in Hong Kong.
* 1985 Sino-British Joint Declaration. China to regain Hong Kong sovereignty in 1997; its present social and economic systems to remain unchanged for 50 years.
* 1989 Large demonstrations following Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing.
* 1992 Governor Chris Patten announces plans for democracy.
