"I look out at this city. "I can feel it growing. But every process of whatever kind includes disappointment, tragedy, recrimination, and contradictions of love and hate. When I think back to the cut-and-paste images of the blood and tears of the past that measure the passing of time, that sense of mission, absent for so long, ruthlessly resurfaces.

"I know that we carry a heavy burden, to return to her the romance that she deserves but that we have ignored and forgotten."

This is from the liner notes to Lo Ta-yu's 1989 album The Year to Say Farewell. His concern for "her"-Hong Kong-leaps from the page.

As we approach the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong-July 1-Hong Kong people have mixed feelings as they say good-bye to their status as a British colony. It's hard to tell whether to feel happy, sad, bitter, or optimistic. . . .

A picture in the newspaper shows the wife of departing Hong Kong governor Chris Patten planting a tree.

The headline over it uses a light touch to describe the feeling of departing. The story describes how Mrs. Patten, in cooperation with a group of grade-school children, planted 100 saplings in a park to symbolize 100 years of a clean environment for Hong Kong. Mrs. Patten wished for a bright future for the city, while the children gave her a card covered with heart-shaped pictures, with the words "we will miss you" written all over the card.

"When the British flag is lowered on June 30, I might even cry," says Kwong Wai Lap, general manager of the City Contemporary Dance Company. Yet after sipping some tea, he adds, "But I am not grateful to the British. If they had started some things ten years earlier, like direct elections, Hong Kong people might have a better chance. . . ."

Bittersweet "no problem!"

Why is it that, on the eve of the return to Chinese rule, the people of Hong Kong do not follow the pattern of other nations, like India, where people engaged in an outpouring of emotion through burning the Union Jack and pictures of the governor-general as the British withdrew? The people of Hong Kong are saying good-bye to their colonial status coolly and quietly. Stories in the newspapers are all about how the British feel as they leave-the withdrawal from the naval base, the last running of the "Governor's Cup" and "Queen's Cup" horse races, the end to the Governor's Concert, the memoirs of Britain's last naval commander in the territory. What about the views of the people of Hong Kong? They are very polite and always respond, "the British treated us very well, we will miss them."

Businessmen care most about "sales." Perhaps with an eye to the flood of Westerners expected to come to Hong Kong in the waning days before the handover, the themes of most of the commemorative products for sale are sarcasm about China; few are targeted at the British.

For example, one T-shirt shows an enormous hand holding chopsticks colored like the PRC flag-red with five gold stars-closing on Hong Kong island, with its skyscrapers beginning to wobble. The words emblazoned on the shirt say, "The Great Chinese Take Away." The clerk in the clothing store, perfectly aware of the meaning, says that the shirts will no longer be on sale starting July 1, because they are "too offensive" to the Chinese Communists.

On another T-shirt, the words "No Problem!" appear in large letters at the center. In small letters is written the article of Hong Kong's basic law which says clearly: "The capitalist system and way of life will continue as before, and will not be changed for 50 years." So, Hong Kong people tell themselves, there's no problem!

In April, the Hong Kong Arts Center held "An Exhibit of Alternative Commemorative Items for the Return to Chinese Rule." The sense of humor of Hong Kong people reached full expression here.

One product offered was toilet paper printed like a calendar, with the days counting down to Chinese rule being torn off square by square to wipe somebody's butt-Hong Kong people are sick and tired of hearing about the return! A soft pillow covered with the character for "Communism" was guaranteed "to insure a sound sleep." Colored underwear shaped into a lollipop was called "Patriotic Pet Pet Candy." The candy was "only for licking, not for ingesting." Instructions read: "Close your eyes, and imagine the leader before you, then lick slowly. It will be delicious!" The candy came complete with a photo of the leader posing in a swimsuit.

Close to the queen

On the eve of the takeover, many books exploring the past appeared in Hong Kong bookstores. Where did Hong Kong street names come from? How should the history of Hong Kong be written? From archaeology to economic development, "Hong Kong Studies" has become the center of attention. But you don't see so many books interested in challenging the British or reflecting on the colonial experience. Those that do are written by mainland Chinese authors, with titles like How Britain Is Withdrawing from Hong Kong, discussing in heated terms the gains and losses, rights and wrongs in the colony.

"The British are leaving, so it's pointless to talk about it anymore. Hong Kong people prefer to look to the future. They look to the past only to try to make the future even better," speculates Ma Kwai Min of Publications (Holdings) Limited. This is what "those pragmatic Hong Kong people" choose.

Over the past 20 years of British administration much has been done: the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the subway system, the cross-harbor tunnel linking Hong Kong and Kowloon, public housing. For "Hong Kong people," who experienced WWII and directly felt the impact of the chaos in mainland China in the 1950s and 1960s, "We feel a much greater sense of closeness when we see a portrait of the queen than when looking at slogans like 'Serve the People,'" says Paul Lin, a columnist who left mainland China, lived for a time in India, and has lived in Hong Kong for 21 years. "It is the British who have given me the most comfortable life and the opportunity for maximum growth," he says. For this reason alone, he cannot condemn the British.

Invented by the British?

Looking back on the road traveled, Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. Later, under various pretexts, Britain acquired Kowloon (by cession, in 1860) and, later, the New Territories (by lease, in 1898). Before this, Hong Kong was a tiny fishing community of 7000 people scattered across 15 villages and one town.

Today, Hong Kong is one of the major trade and financial centers of the world. Driving past the Kwai Chung docks, you can see a large strip of reclaimed land, and crowds of container ships from all over the world. Looking out to sea, supertankers are packed as closely as fish scales. Pictures of countless traders gathered together that one can see on old European maps from the 19th century have been the reality for the last hundred years of Hong Kong history (barring the Japanese occupation in WWII).

Who generated the wealth of Hong Kong? The media in Hong Kong have entered into a great debate. On one side are those who say Hong Kong was nothing but a fishing village, a barren place without crops or signs of human habitation. It was the British that made it into an international entrepot. On the other are those who argue that Chinese have labored there since ancient times. Before the British came, fishing and sailing had achieved a certain level of development already, and the Qing dynasty had stationed troops there in the early 19th century.

Who "created" Hong Kong? When the pro-China media says things like "China has made an important contribution," many intellectuals scoff, and want to draw attention back to the main players: As their own experiences growing up confirm for them, Hong Kong is the way it is today not because of Britain, and not because of China, but "through the hard work of Hong Kong people," says Lau Sai Leung, who is a senior research officer for the Democratic Party.

Leung Man Tao, who often writes columns for the newspaper, says today's Hong Kong shares something in common with the horse racing of which Hong Kong people are so fond: Both include a large element of gambling. He says that if Hong Kong had not hooked onto the growth trend in the global economy in the 1960s-with industries like ready-made clothing, transistor radios, and watches, and products whose designs are based on copying (like artificial flowers, carpets, wigs, and even sex toys)-products "Made in Hong Kong" would not have flooded the world as they currently do.

"The success of Hong Kong is absolutely not due to 'the combination of British governance and Chinese diligence,' as most Westerners think. It is because Hong Kong people grab every opportunity and plunge right in," says Lau Sai Leung. This is where Hong Kong people excel. And even today they continue to transform themselves. The semiconductor industry is a case in point.

Ignoring Hong Kong people?

Looking backwards from the current hubbub, Hong Kong's history has been a series of accidents and necessities.

Hong Kong was first developed at the peak of Britain's imperial age. With the industrial revolution, production in Britain grew dramatically. It seemed necessary to secure more colonies to provide raw materials and markets for Britain's goods. The British looked eagerly to China, a vast land with much to offer. The British leased Hong Kong to serve as an entrepot, to expand opportunities for trade with China.

Professor P.Y. Lung of the Department of Architecture at Hong Kong University has pointed out that until the 1970s, the British never made any plans for Hong Kong to become a "cultural entity." In other words, they rarely thought about what the people of Hong Kong wanted.

"The British who came to Hong Kong in the early days were all young people. They had a low level of culture and knowledge, thinking only to gain the maximum they could in the minimum amount of time. In his book 100 Years Ago, the author John Warner writes that they were 'conservative, vulgar, lacking creative abilities in literature, science, or art.' Members of the British middle class who failed at home, they came to Hong Kong determined to either get rich or go bust." Under these circumstances, commercial and military goals were given priority above all else in early Hong Kong. Naturally you couldn't even begin to speak of equal treatment among people.

You can see the "unbalanced" situation of the early colonial period from the residential distribution in Hong Kong.

In those days, Chinese people were all squeezed into the area between Hollywood Road and Peace Avenue. Most lived in airless, tiny boxes. Except for the side facing the street, they had no ventilation or light. There was no space between houses, nor were there courtyards, while the roads were as narrow and winding as sheep intestines. Meanwhile, Central District, at the center of Hong Kong island, and the broad, open areas of the hillsides, were reserved for foreign businesses and residences.

In his "Report on the Health Situation in Hong Kong," written in 1882, a Briton named Chadwick noted that the average life expectancy of adults in Hong Kong was 43 years. In the 1840s, average life expectancy for people in Britain was already 55. The poor hygiene and living conditions of Chinese led to large epidemics.

A period of chaos

In 1966, sparked off by price increases at the Star Ferry, there were "anti-British riots." Workers went on strike and took to the streets to demonstrate, violently clashing with police. Policemen armed with military equipment even opened fire to suppress the rioting. Ultimately, the anti-British movement connected with the PRC's Cultural Revolution, and continued until 1967.

This was the most chaotic page in Hong Kong history. While it seems like the major cause was friction between capital and labor, in fact, this was a general explosion of accumulated resentment against problems left to fester under the colonial government, such as harsh working conditions, and the growing gap between rich and poor.

In Hong Kong history books today you can see pictures of "big character posters" pasted up by workers all over the walls of the governor's residence, of streets barricaded with barbed wire, and of confrontations between citizens and police. From these you can see how tense the situation was at that time. But this period is but a vague memory for most Hong Kong people. "Some of the key elements in the events are still unclear, and people are not that interested in looking back on them," says Lau Sai Leung.

The British are unwilling to say that the anti-government riots were understandable. But today, "even the Chinese Communists don't say much about them, and it's hard to understand why," says Lau Sai Leung. Is something being covered up?

Kwong Wai Lap often visits mainland China. Being interested in history, he has asked old communists who went to Hong Kong to participate in the actions in the 1960s to tell him about those events in detail.

One old Communist Youth League cadre told him that, when his superior in the CYL was arrested by Hong Kong police, and the situation was reported to their superiors, the Communist Party did not move very aggressively to get him released. Another elder returned to the mainland after participating, but mysteriously disappeared. "Maybe Britain and China had an understanding at the time to repress the movement, and Communist Party members who came to Hong Kong were also affected," Kwong speculates.

Citing the oral histories of people involved in the events, perhaps what Kwong is trying to say is what many Hong Kong people feel strongly in their hearts-that, as Kwong puts it, "Hong Kong people have never controlled their own destiny. Who would deny that?"

Who are "the people of Hong Kong"?

The anti-British riots of 1967 caused the colonial government to take the aspirations and needs of the people of Hong Kong more seriously. Beginning in the 1970s, the Hong Kong government began to "plan more for their colonial subjects" in terms of housing and education, notes Lau Sai Leung. For example, in 1974, when most Chinese in Hong Kong could not function in English, the government finally passed "legal language provisions" which for the first time formally recognized Chinese as being, along with English, a language for official use.

After 1978, when the PRC began opening to the outside world, capital and talent from Hong Kong poured into mainland China. Being the closest city to the PRC, which had been "contained" on all sides and shut itself off from the outside, Hong Kong "served as the eyes and transshipment point for the mainland looking out into the world," says cultural critic Nanfang Shuo. Anticipating prosperity for Hong Kong, in 1982 the PRC and UK entered into negotiations for the return of this "little dragon" that "lays golden eggs" to Chinese rule.

What was the impact of the colonial era on Hong Kong? Since the late 1980s, much of the literary and film production of Hong Kong has displayed a fascination with "self-identification." This is especially the case with Tsui Hark's film The Indomitable Dongfang, based on a novel by Jin Yong. The character Dongfang, skilled at martial arts, is able to fight against Spanish and Japanese warships. But this character has an ambiguous persona, neither male nor female; he/she sings a song called "The Real Me, The False Me"; and when asked who he/she really is, the character replies: "Who am I? I would also like to know!"

Liang Bingjun, a writer who often explores the identity of Hong Kong people, wrote: "When you compare a person from Hong Kong to a foreigner, of course the Hong Kong person is Chinese. But when you compare him to people from Taiwan or the PRC, he seems to carry some foreign influence. . . . Perhaps he speaks some English or Mandarin, but that is not the language he grew up learning. He is most at ease in Cantonese, but it is not a language that lends itself to writing. He memorized some classical Chinese in school. But in society he becomes familiar with the forms of commercial correspondence, and the short and catchy slogans of advertising."

"If Britain is our father, and China our mother, then who are we? Can we explain ourselves as 'the intersection of East and West'? What, after all, is Hong Kong? Culturally speaking, what have we built?" Thus queries Oscar Ho, exhibition director for the Hong Kong Arts Center, in the introduction to "Hong Kong in the 1960s."

English-speakers on top?

The confusion Hong Kong people feel about identity and language is directly connected to their colonial status.

The main reasons behind the confusion over identity are the policies of the colonial government, especially in education and administration. For example, the government deliberately chose not to teach Chinese history and culture, nor civics, in the schools. All documents of law and administration had to be in English. And instruction in English was supported by the state.

Kwong Wai Lap has produced a play discussing Hong Kong people growing up under British-style education. From a young age children are required to speak "Oxford English," which even most British people do not speak. They have buttered scones for breakfast, but with Cantonese noodles. In the play, those who speak English stand on platforms, while those who speak Cantonese are below them. This is what he calls "the colonial subject effect."

Even today, Hong Kong people still have a complex about the use of English.

In the Hong Kong film Fuziqing (Sentiments Between Father and Son), the first generation of immigrants in the 1960s met obstacles to upward mobility because their English was poor. They insisted that their children learn English well because it would be useful in getting a better job. This complex seems to be milder these days. Yet, although government and legal documents have long since become bilingual, "everyone thinks that things will get done faster if the documents are in English," says one Hong Kong government officer.

Beginning this year, the government called for general use of the mother tongue (Cantonese) in education, with Mandarin classes added to the curriculum in primary and middle school. These policies are necessitated by the return to Chinese rule, but they make Hong Kong people wonder: Will this not make the workload too heavy in school, so that the level of English will decline?

In the 1980s, Hong Kong universities were significantly expanded, and society responded with an outcry. Many felt the quality of university students was slipping, something especially noticeable in the students' English abilities. "In courtrooms, more and more attorneys had trouble discussing things with British judges, because their English wasn't good enough," says Tsang Yok Sing of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong.

In the past, families who had the means to do so sent their children to English language primary, middle, and high schools. After graduating, it was best for them to go to Hong Kong University, which offered traditional British style education. Ultimately many went to the UK to study further. Today, though some families send their kids to the PRC to study in hopes that they will learn Mandarin well and that will allow them to stand out in the crowd, most people still realize that as long as Hong Kong remains an international commercial center, the status of English will not decline.

"In this society," opined Liang Bingjun in an essay, "English is not a means of communication. It has become a means of assessing worth, a measure of status, an excuse to feel superior to others."

But perhaps Liang is being a little harsh. Though some people regard the emphasis placed on English to be a "complex," Peng Chia-fa, who teaches at National Chengchih University in Taipei, but was born and raised in Hong Kong, says that, in fact it is just "habit" because Hong Kong has always been an international city. Of course, as the handover approaches, "it's natural that language policy will be given increasing attention," notes Tsang Yok Sing. Today, English is the main tool of communication in upper class society in Hong Kong, despite the fact that everyone can speak Cantonese. "That's a little strange," he says.

China as neighbor

Besides language, history as taught by the colonial government is another source of complaint for Hong Kong people. "In textbooks, China is always treated as an outsider, as 'Hong Kong's biggest neighbor.' In history textbooks, the Opium War is called a 'trade conflict,' not an invasion," says Lau Sai Leung, who studied in Chinese language schools. From the books of his sister, who studied in an English language school, he saw that Hong Kong students followed British students in learning the history of former British colonies like India and Canada. But they never asked why.

Once, preparing for a play, Kwong Wai Lap was doing research when he discovered a 1960s document of the Hong Kong education department that recommended, in essence, that Hong Kong history be eliminated from texts. "The intention of the British was clear. They tell you not to understand your own selves. That makes people easier to control!" On the other hand, one good thing about the British is that "these kinds of historical documents are made public after ten years, so you have facts to serve as the basis of criticism," he says.

Lau Sai Leung says that British colonial education did nothing to empower Hong Kong people, nor did it teach Hong Kong people to know themselves. When Britain and China were negotiating the fate of Hong Kong, Hong Kong people could only act like outsiders, looking on as if the negotiations had nothing to do with them, without any room to say a thing. "When did the UK or PRC ask the people of Hong Kong their opinions about the future?" he queries.

I am a Chinese!

On the edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, there is an enormous display counting down to the handover of Hong Kong. With less than a month to go now, whether Hong Kong people have been asked their opinions or not, it is an established fact that there will be a "change of regimes."

Pop start Andy Lau is wearing a pure white Sun Yat-sen jacket, standing against a backdrop of red flags, green hills, and a shimmering blue sky. This is a scene from his latest music video. Amidst swirling yellow sand, red flags flutter in the wind, and drummers wearing red sashes pound out the rhythm. At a press conference, Lau remarks: "In the past I was always considered a Hong Kong person. Now, I stick my chest out proudly and say, I am a Chinese!"

In the days leading up to the takeover, one periodically reads of incoming chief executive Tung Chee-hwa admonishing Hong Kong people: Confucian culture must be strengthened, civic education is very valuable, family values must be reconstructed. In discussions about textbook revisions in the Preparatory Committee, a nationalist perspective, traditional Chinese culture and ethical values, and knowledge of Chinese history and geography have all been listed as key points to be emphasized.

From symbols to ideology, from a Hong Kong that was British-whoops! I mean, "an admixture of Chinese and Western"-to one that is "China," what do Hong Kong people think of it all?

Sensitive intellectuals are the most unhappy. "It's as if we were half-breeds born of a mother that was raped, who have to be indoctrinated to become pure!" baldly declares Leung Man Tao. "But have they have not stopped to think that we are not at fault for having been born half-breeds?"

What intellectuals find hardest to put up with is the mainland's "big brother" mentality. One Hong Kong person tells of a time he wanted to run an ad but was unsure about it, so he repeatedly called to check and confirm. The Shanghainese who took his calls said to him, "What are you doing, little brother, trying to teach the big boss?"

Several similar experiences have taught this person to keep a low profile, and be humble, saying things like "We Hong Kong people only understand capitalism, we need to be taught a great deal." He concludes: "The people in Beijing haven't said so outright, but their actions are clear: You just give us the money, but we can make decisions without your help." Although this Hong Kong person understands that not all mainland Chinese are so narrow-minded, when he meets a "big brother" from the PRC he always feels depressed.

How different?

So, are the cultures of China and Hong Kong different after all? "The emphasis on hierarchy in Confucian culture-emperor, minister, father, son-has been transformed into an ethic, a definition of superior and subordinate, in mainland Chinese people. This is very different from the style in Hong Kong of individualism and equality." This Hong Kong person says, in an agitated tone of voice, that when you communicate with mainland Chinese, "you have to learn the tricks, and some words cannot be used openly." For example, you cannot say "those killed in the Tiananmen massacre." Nor can you criticize the leaders of the PRC. "People in Beijing or Shanghai can criticize them, that's OK. But Hong Kong people-'raised under a colonial regime'-cannot."

In the eyes of Chinese Communist cadres, Hong Kong intellectuals are dissatisfied with mainland Chinese or with some of their new "public regulations" (such as those that restrict freedom of speech), because the intellectuals have "been educated by the West, and have been influenced by a Western atmosphere," says Guo Zhaojin, director of the Hong Kong China News Agency. His remarks reflect to a very great degree the attitude the Chinese regime has toward the people of Hong Kong.

But in today's political atmosphere, of course there are also some Hong Kong people who are pleased about joining the PRC, "such a powerful country." They feel a sense of national pride and history. For example, enthusiasm for celebrating the return to China in the New Territories (which was already being developed as early as the Sung dynasty and was leased from China by Britain only beginning in 1898) is much higher than in Kowloon and Hong Kong island.

Kat Hing Wai, a walled town in the New Territories that shed blood resisting the British, has recently become a hot tourist site. Although the New Year couplet put up on the gate to the town have been bleached by wind and rain, the characters are still clearly legible: "The daughter who married out of the family is returning home/ Let us call out Zhou Nan [the top PRC official in Hong Kong] to celebrate!" But is this really the way people who live there feel?

For the large majority of the working and lower classes, the coming of Chinese rule doesn't make any difference to them: "We aren't rich, so we're not afraid, it's the same to us whoever may come," said one taxi driver. Another, referring to China's promise that "Hong Kong will not change," said, with a touch of Zen-like crypticism, "Hong Kong will not change, China will change; if China does not change, Hong Kong will be in trouble."

The unfinished story

Hong Kong fell into Japanese hands early in the War in the Pacific, and returned to British rule after. Now comes Chinese rule. Can this "Pearl of the Orient" adapt to yet another change of masters?

On the eve of the handover, one thing that has not changed-at least on the surface-is the city's commercial foundation. Economic life is just as frantic as always: the expressionless faces on the underground, the impressive trolley cars one after another, the sound of high heels clicking against escalators, all without conversation. It is the universal appearance of any big city, like Tokyo, like London, like Taipei.

At this historic crossroads, perhaps the busiest people are political activists. As soon as you leave the Causeway Bay underground station, you see a slogan for the sale of lottery tickets: "Oppose retrogression, never retreat; carry on through 1997 and fight on into 1998. Fund-raising lottery, HK$20 per ticket, please give us your support." This is a fund-raising activity for the Democratic Party, which has been described by Tung Chee-hwa as going around the world "singing a funeral march for Hong Kong."

The first troops of the People's Liberation Army are in the city! In the paper, how cautious the PLA leader appears! He says to the media that the PLA is not only a fine fighting force, nimble and rapid, it also loves the people deeply. Members of the PLA do not smoke, drink, or patronize disreputable places. They do not ask their families for money. They are refined and polite. Even if stationed next to a lychee orchard, not a single leechee will be stolen.

Promises that the PLA will behave like Boy Scouts were duly reported by the media. But people cannot forget the massacre in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

A theater in Wan Chai has been showing a documentary about Tiananmen made by two American directors for two months now. On June 4 of 1997, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong people will hold their last memorial service for Tiananmen; it is expected that as many people will come as in the past. ATV, a local TV network, did a survey asking people about the future: 22% said they were excited, 12% said they were pessimistic, and 47% denied having any definite feelings about it all.

The mood in this era of parting is one of sadness and a little recrimination. It is as if we were to revise the story of Zhu Yingtai, a heroine of legend who died of sorrow when her father tried to force her to marry someone other than the man she loved. In the new version, she instead follows her father's instructions to be married to Ma Wencai, whom she doesn't love. Though unhappy, she reasons that, anyway, the Ma family has status and wealth. As it turns out, she does get along all right in the Ma household. Unexpectedly, however, the Zhu and Ma families decide that she should return home to serve her elderly father. This revisionist version of the story might be called "Ma Zhu Yingtai Returns to Her Parents' Home."

Classic Chinese stories like those of Zhu Yingtai, when divided into stages, always finished each stage with the same line, one apropos to Hong Kong as well: "If you want to know how the story turns out, you'll just have to read on to the next chapter."

p.14

Fireworks tint the starry skies red. At the opening of the Lantau Link, which connects to the new Hong Kong airport, Margaret Thatcher, Governor Chris Patten, and Deputy to the Governor Mrs. Anson Chan all attended. Britons say that Britain has continued developing Hong Kong right up to the last minute,

leaving glorious accomplishments for the residents.

p.16

The play Hong Kong Has Fallen to the Enemy, put on by a theater company two years ago, portrayed the fall of the colony to the Japanese in WWII. How do Hong Kong people feel about the imminent handover to China?

p.17

In 1997 Hong Kong, historical persons and events-the Opium War, Sun Yat-sen, the destruction of British opium by Chinese officials-have become the stuff of commercial goods.

p.19

Gambling on the ponies, originally a British institution, is now a favorite activity for Hong Kong people. "Horses will still be allowed to race, people will still be allowed to dance." Does this expression, meant to put the people of Hong Kong at ease, reflect the

The play Hong Kong Has Fallen to the Enemy, put on by a theater company two years ago, portrayed the fall of the colony to the Japanese in WWII. How do Hong Kong people feel about the imminent handover to China?

In 1997 Hong Kong, historical persons and events--the Opium War, Sun Yat-sen, the destruction of British opium by Chinese officials--have become the stuff of commercial goods.

Gambling on the ponies, originally a British institution, is now a favorite activity for Hong Kong people. "Horses will still be allowed to race, people will still be allowed to dance." Does this expression, meant to p ut the people of Hong Kong at ease, reflect their real aspirations for t he future?

Hollywood Street used to be a crowded and unhy-gienic residential neighborhood for Chinese. The Hsing Chung Hui, Sun Yat-sen's organization for drumming up support for revolution in China, was located nearby.

Kat Hing Wai, a traditional Cantonese walled town. In 1899. when the New Territories came under British control through unequal treaties, this town resisted British forces. The iron door, smashed down by the British, was taken back to the UK as war booty.

Newspapers in Hong Kong are hotly debating whether a documentary about the Tiananmen massacre, which has been showing for two months, will be allowed after July 1. The massacre in 1989 caused many Hong Kong people to identify with the Chinese people, as many began to lose hope for political reform in the mainland.