Legacy of British empire will remain even after handover

HONG KONG, June 26: At the stroke of midnight on June 30, China will regain Hong Kong after more than 150 years of British colonial rule, b...

HONG KONG, June 26: At the stroke of midnight on June 30, China will regain Hong Kong after more than 150 years of British colonial rule, but it is unlikely to wipe out the British legacy overnight.

While the transfer of sovereignty will strip Hong Kong of all major artifacts symbolic of the British colonial rule, the 156 years of British presence will remain in Hong Kong.

The following is a sample of what will go and what will stay at least for a while — in what from July one will be known as the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China.

Story continues below this ad

Shortly before midnight June 30, the British Crown will be stripped from all police badges. Instead, the 27,000-strong police force will wear an insignia that bears the official emblem of the HKSAR. On July one, more than 18,000 Hong Kong-registered ships have been instructed to lower the Union Jack and replace it with the Chinese national flag.

And long before the handover, many societies and organisations, including the venerable Hong Kong Jockey Club, have already had the word royal’ taken from their names. Queen Elizabeth II’s image has also been removed from stamps and the royal crest has been taken off post boxes.

The Government House, which was built in 1851 and has since been used as the family home and office for Hong Kong Governors, including the three years and eight months during Japan’s wartime occupation, will be used for social functions.

Tung Chee-Hwa, the in-coming Hong Kong chief executive, will work out of the central government offices, which traditionally house government departments. Some of Hong Kong’s famous historic buildings, including the government house, are protected by the antiquities and monuments ordinance, which was introduced in 1971.

Story continues below this ad

“We should not be ashamed of our colonial history,” independent legislator Eric Lee told the Hong Kong Standard newspaper

Roads named after former Hong Kong Governors, such as Pottinger, MacDonnell, Kennedy, Bowen, Caine, Stubbs, Luard, Des Voeux and Robinson, are also likely to remain well after the handover.