In fact, if it wasn't for the addiction of the British, Hong Kong could not be. Because her imports prompted her to balance her trade by selling opium. Today it is part of China with a separate currency, left -hand movement and even a separate trading policy.
This is of course a simplification, but in the 17th century Chinese tea exports accounted for only 2,000. kg. In 1855 it was already 42 million kg. All of Europe imported, but mainly the British – In 1700, tea consumption per capita annually was symbolic 1 g. 200 years later it was 2.7 kg.
A seemingly innocent change in lifestyle had its huge consequences. The British wanted to equalize their commercial balance. In return, they exported to China (then also illegally) obtained from their other colonies – above all India – Opium.
Hong Kong is one of the most important financial centers of the world
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And here comes the second addiction to the passionate impact on the fate of Hong Kong. It was the addiction of the Chinese society on Opium in the nineteenth century that resulted in the combination of the procedure by the Empire and the First Opium War in 1839. After the victory of her British, by virtue of the Nankin Treaty, Hong Kong became a British portwith time enlarged by subsequent areas. In 1898, Great Britain leased from China to 99 years of the so -called New territories – a significant part of the current city.
Hongkong has developed very dynamically
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Grzegorz Kowalczyk / Business Insider
– It's as good as eternity -He was to say about a 99-year lease British negotiator Claude Macdonald. But it was the end of this agreement that became the reason for giving the entire area in 1997 – with the growing power of China and the end of the colonial power of the United Kingdom.
The lack of a 99-year contract would probably not change anything. Portuguese also had their territory nearby. In the fourteenth century, they founded their colony in Macau, less than 70 km. About 9,000 live there to this day. Portuguese. Settlers also migrated to Hong Kong with time to work in a developing commercial metropolis. Makau remained Portuguese until 1999, then they were given to China.
Hong Kong streets
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Grzegorz Kowalczyk / Business Insider
This is how two systems work in one country
After taking over, the People's Republic of China provided Hong Kong with a wide autonomy according to the concept of “One country, two systems”, at least for the next 50 years. As a result, he has a separate currency, he is also a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and conducts a separate commercial policy – when Donald Trump was imposed on Chinese products (Hong Kong was also covered by them), the city, unlike Beijing, did not respond to retaliation.
The idea of two systems is still in force, but Beijing primarily focuses on maintaining unity. The authorities suppressed protests from 2014 and 2019, opposing the increasing competence of continental China – first in the process of choosing local authorities, then in the matter of extradition and activities in Hong Kong Chinese services under the Act on National Security.
Thick buildings are a business card of the city
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Grzegorz Kowalczyk / Business Insider
One country is in order before two systems – One of the boards that I saw at the exhibition devoted to state security at the Hong Kong History Museum. Suppression of protests – criticized by the West and human rights organizations – was defined as stopping the separatist rebellion.
Protest exhibition
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Grzegorz Kowalczyk / Business Insider
The most European city of China
In the city you can still see numerous traces of the former British presence. In the park in honor of the British name of Queen Victoria, her monument is still standing. Although it is no longer exposed in the city center, in the heart of Hong Kong, at the representative Square of the Stat – there is a monument to another islander – Irishman Thomas Jackson – a financier responsible for the development of HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), once British bank responsible for the development of the city, today one of the largest London financial institutions.
Queen Victoria monument
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Grzegorz Kowalczyk / Business Insider
Hong Kong's separateness, and its history, are also visible on the streets. If you used to be on vacation and stressed you that you could not reach an agreement with Asian, there will certainly be no such problem here. English is still the second official official language in which most residents speak great. There are also a menu in restaurants, boards in museums, road signs, or even billboards. Added to this is left -hand traffic, bunk buses and trams, British electrical outlets, and even the habit of drinking coffee with milk – sometimes it is sometimes difficult not to get the impression that you are still in Europe.
The city is one of the largest trading centers
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Grzegorz Kowalczyk / Business Insider
In part, maybe it is due to Chinese pragmatism to keep what is most profitable of the British pastHong Kong still tempts many Western companies to place their investments here.
Monument to Thomas Jackson
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Grzegorz Kowalczyk / Business Insider
Hongkong has always been favorable to corporations has remained such to this day, maintaining a preferential tax system for companies – 8.25 percent For profits over $ 2 billion Hong Konne and 16.5 percent above this amount. At the same time, there is no VAT or profit tax. And this attracts new projects. In 2024, a record of foreign direct investment was broken. Their value amounted to approx. $ 8.6 billion, which is an increase of approx. 10 percent. compared to the year earlier.
It is also impossible to hide that what Hong Kong is known around the world is also striking – these are huge residential buildings. The developer here could actually be the prototype of the famous “Warsaw Hong Kong” described in the Polish media. Despite the high population density, the city itself does not seem overcrowded – public transport remains relatively efficient.
Read also: “Warsaw Hong Kong” no longer resembles the desert. For this prices blame
The rest of the article under the video:
The power of an Asian tiger
This power did not come out of anything. During the time of British colonizers, the former fishing village became a key trade and production. It has become an irreplaceable starting point for investments in the growing markets of Asia and an important production facilities – including The chip factories in the 20th century were installed here in search of lower costs than in the USA. The port became one of the most crowded on the entire continent, and trade development favored the presence of banks and financial institutions from all over the globe. It is a time of growing the city's importance, but the British colonizing practices were also visible. During the aforementioned exhibition at the Hong Kong History Museum, the takeover of the city, unfair commercial relations, or discrimination of the Chinese population living here for European newcomers, was pointed out to the strength of the city.
Public transport is primarily a subway, but also buses and characteristic two -story trams
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Grzegorz Kowalczyk / Business Insider
After China's takeover, Hong Kong has become a “window to the world” of the Middle Kingdom – the value of Hong Kong's commercial turnover over the decades ranges between 300-500 percent GDP. In turn, GDP per capita Hong Kong almost doubled from 26.7 thousand. hole. in 1997 to 51 thousand in 2023
Hong Kong buildings reveal unevenness
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Grzegorz Kowalczyk / Business Insider
Despite this, the statement that Hong Kong is today the flywheel of the economic development of all of China would be definitely exaggerated. With a contribution less than 3 percent Chinese GDP, She is giving way to Shenzhen or Shanghaibut still remains one of the most important shopping centers in the world. The stock exchange in Hong Kong at the end of 2024 was in the eighth place in the world in terms of capitalization.
In this case, Hong Kong is also a place of powerful contrasts, which can be seen in the streets. Think Tank Oxfam reported at the end of 2024 that in the first quarter of this year over 1.39 million inhabitants lived in poverty. At the same time, the richest inhabitants of Hong Kong earn up to 81.9 times more than the poorest – the institution analyzed.
