1990s in Hong Kong

The 1990s in Hong Kong marked a transitional period and the last decade of colonial Hong Kong.

The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration paved the way for a series of changes that would facilitate the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC). In July 1992, Chris Patten was appointed as the last British Governor of Hong Kong. By contrast with his predecessors, Sir Edward Youde and Sir David Wilson, Patten had little experience with Hong Kong or China, and spoke neither Mandarin nor Cantonese. The decade was essentially dominated by the political backdrop of the handover.

Following China's Tiananmen Square protest in 1989, citizens feared the Chinese government would not keep its promise of autonomy after the handover in Hong Kong. As a result, various mediating measures took place in the run-up to 1997. The Hong Kong Basic Law was ratified on 4 April 1990 as a mini-constitution. The pro-Beijing bloc welcomed the Basic Law, calling it the most democratic legal system to ever exist in the PRC. The pro-democratic bloc criticised it as not democratic enough. Patten emphasised the increase in democracy in Hong Kong through a series of measures that affected the election processes of both legislators and municipal officials. In 1994, the PRC announced that it would terminate the Legislative Council (LegCo) in favour of the "provisional legislative council". In 1995, LegCo was passed and the Democratic Party denounced the provisional legislative council as illegal. The provisional legislative council operated from Shenzhen before the handover.

At midnight on 1 July 1997, the handover ceremony was held at the new wing of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre at Wan Chai North. The flag of United Kingdom and the flag of the Crown colony were lowered. The flags of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and China were raised. This marked the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from British colonial rule to Chinese rule. Participated guests in the ceremony included H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair, President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin, Premier of the People's Republic of China Li Peng, the last Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten appointed by the United Kingdom, and Tung Chee Hwa, the first chief executive of Hong Kong elected from a Beijing-controlled election.

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