The British colony of Hong Kong disappeared forever on July 1, when the economically booming territory was returned to Beijing's control. In 1984, the governments of the PeopleΓÇÖs Republic of China and the United Kingdom signed an agreement returning Hong Kong, Kowloon and the adjoining New Territories to Chinese control on July 1, 1997. The handover represents more than the final chapter of colonialism. It is also an experiment -- in political, economic and diplomatic compromise. And setting the tone for Hong Kong's new beginning is the handover ceremony itself...an affair which, intentionally or not, will lay bare the hopes and uncertainties confronting Hong Kong and China.
