|RNational holiday:|N Before July 1st 1997: Queens Birthday, June 16, after that date unknown.
|RNature and climate:|N Three major islands, Hong Kong Island, Lamma Island (Pok Liu) and Lan Tao, the peninsula Kowloon on the south Chinese coast close to the mouth of Pearl River and about 230 minor islands. The whole area is mountainous with a highest peak reaching 958 m.a.s.l.
Most land is inaccessibly mountainous and most of the other parts are used for settlements. Only 9% is cultivated.
38% of the land is a natural reserve and vast areas has been won from the sea.
Average temperature in January 16°C and in July 28°C.
Percipitation 2200 mm.
|RPeople:|N 98% Chinese. The rest mostly Europeans of whom 20 000 British. 59% of the population is born in Hong Kong.
|REducation:|N Free and compulsory between 6 and 15 years. There are six universities.
|REconomy:|N When Great Britain received Hong Kong Island from China in 1841 the British immediately made it a centre for the trade between Europe and China, not to say the whole Asia. Hong Kong has a huge, natural and well sheltered harbour, which was made the base of a big British armada.
Today the Hong Kong harbour is the worlds third containerport, after Rotterdam and New York.
After World War II the extensive transit-trade has been supplemented by a fast growing light manufacturing in textiles, electronics and plastics. The Hong Kong textile manufacturers have been so successful that many countries around the world have inaugurated protective duties against it.
Hong Kong also have heavy manufacturing such as shipyards and machinetools manufacturing.
Guarded by liberal taxrules an extensive market has grown for finance and insurances.
Shipping and tourism give an immense profit. In 1982 2.6 million tourists visited Hong Kong.
During the last decades 60% of the foreign investments in Hong Kong have been made by the Chinese government.
|RHistory:|N 1841 China seeded the Hong Kong Island and in 1860 the southmost part of the Kowloon peninsula to Great Britain. When British troops, in 1898, forced their way into the Forbidden City in Beijing, they received the whole Kowloon peninsula and a lot of small islands, the New Territory, as a "loan" for 99 years against saving the gold on the Empress' waterbutts.
During World War II between 1941 and 1945 Hong Kong was occupied by Japan.
Between 1949 and 1962 Hong Kong received more than one million refugees from China.
The New Territory makes up more than 90% of the total land of Hong Kong and without this territory Hong Kong has no chance to exist. It has since long been clear that the present regime in China under no conditions what so ever would prolong the "loan" of the New Territory.
In 1984 a treaty was signed between Great Britain and China. According to this treaty Great Britain handed over the sovereignty over Hong Kong to China July 1st, 1997, and Hong Kong may for a period of 50 years keep the present economical and social system.
