According to the 1997 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the United Kingdom handed control of Hong Kong over to the People's Republic of China, making it a special administrative region.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1842, due to its defeat during the First Opium War, the Great Qing signed the Treaty of Nanking with the United Kingdom and ceded Hong Kong Island (along with Ap Lei Chau and other neighbouring islands) to the United Kingdom indefinitely.

In 1860, the Qing empire was defeated again by Anglo-French forces in the Second Opium War and signed the Convention of Peking, ceding the part of Kowloon Peninsula south of modern-day Boundary Street (including Stonecutters Island) to the United Kingdom in perpetuity.

Finally, in 1943, the two sides signed the Sino-British New Equal Treaty,[1] with China writing a formal letter to the United Kingdom and securing the right to raise the issue of Hong Kong on a later occasion.

By taking this step, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is signaling its determination to expand its area of control and influence even in the face of global criticism.

Differences also emerged between some Hongkongers and the Chinese Central and Hong Kong governments over their understanding of the “one country, two systems” policy.

[18] During the more than 150 years that it was under British rule, Hong Kong was a self-governing free economic zone which followed the international model in terms of its administration and laws;[19][page needed] but the People's Republic of China, as ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, still adopted the governing practice of the former imperial era.

[24] The Apple Daily has stated that the conflicts between Hong Kong and mainland China are still a battle between legal institutions.

[26][27] In recent years, the number of Hongkongers that have emigrated to Taiwan, Canada, and other such places has increased out of concern for the future of Hong Kong's society, politics, and the one nation, two systems policy.

Currently, forums attended by the Special Administrative Region to discuss cooperation with the Chinese Mainland include: Through the forums listed above, Hong Kong and the Mainland can cooperate in areas including cross-boundary infrastructure, promoting the flow of people and goods, promoting trade investments, environmental protection, food safety, information technology, urban construction, tourism partnerships, intercultural activities, promoting sporting events, and training for medical professionals.

[31]: 186  The white paper states that Hong Kong's democracy should not be a replica of some other democratic model and that in the central government's view, principles of national sovereignty and security require that central authorities have the final say in determining Hong Kong's method of democracy.