Hong Kong: The Pearl of the Orient
Colonial Days
Hong Kong and China are linked due to their history enmity. During the first opium war, Hong Kong was ceded to the British with the signing of the Chuenpi Convention, an agreement which seeks to put an end to the first Anglo-Chinese conflict (A&E Television Networks, 2017). In 1839, China was invaded by the British to destroy opposition from the interference of the country's economic and political affairs. Part of Britain's first acts of the war was to occupy Hong Kong as it was a sparsely inhabited island off the coast of China. In 1841, China ceded the island to the British, and in 1842 the Treaty of Nanking was signed, leading to the end of the First Opium War (A&E Television Networks, 2017). At that time, Hong Kong was used by the British as a trading port. In 1898, Britain was granted an additional 99 years to rule over Hong Kong under the Second Convention of Peking. In September 1984, after years of negotiations, British and Chinese formally signed an agreement approving the return of Hong Kong to China, however, they had to pledge to preserve Hong Kong’s capitalist system. On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong was handed over to China. The chief executive under the new Hong Kong government, Tung Chee Hwa, formulated a policy on the concept of “one country, two systems”, preserving Hong Kong’s role as the Asia capitalist centre (A&E Television Networks, 2017). |
Singapore: The "Little Red Dot"
Singapore: A state of dilemma
Similarly, Singapore has a brief history with the British. During the second half of the 18 century, there was a need for the British to extend their dominion in India and China. As a result, trading posts were established in Penang and Singapore, captured Malacca from the Dutch. In late 1818, Lord Hastings, Governor-General of India gave tacit approval to Sir Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen to establish a trading station at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. In 1819, Raffles landed on Singapore after surveying the islands nearby. Following, he concluded a preliminary treaty with Temenggong Abdu’r Rahman to set up a trading port in Singapore. A formal treaty was signed on 6 February 1819 (Hawksford, 2017). Over the years, Singapore proved to be a prized settlement, surpassing Penang. Singapore, together with Malacca and Penang became the Straits Settlements in 1826. By 1832, Singapore became the centre of government for the three areas. However, the peace was short-lived as Singapore fall to the hands of the Japanese on 15 February 1942. It remained under the Japanese occupation for three and a half years (Lambert, 2016). The British returned in 1945 and Singapore came under the British Military Administration. In 1959, Singapore became a self-governing state within the British Empire. Before joining the Federation of Malaysia, Singapore was declared independent from Britain unilaterally in August 1963. Two years later Singapore gained its independence and was ever since led by the People’s Action Party (PAP)(Lambert, 2016). |
Historical Similarities Between HK & SG
Both places were set up by the British government and ruled for a century and a half. The legacies of British Colonial rule were demonstrated in the use of English as the official language. On top of that, both Hong Kong and Singapore have experienced rapid economic development that has positioned both states as focal points in the world economy. Since the end of British colonial power, Singapore became an independent state in the 1965 while the colonial governance of Hong Kong was transferred from the British to Mainland China in 1997.
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