Hong Kong's Suzerain - from United Kingdom to People's Republic of China

In 1997, when Hong Kong eventually returned to her motherland, Chinese officers promise Hong Kong people that after the return, we can get out of the control of United Kingdom and decide our own future. However, due to the policies and strategies of Chinese government to Hong Kong since the return, it is apparent that Hong Kong is under controlled by China economically and politically. The alleged statement that “Time that Hong Kong was a colony is end” is found wrong to a large extent. Evidently, Hong Kong’s identity in Chinese’s eyes is more a colony than a family member.

The word “colony” means, by definition, a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country and occupied by settlers, according to Oxford Dictionary. In fact, a colony generally is also under control of its suzerain economically. For example, Hong Kong, as a colony of British, usually implements the policies for the United Kingdom’s sake. This also implied that if the suzerain want to implement a policy in colony, those residents from colony are unable to reject it through normal ways. In order words, a colony is inferior to its suzerain.

One example is the history of Hong Kong before 1967, when UK government wants to carry out a policy; things Hong Kong can do to resist are protesting or even start disturbances, which are illegal to the government. Although after the leftist riot in 1967, Hong Kong government permitted Hong Kong people to have democracy to a certain extent, Hong Kong’s politic in many aspects were under partial control of UK government. For instance, Hong Kong residents were not allowed to choose their governor. So there is no doubt that Hong Kong is a colony in people all over the world’s eyes until the day of return.

Since the return day, Chinese government has no longer treated Hong Kong as a land of UK. However, it does not mean that Hong Kong’s identity was never changed before 1997.