The peaceful surrender of Hong Kong to China on the midnight of 30 June 1997 after almost one hundred and fifty-six years of colonial rule was unique in the annals of history. Rarely before had one power surrendered a rich prize to another. The credit for finding a solution to the peaceful reunification of Hong Kong, a capital enclave, with mainland China, a socialist country, through the formula of 'one country, two systems' goes to Deng Xiaoping, China's most pragmatic leader. Deng, however, breathed his last before Hong Kong's merger with the mainland.

This book attempts to encapsulate the history of Hong Kong ever since the territory was acquired by Great Britain through what the Chinese call 'the unequal treaties', the evolution of the colonial administration in Hong Kong, its emergence as a commercial centre and financial hub, the protracted Sino-British negotiation leading to the signing of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, the democracy debate in Hong Kong, the ethnic Indians in Hong Kong and the pangs of transition.

Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan).