History of Hong Kong Timeline

The British, Canadians, Indians and the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Forces resisted the Japanese invasion commanded by Sakai Takashi which started on 8 December 1941, eight hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Image source: Battle of Hong Kong

Japan occupied Hong Kong from December 1941 until the end of World War II in 1945, a period marked by hardship, scarcity, and repression under Japanese military rule.

Image source: Japanese occupation of Hong Kong

On 25 December 1941, referred to as Black Christmas by locals, British colonial officials headed by the governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, surrendered in person at the Japanese headquarters on the third floor of the Peninsula Hotel.

By the end of the war in 1945, Hong Kong had been liberated by joint British and Chinese troops and returned to British rule.

Image source: Liberation of Hong Kong

The communist revolution in China in 1949 led to another population boom in Hong Kong as refugees fled to the colony.

Image source: 1950s in Hong Kong

Events like the 1967 riot filled the streets with home-made bombs and chaos, as pro-communist protesters clashed with the colonial government.

Image source: 1967 Hong Kong riots

The Hong Kong Flu of 1968 infected 15% of the population and became the origin point of a global influenza pandemic.

Image source: Hong Kong flu

In 1974, Murray McLehose founded the ICAC, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, to combat corruption within the police force.

Image source: Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong)

High life expectancy, literacy, per-capita income and other socio-economic measures attest to Hong Kong's achievements over the last four decades of the 20th century.

Image source: Economy of Hong Kong

In 1982, the British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, hoped that the increasing openness of the PRC government and the reform and opening up in the mainland would allow the continuation of British rule.

Image source: Sino-British Joint Declaration

As the New Territories lease was nearing expiration, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to return not only the New Territories but also Kowloon and Hong Kong itself when the lease term expired. The declaration incited a wave of emigration from Hong Kong.

On 4 April 1990, the Hong Kong Basic Law was officially accepted as the mini-constitution of the Hong Kong SAR after the handover.

Image source: Hong Kong Basic Law

In July 1992, Chris Patten was appointed as the last British governor of Hong Kong, overseeing democratic reforms before the handover.

Image source: Chris Patten

On 1 July 1997, the lease ended, and the United Kingdom transferred control of Hong Kong and surrounding territories to the People's Republic of China. The handover returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule, and it adopted the Hong Kong Basic Law.

Image source: Handover of Hong Kong

The 415-metre-tall, 88-storey Two International Finance Centre, completed in 2003, was previously Hong Kong's tallest building before being eclipsed by the International Commerce Centre.

Image source: International Finance Centre (Hong Kong)

The Hong Kong government also dealt with the SARS outbreak in 2003, which killed nearly 300 people in the city. Some experts believe the habit of wearing masks in public since this epidemic later helped contain COVID-19 infections.

Image source: 2002–2004 SARS outbreak

The planned implementation of Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 caused great controversy and a massive demonstration on 1 July 2003, causing the bill to be shelved.

The anti-Hong Kong Express Rail Link movement protested at the proposed Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link; the link was nevertheless completed in 2018.

Image source: Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link

The 484-metre-tall, 118-storey International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon was topped out in 2010 and remains the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong.

Image source: International Commerce Centre

Occupy Central with Love and Peace was a civil disobedience campaign convened by Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, Dr Benny Tai Yiu-ting, and Chan Kin-man on 27 March 2013, aiming to pressure the PRC Government into reforming elections to satisfy universal suffrage standards promised in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Article 45 of the Basic Law.

Image source: Occupy Central with Love and Peace

Citizens expressed displeasure at their electoral system, culminating in the 2014 Hong Kong protests. Upstaged by the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism in September 2014, Occupy Central leaders joined in the protests.

Image source: 2014 Hong Kong protests

The number of impoverished Hongkongers hit a record high in 2016, with one in five people living below the poverty line.

Image source: Economy of Hong Kong

The 2016 Legislative Council election saw the localists emerging as a new political force behind the pro-Beijing and pan-democracy camps by winning six seats in Hong Kong's geographical constituencies.

Image source: 2016 Hong Kong legislative election

Carrie Lam's proposal of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill (extradition bill) has led to mass demonstrations against its implementation. In 2019, the proposed extradition bill was seen as another step taken by the Chinese Communist Party to undermine Hong Kong's rule of law, instigating a new wave of protests.

Image source: 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests

The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Hong Kong on 23 January 2020. By early April, confirmed infections were kept at 845 with four deaths, aided partly by mask-wearing habits dating from the SARS epidemic of 2003.

Image source: COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong

In 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the Hong Kong national security law, which came into effect on 1 July 2020, to restore stability in the territory.

Image source: Hong Kong national security law

In November 2020 the National People's Congress authorised the dismissal of any Legco members perceived to ask for help from foreign countries or who refuse to recognise China's sovereignty over Hong Kong. After multiple pro-Democracy members resigned, the UK stated that the PRC was not upholding the Sino-British treaty.

On 27 January 2021, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping said that Hong Kong could only maintain its long-term stability and security by ensuring 'patriots governing Hong Kong' when he heard a work report delivered by Carrie Lam.

Image source: Patriots administering Hong Kong

Hong Kong was one of few territories to pursue a zero-COVID elimination strategy, essentially closing all its borders and, until February 2022, subjecting even mild cases to hospitalisation. From late January 2021, the government repeatedly locked down residential buildings to conduct mass testing.

A decision on improving the electoral system was passed by the National People's Congress on 11 March 2021 to rewrite election rules ensuring a system of 'patriots governing Hong Kong,' amending Annex I and Annex II of the Basic Law and the composition of the Legislative Council and Election Committee.

Image source: 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes

On 23 June 2021, the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily announced that its final edition would be released the next day and that it would cease activities after five top executives were arrested under the national security law and its assets were frozen.

Image source: Apple Daily

The fifth, Omicron variant driven wave emerging in late December 2021 caused the health system to be stretched to its limits, the mandatory hospitalization to be abandoned, and led several experts to question the zero-COVID strategy.

In late 2022, it was announced that the Romer's tree frog would be reintroduced to Hong Kong, known as rewilding. Mainland China has had successful species reintroductions, such as Pere David's deer which became extinct at the start of the 20th century.

Image source: Romer's tree frog

On November 26, 2024, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ruled against the Hong Kong Housing Authority and upheld rulings in lower courts allowing same-sex couples married overseas to avail of subsidised housing and be covered by existing inheritance laws.

Image source: LGBTQ rights in Hong Kong