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Gary Cheung

July 1, formally known as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, has become a day of different meanings for the city’s people.
For some, it is an opportunity to celebrate the “handover” – China’s resumption of Hong Kong’s sovereignty and the end of British colonial rule.
But for others it has become associated with voicing discontent at the governance of Hong Kong and Beijing’s growing assertiveness towards the city.
On Friday the city will witness the 19th anniversary of the handover, with a mix of celebration and protests.
In his inaugural speech at the special administrative region establishment ceremony on July 1, 1997, the city’s first chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, described the day as “momentous and historic”.
“We are here today to announce to the world, in our language, that Hong Kong has entered a new era,” he said.
“For the first time in history, we, the people of Hong Kong, will be master of our own destiny. The SAR
government is fully committed to preserving the Hong Kong way of life, maintaining Hong Kong’s free economic system, upholding the rule of law, and building a more democratic society.”
The city has maintained its free economy and Hongkongers’ way of life has remained largely unchanged in the past 19 years.
The goal of “building a more democratic society”, however, suffered a heavy blow last year when the Legislative Council rejected the government’s package for electing the chief executive by universal suffrage in 2017.
Dr Ma Ngok, a political scientist at Chinese University, said while July 1, 1997, was of great significance, the anniversaries in the first few years after the handover were uneventful.
Early pro-democracy marches were relatively small and the day was perceived by many predominantly as an opportunity for a public holiday.
He said it became a significant day of political activity for a proportion of the population after a watershed moment in post-handover political development in 2003.
Since 2003, the turnout for the July 1 march has emerged as a barometer of public sentiment and discontent with the government
Dr Ma Ngok, political scientist
As the city was recovering from a deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), the Tung administration was bent on implementing Article 23 of the Basic Law, which required the city to enact legislation outlawing acts of treason, secession, sedition or subversion against Beijing.
Public anger reached a climax on July 1, 2003, when half a million Hongkongers took to the streets – it remains the biggest rally to date in the city and is believed to be one of the triggers for Tung’s eventual resignation in 2005.
Critics have harsh words for Hong Kong’s democracy march and rally
“Since 2003, the turnout for the July 1 march has emerged as a barometer of public sentiment and discontent with the government,” Ma said.
“The July 1 march has become the defining event in Hong Kong. Starting from May every year, activists and pan-democratic groups begin mobilising people to join the march on July 1, while the government often deliberately avoids putting forward controversial policies in an attempt to reduce the turnout.”
Dr Li Pang-kwong, director of the public governance programme at Lingnan University, said Hong Kong society had been plagued by polarisation and growing conflicts because of the problems with governance.
“Beijing and Hong Kong’s governing elite were ill-prepared for the handover and underestimated the challenges,” he said.
Protest fatigue and lack of clear goal blamed for slump in Hong Kong July 1 rally turnout
Li said the July 1 march had crucial symbolic meaning since 2003, but in light of the growth of localist sentiment and young people’s doubts about the effectiveness of conventional protest methods, the rally was running the risk of losing its relevance.
“Some young people have become impatient with conventional ways to express their views,” he said.
“Some youngsters and localist groups have even developed the mindset that they have nothing to do with mainland China and question the urgency of joining the July 1 march as they are indifferent to the handover.”
Many localist groups will boycott Friday’s march on the grounds that they do not agree with the organisers theme of “Showdown against 689” – a mocking reference to the number of votes won by Leung Chun-ying when he was elected chief executive in 2012.
The Civil Human Rights Front, organiser of the annual pro-democracy march, put the turnout for last year’s July 1 rally at 48,000, compared with 510,000 in 2014. Police said the number of marchers peaked at a mere 19,650, compared with 98,600 in 2014.
The front attributed the low turnout for last year’s rally to protest fatigue and the lack of an obvious goal after the rejection of the government’s electoral reform package.
Li believed the turnout for this year’s march would surpass that of last year because the rally would draw a substantial number of people who were unhappy with Leung ahead of next year’s chief executive election.


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Ma Ngok, author of Political Development in Hong Kong, a book about politics over the past 20 years in Hong Kong. 26 January 2007

July 1st march from Victoria Park to Central Government Offices, Central, in protest against the Article 23. People assemble in Victoria Park this afternoon in the shadow of the Hong Kong SAR flag. 01 July 2003

The handover in 1997, when the British flag was lowered followed by the raising of the Chinese and Hong Kong flags. Photo: Robert Ng

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Masked rioters in Mong Kok during clash over illegal food stalls during the three-day Chinese New Year holiday. 09FEB16 SCMP/ Edward Wong

Protesters burning a Communist Party flag outside Beijing's liaison office on June 18. Photo: EPA

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From Sars to Snowden: Hong Kong has seen dramatic events since the 1997 handover to China

Since the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to China, the city has gone through a number of dramatic changes. On the 19th anniversary of the handover, we take a look back at some of the events that stood out:

Bronze medalist Lee Wai-sze of Hong Kong bites her bronze medal after the track cycling women's keirin event, during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. 03AUG12

Niek Stam, National Secretry , Dockers Section FNV Bondgenoten, Netherlands ( front Left) and Ron Westerbaan, Vice Chairperson, Union Board, ECT, Netherlands (front Right) arrive at Kwai Tsing container terminals to support Striking dock workers. 04MAY13

epa04539536 Pro-democracy protesters of Hong Kong's civil disobedience 'Umbrella Movement' sing Christmas carols in the street in defiance of the Hong Kong police who claim the protesters are breaking the law by committing 'unlawful assembly', Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, China, 24 December 2014. EPA/ALEX HOFFORD

A passenger plane roars over Kowloon City on its approach to Kai Tak Airport.

Visitors are visiting to the art works during the first public day of the Art Basel 2016 Hong Kong at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai. 24MAR16 SCMP/Martin Chan

(FILES) A file picture taken on June 24, 2014 shows US National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden speaking to European officials via videoconference during a parliamentary hearing on improving the protection of whistleblowers, at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, eastern France. Several of this year's Nobel Peace Prize nominations, includingFlemming Rose, Saudi blogger Raif Badawi who is serving a 10-year jail sentence for insulting Islam and fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, pay tribute to freedom of expression and the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, according to early indications of the names put forward for the prestigous award. AFP PHOTO/FREDERICK FLORIN

Mass rally at Causeway Bay to protest against Article 23 during the 6th SAR establishment anniversary. 01 July 2003

In this Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016 photo, police officers walk past a blazing fire set by protestors in Mong Kok district of Hong Kong. Several dozen people appeared in a Hong Kong court Thursday, Feb. 11 to face rioting charges following a violent clash earlier this week between protesters and police sparked by a clampdown on holiday street food vendors. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

In this Sunday, April 12, 2015 photo, mainland Chinese tourists carry suitcases as they walk at a shopping district in Hong Kong. Chinese authorities brought in curbs on travel to Hong Kong on Monday, April 13 to cool tensions over the growing influx of mainland shoppers thats angering residents of the Asian financial hub. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

An 'Octopus' stored value card is displayed above a card scanner at a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station in Hong Kong on July 27, 2010. The company behind the 'Octopus' stored-value card scheme disclosed that it had made around 5.6 million USD by selling the personal data of its users, during a special hearing to Hong Kong's privacy commissioner. AFP PHOTO / MIKE CLARKE / AFP PHOTO / MIKE CLARKE [25APRIL2016 FEATURES DIGITAL]

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Students gesture during a demonstration demanding the government to withdraw the new subject "Moral and National Education" from the school curriculum, at the City University of Hong Kong , Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012. Hong Kong officials backed down on plans to make students take Chinese patriotism classes following protests in the former British colony which were sparked by fears of pro-Beijing "brainwashing." (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

** FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS ** FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2010 file photo, police and SWAT members break the glass window of a tourist bus during an assault to rescue hostages at Manila's Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines. Rolando Mendoza, a dismissed policeman armed with automatic rifle, seized the bus in Manila Monday with 25 people aboard, mostly foreign tourists in a bid to demand reinstatement. Mendoza was killed along with an undetermined number of hostages. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

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Hundreds of protesters hold a candle in the candlelight vigil to protest against the government's demolition of Star Ferry clock tower. 24 December 2006

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A passerby looks at a panel displaying the closing Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong September 12, 2001. The territory's key share index lost 8.87 percent or 923.74 points to close at 9,493.62, its biggest one-day percentage drop since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, in reaction to devastating atacks on landmarks in New York and Washington which shook investor confidence worldwide. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

Jiang Zemin and Charles, Prince of Wales during the handover ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, at midnight of 30 June 1997.

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Wang Guangya. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (L) walks past Zhang Dejiang (R), who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature, while on stage as they open the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong on May 18, 2016. Protesters gathered in Hong Kong on May 18 calling for universal suffrage and an end to arrests of activists in China as a top Beijing official visits the city. The three-day trip by Zhang, who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature and is attending the Belt and Road Summit, is the first by such a senior official in four years and comes as concerns grow that freedoms are under threat in the semi-autonomous city. / AFP PHOTO / Isaac Lawrence

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Some 500,000 people marched through the city in 2003, but young people are losing faith in conventional protest methods


Is Hong Kong’s July 1 rally in danger of going backwards?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Some 500,000 people marched through the city in 2003, but young people are losing faith in conventional protest methods

Some 500,000 people marched through the city in 2003, but young people are losing faith in conventional protest methods