History And Culture:

Hong Kong: Evidences from history suggest that humans existed in Chep Lap Kok which is now in Hong Kong since 35000 to 39000 years. The land of Hong Kong was then known as the Kingdom of Nanyue which was conquered and ruled by the Qin dynasty for a short while. Later the Han Dynasty conquered this land and as time passed Hong Kong was allocated to the Jiaozhi commanders. Education was established under the Tang dynasty. The dynasty rule ended in Hong Kong with the Qing Dynasty which was also the last dynasty to rule China. The Qing dynasty was reluctant to trade opium to foreign countries and thus started the First Opium War. The two parties that were involved in this war were the British and the Qing dynasty. The Qing dynasty lost and eventually the British started colonizing these lands.

It did not take long for the Second Opium War to come along with the dispute between the British and the Qing dynasty. By the end of it, British colonies expanded. Hong Kong became a very vital port for trade and welcomed immigrants from several places.

The development of Hong Kong had started, but it was affected by severe racialism. Hong Kong remained peaceful during the First World War. But in 1937, the Sino-Japanese War broke out leading Japan to establish and further expand its territory in China. During the Second World War, the Japanese army attacked Hong Kong and the British army surrendered the land. This happened on 25th December 1941 and thus that day is known as the “Black Christmas” in Hong Kong.

The Japanese rule proved to be extremely atrocious to the people of Hong Kong. People died of starvation and inhuman slavery acts. Other atrocious acts like the St. Stephen College Massacre left scares on the history of Hong Kong during the rule of the Japanese. On 30th August 1945, the British overtook control again. Soon in the 1950s, communist rule had started being established in China. Hong Kong flourished under the governance of Sir Murray MacLehose. It is said that he had a key role in establishing Hong Kong as a “Global City”.

In 1984, after negotiations between China and the British governance, it was decided that Hong Kong would become a Special Administrative Region of People’s Republic of China.

Macau : Macau being a coastal area had fishermen, boat makers and refuges. Several dynasties ruled Macau, out of which the Qin Dynasty and Ming Dynasty were dominant. In the 16th century, the Portuguese came to Macau with a view to trade. They anchored their ships in Macau and soon got permission to build storage houses in Macau. To increase their stay, the Portuguese started paying heavy rent in form of silver.

Soon, the Chinese started looking at the Portuguese with contempt. In spite of problems, the Portuguese persisted in Macau. By the 1840s, the Portuguese succeeded in making Macau a self-administered land in order to continue efficient trade. The Dutch started making vain attempts to invade Macau and after the Battle of Macau, the Portuguese retaliated to these attacks and maintained their stay in Macau.

After the First Opium War, under the affect of the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking, Macau became a Portuguese administered territory in 1887. During the Second World War, unlike other nations and territories who subdued to the rule of the Japanese, Macau remained neutral. The Japanese intruded on several occasions and also appointed advisors to the Portuguese for military purposes. Macau had to sustain the wrath of the fight between the US and Japan.

After the independence of China, in the wake of Cultural Revolution, riots broke out in Macau. The Portuguese took note of the event and apologized for the same. Later, Macau became “Chinese territory under Portugal administration” and talks about making Macau a special administrative region started. On 20th December 1999, the Portuguese withdrew and Macau was recognized as a “Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China”.