Hong Kong's return to the motherland refers to the historical event of the resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong by the Government of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. The following is the historical process of Hong Kong's return to the motherland:
- In June 1840, the British launched the Opium War to protect the opium trade, and the Qing government was defeated and forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking with the British to cede Hong Kong Island.
- On October 23, 1856, the British provoked the Second Opium War, the Qing government was defeated, Beijing was occupied, the emperor fled, and on October 24, 1860, the Qing government was forced to sign the Treaty of Beijing, ceding the southern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula, the area south of present-day Boundary Street.
- On June 9, 1898, Britain and the Qing government signed the "Treaty on the Extension of the Boundary of Hong Kong", forcibly leasing the "New Territories" for 99 years.
- During the period of the Republic of China, successive governments of the Republic of China never recognized the unequal treaties between China and Britain, and tried to restore the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong at the Paris Peace Conference and the Washington Conference, but failed to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong due to the rejection of Britain and France and the instability of the domestic society.
- In the early 80s of the 20th century, under the historical conditions and background of reform and opening up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping creatively put forward the scientific concept of "one country, two systems", which was first used to solve the Hong Kong issue.
- In 1982, when formal negotiations between China and Britain began, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher led a delegation to Beijing to hold talks with Deng Xiaoping on the future arrangements for Hong Kong.
- From December 1982 to December 1984, after 22 rounds of diplomatic negotiations, the governments of China and the United Kingdom formally signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
- In 1988, the two sides completed the transitional arrangements for Hong Kong, including the transition of elections, legislature, judiciary and civil servants.
- On 1 July 1997, the Chinese Government resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was established. Hong Kong's return to the motherland has washed away the century-old humiliation of the Chinese nation, is an example of the successful practice of the "one country, two systems" concept, and provides a new idea and new solution for the international community to solve similar problems. At the same time, it has also laid the foundation for resolving the Hong Kong and Macao issues and provided an example for resolving the remaining international issues through peaceful negotiations.