Hong Kong—the transfer to China from a military viewpoint

Abstract

At midnight 30 June this year Hong Kong was handed over to the Chinese after, 156 years as a British colony. The hand‐over took much preparation both from the British and the Chinese side. Here General Dutton, formerly Commander of the British Garrison in Hong Kong, describes the events leading up to the hand‐over from a British’ military point of view. He describes how the drawdown was administered from the British side and how they cooperated with the Chinese Army which were to take over in Hong Kong. The operation was complicated and needed careful planning since the date for the hand‐over was already set and could not be moved at any one's convenience. Initially the relationship between the British and the Chinese was difficult, but improved over time, the British managing to convince the Chinese to make some changes to their policies and plans. General Dutton concludes that the process leading up to the hand‐over and the actual hand‐over itself went remarkably smoothly and he believes that the future of Hong Kong is in good hands providing a policy of openness is pursued by the Chinese authorities