Darwin’s Heir – The Island

p p The position of the Hong Kong dollar would be maintained.During the war Britain invaded the Chinese mainland and occupied the island of Hong Kong on 25 January 1841, using it as a military garrison.China had to cede Hong Kong to Britain by the Treaty of Nanking.Thus, Hong Kong became a crown colony of the British which lasted till 1997.

To settle it on 9 June 1898, the British signed a deal with the Chinese to lease Hong Kong, Kowloon and the new territories which included an important river and more than 200 small islands.This longer historical perspective was a basic policy of Mao as well, as he strategized that though they could easily run over Hong Kong and Macao he followed a game of patience with “long term planning and full utilization of the present colonial governance of Hong Kong”.