1990s in Hong Kong
Encyclopedia
The 1990s in Hong Kong marked a transitional period and the last decade of Colonial Hong Kong
.
paved the way for a series of changes that would facilitate the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom
to the People's Republic of China
(PRC). In July 1992, Chris Patten
was appointed as the last British Governor of Hong Kong
. By contrast with his predecessors, Edward Youde
and David Wilson
, Patten had little knowledge or experience about Hong Kong or China, and never spoke either Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese. The decade was essentially dominated by the political backdrop of the handover
.
Following China's Tiananmen Square protest
in 1989, citizens feared the Chinese government would not keep its promise of autonomy after the handover in Hong Kong. As a result, various mediating measures took place in the run-up to 1997. The Hong Kong Basic Law
was ratified on 4 April 1990 as a mini-constitution. The pro-Beijing bloc welcomed the Basic Law, calling it the most democratic legal system to ever exist in the PRC. The pro-democratic bloc criticised it as not democratic enough. Patten
emphasised the increase in democracy
in Hong Kong through a series of measures that affected the election processes of both legislators and municipal officials. In 1994, the PRC announced that it would terminate the Legislative Council (LegCo)
in favor of the "provisional legislative council". In 1995, LegCo was passed and the Democratic Party
denounced the provisional legislative council as illegal. The provisional legislative council operated from Shenzhen
before the handover.
At midnight on 1 July 1997, the handover ceremony was held at the new wing of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
at Wan Chai North
. The flag of United Kingdom and the flag of the Crown colony were lowered. The flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
and China
were raised. This marked the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from British colonial rule to Chinese
rule. Participated guests in the ceremony included HRH The Prince of Wales
, President of the People's Republic of China
Jiang Zemin
, the last Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten
appointed by the United Kingdom, and Tung Chee Hwa
, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong
elected from a Beijing
-Controlled election.
also become the lowest in the world, having declined to just 5.1 child per population of 1,000 in 1996.
$4.2 billion flowed from Hong Kong to Canada directly as a result. Many renowned tycoons in Hong Kong, such as the Shaw family
, left Hong Kong for fear of adverse effects to the economy after the handover. Many Hong Kong citizens emigrated to Great Britain
through the British Nationality Selection Scheme
. Comparable number of families also moved to Australia
, Canada
, and the United States
.
was dropping steadily from 17 pesos in 1984 to 30 pesos in 1993 = US $1. This caused a surge of Philippines workers
going to Hong Kong in search of higher salaries under the "maid to order" services. The number of foreign worker
s grew from 9,000 in 1987 to 28,000 in 1992 and 32,000 in 1993. Women from the Philippines
make up the majority with substantial numbers from Indonesia
and Thailand
. The term "fei yung" (菲傭) became associated with the helpers.
The families in need of the helpers generally have both parents working at full time positions. In 1993, households were required to have a combined income of HKD
$15,000. The foreign workers essentially run all home affairs from cooking, ironing, cleaning and caring for the young and old in the household. Most households had 4 to 5 members including at least 1 child under the age of 12, some have elderly over 65. The hiring of workers fueled a number of social debates. From the worker's perspective, problems range from unfair treatments, discrimination to low wages were raised. From the family perspective, problems range from privacy invasion to abuse type cases. Newspapers, radios and TV broadcasts have covered the subjects on numerous accounts. To stir controversies, the media often claimed traditional amah Chinese servants as superior workers.
including Aaron Kwok
, Jacky Cheung
, Andy Lau
and Leon Lai
. In the early stages in their career, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai sang songs with Japanese melodies, but in the early to mid-1990s there was a public outcry for originality in local music. In 1993, the radio broadcasting company Commercial Radio, announced that it would play only locally-written music. The purpose was to encourage local musicians to write their own lyrics. Mark Lui
was a popular composer by the late 1990s.
In the early 1990s, the entertainment industry became integrated with Taiwan
and mainland China. Numerous television drama series, especially with themes related to ancient Chinese, were imported from Taiwan and mainland China since the early 1990s, suce as Justice Pao imported from Taiwan by TVB and Romance of the Three Kingdoms
imported from mainlan China by ATV's Home Channel
, with both dramas become very successful and created lots of discussion in the territory while broadcasting. Further successful example incldues the television drama Princess Pearl
, which was produced in Taiwan and starred mainland actress Vicki Zhao. The show was broadcasted in Hong Kong in 1999 by ATV's Home Channel
and became popular among overseas Chinese
worldwide. Another example of a popular mainland pop star was Faye Wong
. She was born in Beijing
and began singing in Cantonese, but later sang in both Mandarin and Cantonese as her career grew.
underwent several changes in the 1990s, especially with the emergence of the mo lei tau
culture, which became synonymous with comedian Stephen Chow
. Some critics claimed those films were made to alleviate social tension.
in Hong Kong so long as either parent was a HK permanent resident. This decision led to the government's reinterpretation of the Basic Law
which overturned the ruling and determined that a parent would have to be an HK permanent resident at the time of the child's birth to transmit residency.
fell by 22.8% within a week. Between the summer of 1997 and 1998, the leading shares in the Hang Seng Index
lost nearly of its value. The government had to intervene by buying billions of dollars worth of shares. While this may have prevented the market from collapsing and staved off pressure for the Hong Kong dollar to be depegged against the US dollar, the move was widely criticised as it undermined Hong Kong's status of a free market economy
.
burst due to the government's housing policy, though the Asian financial crisis also had some influence. Upon the inauguration of Hong Kong SAR's first Chief Executive, Tung Chee Hwa
announced the building of 85,000 flats
a year, while reducing public housing wait time from 7 years to 3 years. These factors combined to begin the most severe recession in Hong Kong since 1967, which was a year of ambitious government projects that used up fiscal reserves
on infrastructure and structural deficit.
The Tsing Ma Bridge
would become the world's sixth largest suspension bridge
, opening on 27 April 1997. Spanning 1,377 metres (4,518 ft), it is also the largest of all bridges in the world carrying rail traffic.
In 1998, the Kai Tak Airport
was closed. The new US $20 Billion Hong Kong International Airport
opened for commercial use. The initial years of operation were challenging as it utilised state-of-the-art computer systems, in just about every function imaginable. The scale and size of the airport also required many innovative solutions from the HK Airport Authority
. Over time, it became the central connecting point for many flights in the far east
.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Background
The 1984 Sino-British Joint DeclarationSino-British Joint Declaration
The Sino-British Joint Declaration, formally known as the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong, was signed by the Prime Ministers, Zhao Ziyang and Margaret...
paved the way for a series of changes that would facilitate the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(PRC). In July 1992, Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
was appointed as the last British Governor of Hong Kong
Governor of Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...
. By contrast with his predecessors, Edward Youde
Edward Youde
Sir Edward Youde GCMG, GCVO, MBE was a British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. He served as Governor of Hong Kong between 20 May 1982 and 5 December 1986.-Early years:...
and David Wilson
David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn
David Clive Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, is a retired British administrator, diplomat and Sinologist. Lord Wilson of Tillyorn was the penultimate Commander-in-Chief and 27th Governor of Hong Kong...
, Patten had little knowledge or experience about Hong Kong or China, and never spoke either Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese. The decade was essentially dominated by the political backdrop of the handover
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
.
The handover
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
in 1989, citizens feared the Chinese government would not keep its promise of autonomy after the handover in Hong Kong. As a result, various mediating measures took place in the run-up to 1997. The Hong Kong Basic Law
Hong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, or simply Hong Kong Basic Law, serves as the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China...
was ratified on 4 April 1990 as a mini-constitution. The pro-Beijing bloc welcomed the Basic Law, calling it the most democratic legal system to ever exist in the PRC. The pro-democratic bloc criticised it as not democratic enough. Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
emphasised the increase in democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
in Hong Kong through a series of measures that affected the election processes of both legislators and municipal officials. In 1994, the PRC announced that it would terminate the Legislative Council (LegCo)
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
in favor of the "provisional legislative council". In 1995, LegCo was passed and the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
denounced the provisional legislative council as illegal. The provisional legislative council operated from Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
before the handover.
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld-Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbour, it is linked by covered walkways to nearby hotels and commercial...
at Wan Chai North
Wan Chai
Wan Chai is a metropolitan area situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often called...
. The flag of United Kingdom and the flag of the Crown colony were lowered. The flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Flag of Hong Kong
The Flag of Hong Kong — or Regional Flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China — features a white, stylised, five-petal Hong Kong orchid tree flower in the centre of a red field. Its design was adopted on 4 April 1990 at the Third Session of the...
and China
Flag of the People's Republic of China
The flag of the People's Republic of China is a red field charged in the canton with five golden stars. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in a semicircle set off towards the fly...
were raised. This marked the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from British colonial rule to Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
rule. Participated guests in the ceremony included HRH The Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, President of the People's Republic of China
President of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
, the last Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
appointed by the United Kingdom, and Tung Chee Hwa
Tung Chee Hwa
Tung Chee Hwa, GBM was the first Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China....
, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...
elected from a Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
-Controlled election.
Population
The population of Hong Kong in 1995 and 1999 was 6.3 million and 6.9 million respectively. A total of 44,000 illegal immigrants from mainland China were arrested and deported in 1993, with the number decreased to 35,500 a year later. Hong Kong's fertility rateBirth rate
Crude birth rate is the nativity or childbirths per 1,000 people per year . Another word used interchangeably with "birth rate" is "natality". When the crude birth rate is subtracted from the crude death rate, it reveals the rate of natural increase...
also become the lowest in the world, having declined to just 5.1 child per population of 1,000 in 1996.
Emigration
In 1990, the outflow of people reached a peak of 62,000 people or about 1% of the population. The emigration rate would reach the peak in 1992 with 66,000 people, followed by 53,000 in 1993, and 62,000 in 1994. An estimated USUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$4.2 billion flowed from Hong Kong to Canada directly as a result. Many renowned tycoons in Hong Kong, such as the Shaw family
Shaw Brothers Studio
The Shaw Brothers Studio , owned by Shaw Brothers Ltd., was the foremost and the largest movie production company of Hong Kong movies.From their distribution base in Singapore where they founded parent company Shaw Organization in 1924, and as a strategic development of their movie distribution...
, left Hong Kong for fear of adverse effects to the economy after the handover. Many Hong Kong citizens emigrated to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
through the British Nationality Selection Scheme
British Nationality Selection Scheme
The British Nationality Selection Scheme was a process used to grant British citizenship to selected persons in Hong Kong between 1990 and 1997.-Basis of the scheme:...
. Comparable number of families also moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Foreign Domestic Workers
From the late 1980s to 1990s, Hong Kong's currency stabilised. The value of the Philippine pesoPhilippine peso
The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used...
was dropping steadily from 17 pesos in 1984 to 30 pesos in 1993 = US $1. This caused a surge of Philippines workers
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong are foreign domestic workers and housemaids employed by Hongkongers, typically families. They make up approximately 3% of the population of Hong Kong and an overwhelming majority of them are women...
going to Hong Kong in search of higher salaries under the "maid to order" services. The number of foreign worker
Foreign worker
A foreign worker is a person who works in a country other than the one of which he or she is a citizen. The term migrant worker as discussed in the migrant worker page is used in a particular UN resolution as a synonym for "foreign worker"...
s grew from 9,000 in 1987 to 28,000 in 1992 and 32,000 in 1993. Women from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
make up the majority with substantial numbers from Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. The term "fei yung" (菲傭) became associated with the helpers.
The families in need of the helpers generally have both parents working at full time positions. In 1993, households were required to have a combined income of HKD
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of the jurisdiction. It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
$15,000. The foreign workers essentially run all home affairs from cooking, ironing, cleaning and caring for the young and old in the household. Most households had 4 to 5 members including at least 1 child under the age of 12, some have elderly over 65. The hiring of workers fueled a number of social debates. From the worker's perspective, problems range from unfair treatments, discrimination to low wages were raised. From the family perspective, problems range from privacy invasion to abuse type cases. Newspapers, radios and TV broadcasts have covered the subjects on numerous accounts. To stir controversies, the media often claimed traditional amah Chinese servants as superior workers.
Entertainment
The entertainment industry was essentially dominated by the Four Heavenly Kings of CantopopFour Heavenly Kings (disambiguation)
The Four Heavenly Kings are the Buddhist protective deities.Four Heavenly Kings may also refer to:Groups of four people:* Kōdōkan Shitennō, notable judo competitors of the early Kōdōkan, referring to Tsunejiro Tomita, Yamashita Yoshiaki, Yokoyama Sakujiro, and Saigō Shirō* Shitennō , retainers of...
including Aaron Kwok
Aaron Kwok
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing is a Hong Kong singer, dancer and actor. He has been active since the 1980s to the present. The media refer to him, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings . Kwok's onstage dancing and displays is influenced by Michael Jackson...
, Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....
, Andy Lau
Andy Lau
Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
and Leon Lai
Leon Lai
Leon Lai is a Hong Kong-based actor and Cantopop singer. The media refer to Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings . He uses the stage name "Li Ming" or "Lai Ming" which literally means "dawn."-Biography:...
. In the early stages in their career, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai sang songs with Japanese melodies, but in the early to mid-1990s there was a public outcry for originality in local music. In 1993, the radio broadcasting company Commercial Radio, announced that it would play only locally-written music. The purpose was to encourage local musicians to write their own lyrics. Mark Lui
Mark Lui
Mark Lui is a composer and producer of pop music based in Hong Kong.He is a Cantopop composers and producer in Hong Kong, well-known for employing Brit-pop-style in the Cantonese song he composes....
was a popular composer by the late 1990s.
In the early 1990s, the entertainment industry became integrated with Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and mainland China. Numerous television drama series, especially with themes related to ancient Chinese, were imported from Taiwan and mainland China since the early 1990s, suce as Justice Pao imported from Taiwan by TVB and Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (TV series)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a 1994 Chinese television series produced by CCTV. It is based on Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It spanned a total of 84 episodes, with each episode being approximately 44 minutes long.A...
imported from mainlan China by ATV's Home Channel
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
, with both dramas become very successful and created lots of discussion in the territory while broadcasting. Further successful example incldues the television drama Princess Pearl
Princess Pearl
Princess Pearl, also known in Singapore and the Philippines as My Fair Princess, is a television series adapted from Chiung Yao's novel series of the same title. Produced by Hunan TV, the series centres around the legend of Princess Huanzhu during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty...
, which was produced in Taiwan and starred mainland actress Vicki Zhao. The show was broadcasted in Hong Kong in 1999 by ATV's Home Channel
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
and became popular among overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
worldwide. Another example of a popular mainland pop star was Faye Wong
Faye Wong
Faye Wong is a highly successful and influential Chinese singer-songwriter and actress who is usually referred to as a diva . Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong . Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and rose to stardom in the early 1990s by singing...
. She was born in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and began singing in Cantonese, but later sang in both Mandarin and Cantonese as her career grew.
Cinema
The Hong Kong film industryCinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
underwent several changes in the 1990s, especially with the emergence of the mo lei tau
Mo lei tau
Mo lei tau is a name given to a type of humour originating from Hong Kong during the late 20th century. It is a phenomenon which has grown largely from its presentation in modern film media. Its humour arises from the complex interplay of cultural subtleties significant in Hong Kong...
culture, which became synonymous with comedian Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow
Stephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
. Some critics claimed those films were made to alleviate social tension.
Law and Order
In 1999, Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal ruled that children born on the mainland would be entitled the right of abodeRight of abode issue, Hong Kong
The right of abode in Hong Kong is the right to legally reside in Hong Kong and was governed by rules both under British and Chinese administration. As the People's Republic of China stood to resume sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the nationality of Hong Kongers as well as their right of abode...
in Hong Kong so long as either parent was a HK permanent resident. This decision led to the government's reinterpretation of the Basic Law
Hong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, or simply Hong Kong Basic Law, serves as the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China...
which overturned the ruling and determined that a parent would have to be an HK permanent resident at the time of the child's birth to transmit residency.
Finance
Three months after the handover in July 1997, Hong Kong was dragged into the Asian Financial Crisis. At one point, the stock marketStock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
fell by 22.8% within a week. Between the summer of 1997 and 1998, the leading shares in the Hang Seng Index
Hang Seng Index
The Hang Seng Index is a freefloat-adjusted market capitalization-weighted stock market index in Hong Kong. It is used to record and monitor daily changes of the largest companies of the Hong Kong stock market and is the main indicator of the overall market performance in Hong Kong...
lost nearly of its value. The government had to intervene by buying billions of dollars worth of shares. While this may have prevented the market from collapsing and staved off pressure for the Hong Kong dollar to be depegged against the US dollar, the move was widely criticised as it undermined Hong Kong's status of a free market economy
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
.
Real Estate
In 1998, the real estate bubbleReal estate bubble
A real estate bubble or property bubble is a type of economic bubble that occurs periodically in local or global real estate markets...
burst due to the government's housing policy, though the Asian financial crisis also had some influence. Upon the inauguration of Hong Kong SAR's first Chief Executive, Tung Chee Hwa
Tung Chee Hwa
Tung Chee Hwa, GBM was the first Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China....
announced the building of 85,000 flats
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
a year, while reducing public housing wait time from 7 years to 3 years. These factors combined to begin the most severe recession in Hong Kong since 1967, which was a year of ambitious government projects that used up fiscal reserves
Reserve currency
A reserve currency, or anchor currency, is a currency that is held in significant quantities by many governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves...
on infrastructure and structural deficit.
Transportation
Tsing Ma Bridge
The Tsing Ma Bridge is a bridge in Hong Kong. It is the world's seventh-longest span suspension bridge, and was the second longest at time of completion. The bridge was named after two of the islands at its ends, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan . It has two decks and carries both road and rail...
would become the world's sixth largest suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
, opening on 27 April 1997. Spanning 1,377 metres (4,518 ft), it is also the largest of all bridges in the world carrying rail traffic.
In 1998, the Kai Tak Airport
Kai Tak Airport
Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. It was officially known as the Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, when it was closed and replaced by the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, 30 km to the west...
was closed. The new US $20 Billion Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...
opened for commercial use. The initial years of operation were challenging as it utilised state-of-the-art computer systems, in just about every function imaginable. The scale and size of the airport also required many innovative solutions from the HK Airport Authority
Airport Authority Hong Kong
The Airport Authority Hong Kong is the statutory body of the government of Hong Kong that is responsible for the operations of the Hong Kong International Airport.-History:...
. Over time, it became the central connecting point for many flights in the far east
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
.