Right after Hong Kong's return, an unprecedented financial crisis swept across Asia. With international speculators "hunting" around, stock markets were collapsing and currencies falling sharply. In retrospect, many believe the central government offered the right amount of support to Hong Kong.
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00:06 From sparsely populated islands of farmlands and fishing villages,
00:10 to one of the world's most important hubs of finance and free trade,
00:15 the rise of Hong Kong is among the most impressive human progress history has ever seen.
00:20 The city was rated the world's freest economy in 2021 by Canada's Fraser Institute.
00:26 It comes fourth on the 2019 UN Human Development Index,
00:30 and it ranks fifth in IMD's 2022 list of the world's most competitive economies.
00:36 And all this was not preordained.
00:39 The city has had more than its fair share of adversities,
00:42 from wars and revolutions, to colonization and occupation,
00:47 from economic crises to public health emergencies.
00:51 How did Hong Kong get to where it is today?
00:53 And with the current difficulties, where is the city headed?
00:57 July 1st, 1997, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.
01:03 The day when Hong Kong was handed back to China from the British rule.
01:06 I was a 12-year-old teenager watching the ceremony on television.
01:10 Can't claim that I understood everything, but I do recall a sense of pride.
01:15 The sheer joy of welcoming our fallen compatriots back to the motherland.
01:19 The tears of the daughters of Chris Patton, the last British governor of Hong Kong.
01:24 And also the song that played on television so frequently that you couldn't possibly forget.
01:29 Please don't forget me, the bright butterfly, the yellow light.
01:38 The sovereignty issue I spoke to him about,
01:44 cannot be negotiated.
01:48 That is to say, the issue of China's recovery in 1997,
01:53 cannot be negotiated.
01:56 No matter what method.
01:59 156 years. That's how long Britain ruled Hong Kong.
02:04 And it took three years and 22 rounds of talks between 1982 and 1984
02:09 for Beijing and London to agree on a deal to transfer Hong Kong back to China.
02:14 To close one of the last chapters of what's known to many Chinese as a century of humiliation.
02:21 In the wake of China's defeat in the first Sino-Japanese war between 1894 and 1895,
02:27 the British took advantage of other European powers' scramble to carve up China
02:31 and force treaties on the weakened Chinese government.
02:35 In June 1898, the British Empire obtained the 99-year lease of Hong Kong
02:40 after China lost a series of wars to resist Britain's forced opium trade.
02:45 The lease was to end in 1997.
02:49 Peter Beatty worked as political private secretary to then British Prime Minister Edward Heath.
02:54 He accompanied Heath on many occasions during his China visits.
02:58 I think Mrs. Thatcher originally probably thought it might be possible to come to some arrangement
03:05 whereby the lease on Hong Kong might be extended for a period, for a transitional period.
03:13 The principal option in our minds was that we might concede sovereignty over Hong Kong to China
03:24 but continue with British administration.
03:28 That was the favored option.
03:31 The option favored by the UK was a non-option for China.
03:35 Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping made that clear with visiting former British Prime Minister Edward Heath in September 1983.
03:42 Well, I talked to Chairman Deng Xiaoping about the problem of Hong Kong
03:51 in connection with a whole lot of other things that we always discussed together.
03:55 And he asked me to tell the British Prime Minister that he wanted it all settled within the two years.
04:01 Years of negotiation led to the Chinese-British Joint Declaration
04:05 where one country, two systems became the organizing principle for China's governance of Hong Kong post-1997.
04:12 Established as a special administrative region of China,
04:16 Hong Kong is required by law to maintain its autonomy
04:19 and retain its economic and political systems for 50 years.
04:23 We're halfway through this 50-year mark
04:26 and speculation is mounting over what would happen in 2047.
04:30 In fact, questions have been raised since day one
04:33 on whether Hong Kong can retain meaningful autonomy from the central government in Beijing.
04:38 On July 2, 1997, one day after Hong Kong's handover to China,
04:46 a major financial crisis began to grip East Asia and Southeast Asia.
04:51 Hong Kong was among the worst hit.
04:53 Now, in retrospect, many believe that the central government being the backbone of Hong Kong
04:58 offered just the right amount of support.
05:00 Then-Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji promised that the central government would protect Hong Kong
05:05 from the financial crisis at all costs,
05:07 including the assurance that they would not join other countries in devaluing the RMB to boost export.
05:13 While sending two deputy governors of the central bank to the SAR,
05:16 they also asked every Hong Kong-based Chinese-funded company to help out,
05:21 a major boost of confidence to both the markets and investors.
05:25 Beijing also expressed support for Hong Kong dollars tacked to the US dollar.
05:29 According to Joseph Yan, the former chief of HKMA, Hong Kong's monetary regulator,
05:34 there was also a standing offer for Hong Kong to use the mainland's foreign reserves of $140 billion.
05:41 Meanwhile, under the "one country, two systems" principle, Beijing refrained from intervention.
05:47 According to then-chief executive Tan Chih-wa,
05:49 Beijing ultimately allowed Hong Kong's monetary and finance authorities to make its own decision
05:54 to declare war on international speculators.
05:57 With drastic measures to prop up stock prices and stabilize the Hong Kong dollar,
06:01 the city emerged from the Asian financial crisis faster than most of its Asian peers.
06:07 From 1997 to 2018, Hong Kong's GDP more than doubled,
06:12 from $177 billion to $362 billion.
06:18 Fast forward to 2020, bank deposits and foreign currency reserves,
06:22 two of the main banking indicators, hit record highs.
06:26 The total stock market capitalization expanded by 25% that same year
06:31 to a record high of $6.2 trillion.
06:35 As Asia's second largest recipient of foreign direct investment,
06:39 Hong Kong is also the world's largest offshore R&D business hub
06:43 and the preferred place for international investors to park their funds.
06:47 The reason behind the strength of the Hong Kong dollar amid the 1997 Asian financial crisis
06:53 was the determined will of Beijing.
06:55 When shop sellers were trying to attack the currency in the foreign exchange market,
06:59 the Chinese government decided that Hong Kong must not suffer a crash
07:03 and the prosperity of it may bring future prosperity to the country.
07:07 Hong Kong was also put to test by public health crises.
07:12 The 2003 SARS outbreak eventually infected 1,755 people and killed 286.
07:21 And the city is battling COVID-19 as we speak.
07:24 Hong Kong lifted pandemic control measures in April,
07:27 but is dealing with a resurgence of cases.
07:30 In the first quarter of 2022, Hong Kong's GDP shrank 4% year-on-year,
07:35 and the SAR government has downgraded its full-year GDP growth forecast
07:39 from 2 to 3.5% to 1 to 2%.
07:43 With 7.5 million residents of various nationalities packed in the 1,100-square-kilometer territory,
07:50 Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated places.
07:54 Well, Hong Kong's economic development now faces a few bottlenecks.
08:01 Land and housing is one of those bottlenecks that will constrain our development.
08:07 Hong Kong's property prices top the world's list of the priciest markets among major cities.
08:13 According to CBRE Global Living, a real estate consulting firm,
08:17 the average property price was 1.25 million US dollars in 2019.
08:22 Compare that against the average annual salary of just 60,000 dollars in Hong Kong.
08:28 It's also one of the most expensive places to rent.
08:31 With an average monthly rent at 2,700 dollars,
08:34 it means that those areas that we have been strong consistently,
08:40 we strengthen and consolidate, we make them even bigger and more attractive.
08:46 But for the new areas where we have potential,
08:49 then we develop those potential and also create not just our own strength,
08:59 but create the room for expansion.
09:04 Like a prodigal son returning home after a century of separation,
09:09 Hong Kong was handed over to China on July 1, 1997.
09:15 The homecoming celebration was a blast and the future looked promising.
09:21 But teething problems and growing pains gripped the city.
09:27 China never gave up and stuck with Hong Kong through thick and thin.
09:33 Those were testing times, but Hong Kong emerged stronger, more mature and stable.
09:40 Ready to embark on a new journey with utmost confidence.
09:45 Safe in the knowledge that 1.4 billion Chinese stand by the city.
09:53 Admiralty, the eastern extension of the Central Business District on Hong Kong Island.
09:59 A major site swept by protesters twice in 2014 and 2019.
10:05 The 2014 occupation in which protesters rejected Beijing's proposed reforms to Hong Kong's electoral system
10:12 caused the area's closure to traffic for 77 days.
10:16 Schools were suspended, shops shuttered and economy was stricken.
10:21 As this Gallup poll shows, in five years following the protests,
10:25 nearly 7 in 10 Hong Kong residents did not have confidence in the Hong Kong government.
10:30 6 in 10 lacked confidence in the police force.
10:34 Summer 2019.
10:39 A brutal murder case prompted Hong Kong's authorities to allow transfer of fugitives
10:44 to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong does not have an extradition deal,
10:48 including the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Macau.
10:52 While Hong Kong by then had neutral extradition agreements with 20 jurisdictions around the world,
10:58 including the US and UK.
11:00 Though some 900,000 people signed an online petition to support the proposal,
11:05 the voice of the opposition grew louder.
11:08 In 2019, unrest swept the city, disrupting social order and paralyzing public transport.
11:14 But if you put enough fear in people, they believe in anything.
11:18 The protests quickly escalated.
11:21 Many high school and university students marched on the streets,
11:24 venting their anger not just over the extradition bill,
11:27 but also long-simmering social and economic issues.
11:31 This is the first time it's really affecting human rights,
11:35 as well as the freedom of everyone, not only the protesters, but everyone in Hong Kong.
11:42 Yes, Hong Kong is an autonomous region,
11:45 where its autonomy should be respected in letter and in spirit.
11:49 But even the most conservative political analysts would argue
11:52 that autonomy should not slip into lawlessness, anarchy or cause for independence,
11:57 as was the case on a few occasions during the riots.
12:00 At the forefront was Hong Kong's youth.
12:04 A field study surveyed over 6,000 questionnaires
12:07 handed out at 12 anti-extradition protests between June 9 and August 4, 2019.
12:14 According to the survey, 58% of the participants were aged 29 or younger,
12:19 while more than 26% were between 20 and 24 years old.
12:23 They were dressed in black T-shirts and violently shaking their fists.
12:27 They organized on encrypted messaging groups and handed out helmets and goggles at rallies.
12:32 And when the police had to fire tear gas at them, they fought back.
12:37 The media is one-sidedly showing the police resisting protesters during the clashes,
12:43 but didn't.
12:44 They edit out shots of protesters throwing bricks and steel rods.
12:48 Adding fuel to the fire was foreign intervention under the guise of democracy.
12:54 We have a large consulate there that's in charge with taking care of the Hong Kong Policy Act
12:59 passed by Congress to ensure democracy in Hong Kong.
13:01 We also have funded millions of dollars of programs through the National Endowment for Democracy
13:07 to help democracy in Hong Kong.
13:09 The National Endowment for Democracy, or NUD, is an American NGO
13:14 with a stated goal of supporting freedom around the world.
13:18 But when it comes to its real agenda,
13:20 the founder of the NUD, Alan Weinstein, couldn't have said it better.
13:24 He confessed in 1991 that a lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago
13:30 by the CIA.
13:32 According to data from the NUD, from 2019 to 2021,
13:37 it has offered so-called "awarded grants" totaling 2.5 million US dollars to Hong Kong
13:43 in the name of human rights protection, defending rule of law, and promoting policymaking.
13:49 Where I am in Latin America, the NUD has been banned in numerous countries
13:54 because of its role in supporting violent coup attempts,
13:57 of its role in supporting extremist groups that carry out violence against elected governments.
14:03 And in Latin America, it's only one example.
14:05 We see that the NUD plays a very similar role in Asia and other countries.
14:10 And effectively, it operates as an arm of US government soft power
14:14 to destabilize foreign governments where Washington seeks regime change.
14:19 Alarmed by waves of unrest in June 2020,
14:24 a national security law was passed by China's top legislature
14:27 to deal with law and order issues in Hong Kong.
14:30 We did not have stability in the past 12 months.
14:34 The kind of stability and the level of stability that Hong Kong is so used to.
14:39 Hong Kong used to be a very law-abiding place.
14:42 We have one of the best records in terms of law and order.
14:47 But things were turned upside down.
14:49 And so I think everyone in Hong Kong holds out hope
14:54 that with the passage and implementation of this new law,
14:58 Hong Kong will recover its stability
15:01 and people will be able to carry on their normal lives as soon as possible.
15:05 And for the first time, it specifies four types of criminal acts.
15:09 Secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities, and collusion with foreign forces.
15:16 The purpose of this piece of legislation is not just to punish.
15:20 It is also to deter.
15:22 To deter people from committing such serious offenses.
15:27 Every country in the world needs national security legislation.
15:31 So why should Hong Kong be an exception?
15:34 In 2021, Beijing announced a new rule that says only patriots can run for elected offices in Hong Kong.
15:40 And that has gotten some people in the West nervous again.
15:43 Some think it is a foregone conclusion that Hong Kong's democracy will be further undermined and its freedom compromised.
15:50 It constitutes a clear violation of the autonomy of Hong Kong
15:55 and a direct threat to the freedoms of its people.
15:59 And therefore I'm afraid to say it is a clear and serious violation of the joint declaration,
16:04 the treaty between the United Kingdom and China.
16:07 Well, a few things to bear in mind here.
16:10 China is not the only country where patriotism is a requirement to run for office, though.
16:15 If you read the U.S. Constitution, you will find requirements for love of country for political candidates, too.
16:21 Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution said
16:25 a person cannot run for Congress, president, or any office
16:29 if he or she has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the state
16:33 or has given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
16:37 While in Hong Kong, days after days of violent protests descended the city into chaos.
16:44 Mobs vandalized subway stations and defaced the national emblem of the Chinese government's liaison office.
16:51 When they tied up a Global Times reporter and beat him up for expressing support for Hong Kong police,
16:56 where was freedom of speech?
16:59 When police found some 4,000 petrol bombs and other weapons on a wrecked campus
17:04 and were attacked by rioters,
17:07 as what country in the world would tolerate violence at this level?
17:10 With heightened measures to restore law and order, Hong Kong's economy largely benefited.
17:15 Since the enactment of the National Security Law,
17:18 market capitalization of newly listed stocks exceeded HK$650 billion, up 30% year on year.
17:25 The daily trading volume in Hong Kong's stock exchange exceeded HK$150 billion, up 60%.
17:33 Like a prodigal son returning home after a century of separation,
17:39 Hong Kong was handed over to China on July 1, 1997.
17:44 The homecoming celebration was a blast, and the future looked promising.
17:50 But teething problems and growing pains gripped the city.
17:56 China never gave up and stuck with Hong Kong through thick and thin.
18:02 Those were testing times, but Hong Kong emerged stronger, more mature and stable,
18:09 ready to embark on a new journey with utmost confidence,
18:14 safe in the knowledge that 1.4 billion Chinese stand by the city.
18:22 Hong Kong has been put through the wringer.
18:26 With the unrest in 2019 and the ensuing waves of COVID-19 pandemic,
18:30 through the implementation of the National Security Law in 2020,
18:33 the US then wrote back Hong Kong's special trade status, which begs the question,
18:38 could Hong Kong remain a global financial hub?
18:42 Hong Kong is surrounded by the South China Sea on all sides except to the north,
18:49 where it neighbors Shenzhen.
18:52 25 years in, seven land crossings now see waves of water hoppers every day.
18:57 88-mile Guangxinggang XRL connects Beijing and Hong Kong by Guangzhou and Shenzhen,
19:03 cutting the ride from 24 to 9 hours.
19:06 The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, a 34-mile megaproject,
19:10 links the mainland, Macau and Hong Kong by bridge and undersea tunnels.
19:15 The world's longest sea crossing, moving every single piece of the giant structure
19:20 is an eye-popping challenge.
19:23 That steel tower in the shape of a dolphin
19:30 is a completed tower section that requires hoist operation.
19:35 Currently, it's the largest steel tower in China.
19:39 It weighs 2,650 tons and is about 105 meters high.
19:46 It's extremely difficult to manufacture, transport and install.
19:52 When we take a boat back and forth to Xiangzhou or Wanshan Islands or Wishan Island,
20:04 we can see the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
20:08 I saw it turn from pylons into an actual bridge.
20:13 A bridge linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau together has always been a dream of mine.
20:19 Both bridge and railway are part of the Greater Bay Area,
20:24 a long-running broad plan that envisions linking Hong Kong, Macau
20:28 and nine of the most devout cities in Guangdong province on the mainland side
20:32 into a sprawling economic hub.
20:35 The Greater Bay Area policy is the greatest opportunity I will probably get in my lifetime.
20:42 Terence Chan, a Hong Kong architect, founded his design company in Hong Kong in 2014.
20:48 Four years later, he set up a second one in Guangzhou.
20:52 When I first came to the mainland, I could not believe how big the market was.
20:57 I spent three months and I've reached more design areas in total than modern Hong Kong in a year.
21:07 I keep telling my friends that if you're struggling in Hong Kong, if you're doing business in Hong Kong,
21:12 if you feel Hong Kong is good, you should come to the mainland and check it out.
21:16 It's a tale of 11 cities.
21:18 The Greater Bay Area, or GBA, initiative aims at building an international innovation hub
21:23 and leveraging strength of a cluster of cities.
21:26 Ultimately, the GBA project envisages a technology-driven region
21:31 on par with Silicon Valley and the Tokyo Bay Area.
21:35 And it already works wonder.
21:38 In 2021, with a GDP of 1.87 trillion US dollars,
21:43 the GBA accounted for 11% of the national GDP on less than 0.6% of China's land.
21:50 But not everyone's happy.
21:53 The project has been interpreted as China's so-called homogenization of Hong Kong
21:57 into yet another Chinese city to blur and enrode Hong Kong-Chinese mainland border.
22:02 But other people ask, what's wrong with building more connections?
22:06 The entire human history is about how we've been improving them.
22:09 In the case of the mainland and the SAR, they have been helping each other even at the most twisted of times.
22:15 Annual bilateral trade valued at over 547 billion US dollars in 2020.
22:21 And it's not only about economic gains.
22:24 I'm sure I'd drive across the bridge, not for the scenery, but to see family in Hong Kong.
22:32 I have to go to Hong Kong several times a month to see my mother and siblings.
22:36 The bridge makes that much more convenient.
22:39 However, concerns remain.
22:45 Will competition for resources and talents get more intense?
22:48 And will that undermine Hong Kong's economic and financial weight in the region?
22:53 Data show that the GBA has the potential of channeling Hong Kong's capital investment into the mainland.
22:59 When the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect was launched in 2016,
23:02 daily turnover of capital flow from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, or northbound trade,
23:08 increased from 0.6 billion US dollars in 2017 to 8.4 billion dollars in 2020.
23:15 Integration and individuality are both heavily considered in the GBA proposals.
23:21 Each of the GBA cities has achieved rabid growth through the last 40 years of China's reform and opening up.
23:30 And each of the four major cities, namely Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and Shenzhen,
23:35 will likely remain key engines with their own unique niche and strength.
23:40 For Hong Kong, it aspires to remain an international leader in finance, transportation, trade, logistics, aviation and innovation.
23:50 It's not just about numbers. It's all about really one plus one greater than two.
23:56 By having a very objective view on what each city should specialize in,
24:02 you avoid the problem of overlapping, everyone doing the same thing.
24:06 So in Hong Kong, it's very clear. We have to focus on finance, we have to focus on IT and tech.
24:12 This will give us a new edge in our so-called before, maybe it's a too simplistic economy structure.
24:21 So I think it's a, I'm glad and I'm happy that the government has repeatedly said
24:28 the importance of Hong Kong being integrated into the Greater Bay Area.
24:35 There are a lot of opportunities here. The previous generations built trust on the mainland.
24:40 This is of the great value to start our own businesses.
24:44 We can start a business here, settle down here. It's a golden opportunity for my generation.
24:54 And vice versa.
24:58 In 2015, that was the time when the Hong Kong government established a funding
25:02 for the technology startup support scheme for universities.
25:05 I was actually very fortunate. That was the time when I actually got funding from the Hong Kong University.
25:10 Actually, I was funding from the government, but I was distributed by the Hong Kong University.
25:14 That was actually why I started.
25:16 Miles Wen's AI startup is now seven years old.
25:20 The Hong Kong University graduate did not go back to his home, the mainland,
25:24 but decided to be an entrepreneur in Hong Kong.
25:27 That really helped us when we went through the initial stages of startup.
25:31 Remember when we first started, the technology was not that mature yet.
25:35 We had zero income for the first three years.
25:39 The first three years, we were just sleeping with our belt tight.
25:42 We had zero income. And on the fourth year, all of a sudden, we managed to deliver a breakthrough.
25:47 Our technology finally started to work in the industrial setup.
25:52 And once we started growing, we were growing really fast.
25:55 We've been maintaining over two to three times growth on every year over the past four years.
25:59 After we started making the first order.
26:01 From Changchun to Hong Kong to whichever city he stays, it's just a matter of miles, as in his name.
26:09 Everyone can tell you a thing or two about the Hong Kong they know.
26:13 World Market sees it as a trade port and a pulsing financial hub.
26:18 For its Asian peers, Hong Kong is always a force to be reckoned with.
26:26 An inspiring place for artists and musicians.
26:30 A vibrant cultural blend for life lovers.
26:33 While it could also be a crowded city for many.
26:36 And if you ask those who witnessed the handover in 1997,
26:42 they'd probably tell you that Hong Kong is a lost pearl recovered.
26:47 Over the years, Hong Kong has been put to the test by political unrest,
26:52 the Asian financial crisis, public health emergencies,
26:56 and the sometimes difficult relationship with Beijing.
26:59 Yes, there certainly has been chaos, but there's also this bond with the mainland,
27:05 which has withstood all and risen above.
27:07 A bond between this unique place and its motherland.
27:10 A bond between people, old and young.
27:13 And a bond that has been forged further, together.
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