Sino-British Joint Declaration
The Sino-British Joint Declaration was a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after 1 July 1997.
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
Agreement on the future of Hong Kong
June 1984 to September 1984
19 December 1984
27 July 1985 in UK view
Exchange of ratifications
30 June 1997 in China View
British delegation led by Percy Cradock and Richard Evans, Chinese delegation led by Yao Guang and Zhou Nan
中英聯合聲明
中英联合声明
Zhōng-Yīng Liánhé Shēngmíng
Zhōng-Yīng Liánhé Shēngmíng
Chung1-Ying1 Lien2-ho2 Sheng1-ming2
Zung1-Yin1 Lien2hap6 Sang1min2
Jūng-yīng lyùhnhahp singmìhng
Zung1-Jing1 Lyun4hap6 Sing1ming4
大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合王國政府和中華人民共和國政府關於香港問題的聯合聲明
大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国政府和中华人民共和国政府关于香港问题的联合声明
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó zhèngfŭ hé Dà Búlièdiàn jí Běi Ài'ěrlán Liánhé Wángguó zhèngfŭ guānyú Xiānggǎng Wèntí de Liánhé Shēngmíng
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó zhèngfŭ hé Dà Búlièdiàn jí Běi Ài'ěrlán Liánhé Wángguó zhèngfŭ guānyú Xiānggǎng Wèntí de Liánhé Shēngmíng
Zung1fa2 Ngin2min2 Kiung4fo2get5(or gok5) zin4fu3 fo2 Tai4 But5liet6dien1 kip6 Bet5 Oi4li3(or ni3)lan2 Lien2hap6 Vong2get5(or gok5) zin4fu3 gan1yi1 Hiong1gong3 Mun4ti2 dit5(or e4) Lien2hap6 Sang1min2
Jūngwàah Jàhnmàhn Guhngwòhgwok jing fú wòh daaih bāk liht dīn kahp bāk oi yíh làahn lyùhn hahp wòhng gwok jing fú gwāan yū heùng góng mahn taìh dīk lyùhn hahp sīng mìhng
Zung1waa4 Jan4man4 Gung6wo4gwok3 zing3fu2 wo4 Daai6 Bak1lit6din1 kap6 Bak1 Oi3ji5laan4 Lyun4hap6 Wong4gwok3 zing3fu2 gwaan1jyu1 Hoeng1gong2 Man6tai4 dik1 Lyun4hap6 Sing1ming4
Hong Kong had been a colony of the British Empire since 1842 after the First Opium War and its territory was expanded on two occasions; first in 1860 with the addition of Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island, and again in 1898 when Britain obtained a 99-year lease for the New Territories. The date of the handover in 1997 marked the end of this lease.
The Chinese government declared in the treaty its basic policies for governing Hong Kong after the transfer. A special administrative region would be established in the territory that would be self-governing with a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign affairs and defence. Hong Kong would maintain its existing governing and economic systems separate from that of mainland China under the principle of "one country, two systems". This blueprint would be elaborated on in the Hong Kong Basic Law (the post-handover regional constitution) and the central government's policies for the territory were to remain unchanged for a period of 50 years after 1997.
China has stated since 2014 that it considers the treaty to be spent with no further legal effect, while the United Kingdom maintains that the document remains binding in operation. Following China's 2020 imposition of national security legislation on Hong Kong and a 2021 National People's Congress decision to approve a rework of local election laws that reduces the number of regional legislature seats elected by the public, the UK has declared China as being in a "state of ongoing non-compliance" with the Joint Declaration.
China deemed the document expired and invalid as of June 30, 1997, while the UK continues to believe that it remains valid and effective.
Post-agreement[edit]
Contemporary reactions[edit]
The signing of the Joint Declaration caused some controversy in the United Kingdom because UK's Conservative Party Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was agreeing with China's Communist government represented by Deng Xiaoping.[85] In the White Paper that contained the Joint Declaration, it was declared by Her Majesty's Government that "the alternative to acceptance of the present agreement is to have no agreement", a statement meant as a rebuttal to criticisms that the declaration had made too many concessions to China, and hinting at China's significant leverage during the negotiations.[85]
Some political analysts thought that there was an urgency to make an agreement because there were fears that without a treaty the economy in Hong Kong would collapse in the 1980s. Concerns about land ownership in the leased New Territories also added to the problem. Although discussions on the future of Hong Kong had started in the late 1970s, the final timing of the Joint Declaration was more affected by property and economic factors rather than geopolitical necessities.[85]