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Hong Kong in the early
years was a small fishing
village and with the
deep anchorage popular
as a haven for pirate
ships. Hong Kong was
used as a naval base
by the British during
the Opium wars with China
that took pace in the
19th Century. In 1842
the Treaty of Nanking
was signed with China
which gave Britain the
rights to Hong Kong.
Conflicts continued
with China and in 1860
Britain took over Kowloon
and Stonecutters Island
and in 1898 Britain signed
a 99 year lease for
the New Territories.
The early years of the
modern Hong Kong saw
slow development and
the population was still
only 900,000 in 1931.
Most of the population
is a result of exiles
leaving China after
the formation of the
Chinese Republic in 1912.
During the late thirties
lots of Chinese left
China to escape the Sino – Japanese
war and the population
rose to over 1.5 million
as the start of World
War 11. Britain surrended
to Japan on Christmas
Day in 1941 and hell
Hong Kong until the surrender
of Japan on the 14th
August in 1945.
Significant numbers
of Chinese came to Hong
Kong during 1948 -49
as the Chinese Nationalist
Government was starting
to lose to the Communists.
The United Nations placed
a trade embargo on China
in the 1950’s which
meant Hong Kong had to
develop its own industries.
This was success due
to the cheap labour,
and the government polices
that encouraged investment
and the flow of capital
from China.
Hong Kong from the
1950’s onward developed
as a major producer of
electronics, watches
and other goods. Nowadays
Hong Kong has lost it
competitive advantage
for cheap labour and
has diversified into
financial services.
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