Former journalist recalls handover of Hong Kong as 25th anniversary approaches

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The Korea Times

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Tue, February 7, 2023 | 00:31

Asia

Former journalist recalls handover of Hong Kong as 25th anniversary approaches

Posted : 2022-06-30 16:03

Updated : 2022-07-01 16:55

Son Key-young, a former reporter for The Korea Times, and now a professor at Korea University's Asiatic Research Institute / Courtesy of Son

By Kim Bo-eun

HONG KONG ― Twenty-five years ago, on the eve of July 1, 1997, masses gathered at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to celebrate the U.K.'s official handover of Hong Kong to China, which ended 156 years of British rule over its former colony.

Son Key-young, a former reporter for The Korea Times and now a professor at Korea University's Asiatic Research Institute was there to see the ceremony take place and file a story, after asking spectators there how they felt about the handover.

"Police were surrounding citizens, but it was clear that it was a festive mood at the time," he said in an email interview. He noted that the fireworks at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing after the gathering at Tiananmen Square were so loud that it felt like a war had erupted.

"At the time China was poor and lacked infrastructure in many aspects, so we could not imagine it would become the powerful nation it has now become. I felt that the event (celebrating the handover of Hong Kong) reflected Chinese people's willingness for the country to take center stage in the world."

Son was in Beijing during the event, as a member of the Journalist Association of Korea visiting China for exchanges with the organization's counterpart. At the time of the Beijing visit, he was a seasoned reporter with a decade of experience covering foreign affairs, after joining The Korea Times in 1988.

The article noted spectators' reactions to the televised handover ceremony at the square.

"Spectators turned their eyes to the big screen where Chinese and British government delegations including President Jiang Zemin and Prince Charles showed up to start the handover ceremony. Whenever President Jiang or chief Chinese delegates appeared on the screen, students and citizens in Tiananmen Square responded with resounding applause," the article noted.

Son also noticed that many of the spectators ended up sleeping in Tiananmen Square, with the celebrations starting at around 8 p.m. and ending at around 5 a.m. the next day.

Looking back, covering the event in Beijing is more meaningful for Son as he is now teaching courses and conducting research on security in East Asia.

He referred to a dance performance in Tiananmen Square of the love song, "Girls from Alisan," which was originally sung by Deng Lijun, a Taiwanese singer also famous in China. The performance was read as reflecting China's wish to achieve unification with Taiwan under the same principle of the One-state, Two-systems method which had just been applied to Hong Kong.

"I refer to the 'Girls from Alisan' performance during my lectures from time to time," Son said.

The article goes on to quote a student from Beijing Foreign Studies University, "I think they (Taiwanese) have some misunderstanding about us. We want Taiwan to come back to the motherland."

With the U.K. handing sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the city was established as a special administrative region of China for 50 years. However, the mainland has increased its influence over Hong Kong in recent years, with the passing of the national security law, which limits its previous freedoms.

"If China allowed some flexibility in the One-state, Two-systems principle, the mainland may have earned the support of Hong Kongers, but internal as well as external circumstances for China made an inclusive approach impossible, and this is now clouding future relations with Taiwan," Son said about the latest developments.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Hong Kong to mark the 25th anniversary of the handover. This is Xi's first time leaving the mainland since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

bkim@koreatimes.co.kr