I was born in HK in 1959, father was an English man working in the Royal Hong Kong police force, mother was Welsh and over there with her father and mother, her father was in the army and ran the NAAFI. We left in 67 to return to UK, I went back in 2010, for my 50th birthday, my word hasn't the place changed!
As a Hongkonger in my 40s growing up in HK, I am holding my tears watching this amazing documentary telling the true story of HK. Now this city is dying or many said it’s died already . We miss those good old days in HK. 😢
Good old days because China was weak and HK was the gateway and trading house for China. When China regained it's strength, the importance and competitiveness of Hong Kong and her people plummeted. Hong Kong's decline in not due to China suppression but loss of competitiveness. Go check the facts. Don't rely on emotions.
@@wongcw08 na man, come on, HK declined because of China's oppressive invasion. I was in the protest of 2019 walking beside more than 1 million Hong Kongers. Nobody was happy about it. HK has always been my favourite city, and right now I'm sad because it's not HK anymore. Or is it? What do you think?
Everyone misses the "good ole days", regardless whether they ever existed Nowadays the totalitarian communists rule all over China and all of that Talk about democracy has become a sham all over the globe
I was there in 94 looking over at Hong Kong from Kowloon caught strong emotion in me and tears formed over its presence - the place was abuzz everywhere until the typhoon hit - only a few people dodging the weather with all those shops signs swinging like crazy - i was also impressed by their tv ads as you would always see the grandparents in the picture - and staying at a tiny hotel with a bathroom as big as a cupboard - loved visiting there :)
Colonization was not good but it shielded the place from the turmoils of the civil war, cultural revolution, all the devastations of the ill-fated stupid movements and cultural revolution by Mao and CCP the led to the death of tens of millions in the mainland if not more. The rule of law under the common law system, the right to assemble, right to free speech and non-corrupted administration, particularly during the 70's to late 90's were what allowed the people to do their things to get prosperous. It is all gone, gone with the wind.
Hong Kong was a miracle. It should have been a horrible place under foreign suppression. It wasn't perfect but EVERYONE in the world knew of HK. This beautiful, exciting, dynamic, PEACEFUL place. We love Hong Kong and always will.
Save your love for Northern Ireland. A country which you've continued to oppress. Foreign rulers did nothing but steal from Hong Kong. Get off the propagandist fake news and go read real history...
Was born in HK 1948 so my memories are very limited. But I shall pass this on to my older brother and my sister. Dad was interned by the Japanese and survived.
Simply brilliant production ... I have to say I just watched this very captivating documentary until the end. Was initially just interested to only browse different points along the way. But soon decided to put other things to the side just to watch this extremely illuminating and well presented history . Respects to Hong Kong
I remember my father talking about Hong Kong. He would say how busy everybody was 25 hours a day, and how literally it was the original city that never slept..... manufacturers could place any order and it would packed and shipped anywhere in world record time. People made fortunes before today's global world.
@@phillipesteele2021 Its crystal what he is saying. HE IS SAYING PEOPLE COULD MAKE FORTUNES BACK THEN EXACTLY HOW THEY ARE TODAY. OK? I have ordered a dictionary, hearing aid and reading glasses which are already packed and shipped from HK and will arrive tomorrow. They are a gift from the people of HK.
Prayers for Hong Kong , my Father was part of Royal Navy liberation force in 1945, he used his seaman's pay to buy rice for some poor starving people in return they gave him some Chinese wooden artifacts that my family still have today.
@@@chuenyeelau - they were told not to "interfere" with the lives of Chinese in HK. The HK Govt. was not unsympathetic to the plight of the local population, spending millions building many blocks of flats in places such as Castle Peak etc to house the refugees who fled China in 1949.
Gerry Layton please watch UA-cam clip: Battle of Hong Kong - A Savage Christmas 1941 at 14.01 of the video. Better yet watch the entire video. Hong Kong was just a way to make money not much more. Hong Kong and China were just property of the west and welfare of the Chinese was the last thing in the colonialist mind.
I was lucky enough to visit several cities in China. Lovely people, fabulous sites, I walked on the Great Wall, visited the Forbidden City, Mao's tomb, Terra Cotta Warriors and shopped in Hong Kong and Macau. Wonderful trip, around early 80's as I recall.
I went in the late 70th...so romantic...I was young and saw everything trough pink glasses...then I went to China several times in late 90th and 2006, it was interesting but NEVER like HK...I would not want to see it now !!
We were married at Hong Kong and had banquet at Macau back at 1964 now suddenly it's 2023 how time flies 4 children and ten grandkids enjoying life travel around the world etc !
[3] Ironically, this happened even to Japan itself, which evolved from being vanquished in World War 2 to learning from the Western ways of doing business, manufacturing, and advanced technologies, to becoming the second largest economy in the world for decades of the 20th century, only very recently surpassed by China, which has ten times Japan's population . . . . It is a modern miracle of bouncing back and rising to new heights despite the pain and the pitfalls of history . . .
You sound brain dead. Japan was already a modernised industrialized country before ww2. Hence the reason why it was strong enough to go about conquering others and even starting a war with US when it was already fighting on many fronts. Japan today isn't as strong as it was before ww2. Today it has huge debts and isn't militarily strong. US did nothing for Japan except to kill its innocent civilians.
You sound brain dead. Japan was already a modernised industrialized country before ww2. Hence the reason why it was strong enough to go about conquering others and even starting a war with US when it was already fighting on many fronts. Japan today isn't as strong as it was before ww2. Today it has huge debts and isn't militarily strong. US did nothing for Japan except to kill its innocent civilians.
18:26 Pai Gow (translates to make nine): played with a set of 32 Chinese dominoes, dates back to the Song dynasty, it has 35960 four-tile combinations possible. (flies away)
Many in Singapore may not be awared that Cantonese dialect was mainly spokened in Chinatown. Even, the strong hardy 'sanswee' women labourers were staying there. They left for the construction sites by walking carrying a rattan basket with simple food for their lunch. They even smoked 'the trumpet cigarettes' for relaxation. Today, in Chinatown i talked to them in Cantonese and they responded merrily and happily. They admired Sun Yat-sen but not Mao Zedong. Definitely, they regarded Sun Yat-sen as 'the father of modern China' when Cantonese could be the official language for China but Sun did not instead Mandarin was chosen. KWONG WAI SHU hospital along the Serangoon road near 'Rumah Miskin Police Station'.
That is because the Qin dynasty... to the Song dynasty... the Southern Chinese were not the Northern Manchus.... This is why Canton and Cantonese people moved further down South, cos they assumed that their effort is needed. People down South revere Sun Yat Sen, because he was a Southern Cantonese man. He was part of the ROC government structure, before the West wanted the PRC structure because the Northern borders were really an issue.... The Russian issue had to be resolved at some point... This is why you often hear people in Chinatown say..... "Tong Yan Guy"... aka 'The Streets of the Tang people". Because that period also saw stability ...
Lived and worked there for two years and it was fabulous, one of the best experiences of my life I loved it It’s a shame what has happened to this amazing city and people under current circumstances
I am seriously being effectively murdered by staged harassment manipulation torture sabotage setups & no one will help. I cannot survive this without help. I am seriously being murdered. This is no game to me. I am literally being murdered. I have begged for help. People know this is happening, but no one will help. I don't know what to do. I have value. I deserve better. But no one will help. I am truly being murdered. I wish someone would help. I want to live.
Today is a sad day for Hong Kong. It will never go back to where it used to be from today. Please everyone be safe and make sure the people around you are safe. This is the soul and beliefs of Hong Kong people that makes Hong Kong Hong Kong. They can have an ID but they will never have the spirits in you people.🇭🇰
Maybe you guys are quite similar to me going back and looking at the history. I think some of these tycoons of Hong Kong aren't right (52:02). The only hope I have is that they aren't in this world seeing how tragedy unfolds in the next coming years. We're already facing an economic downturn, making those who want to leave HK even harder. Even if they were still alive today (e.g. Stanley Ho just passed away recently), there is likely still little they could do for this city to regain its vibe/energy and sociopolitical stability.
CHINA traded with the brits silk, tea, gun power and other goods. the Brit gave the Chinese opium drugs. China said no illegal drugs. Brits started the opium wars and forced 100yr Hong Kong lease. FKD UP.
@@rotcataergeht Now China is flooding the west with fentanyl. If the CCP does it a wide scale and kill so many people... They can't site the Opium wars anymore!
I wish African leader would watch this from beginning to end to see how a city transforms when her people believe in her. I admire the spirits of everyone involved in making Hong Kong what is it today.
The only 2 beautiful cities in Africa is Cape town and Johannesburg but white folk built that! And black folk are tearing it up cause they don’t know how to do nothing
As a kid back in the Summer of 1970 I recall how great the beach was there and the street food was to die for if you were a kid. I hated having to come back to the states for school and I hated the school cafeteria food all the more. However, I was kind of a star as I was the only kid in school who knew martial arts and I enjoyed jumping in wherever there were fights attacking whoever was the bully. God, I miss those carefree days and that lost world.
I spent my teen years in the then British Crown Colony of Hong Kong from the late 1950’s to 1969 . Remember the Governor was Sir David Trench and That period of time seems like a good old days. Being am an Cantonese Italian American ‘s point of view , Hong Hong seems like a super populated heaven on earth.
It is especially sad for all of us to see how the ccp took a baton to smash HK like how they ruthlessly killed its own young people back in the late 80’s. They didn’t care and they won’t care.
@@shinejs2589 : It is really weird too that... Inside the PRC now.. they have heavy censorship in the social media aspect. And yet... their satelite broadcasting channels.. literally shows you every piece of factual news and evidences that went on and happened inside China ? i.e. British fought with the locals as well.. and lend their hands to re-establish the Ming dynasties... only to enter into some kind of coups. Both British Indians... WERE drafted and WERE involved in actually monitoring the streets of Beijing too... Those were BRITISH INDIANS.... Cos inter-fighting broke out. Cannibalism also happened as well.. inside the PRC... and that was not even in places whereby Westerners were involved. These pieces of histories are also lost too.... (It is the "communists" that now make TV shows.. and broadcast it as a piece of history..... and some went to Beijing... to notify this... And then, they brought round the death penalties.. or basically sanctioned those individual... like a naughty child into remote places. ) By spreading people around, and out... Then, some people, created the so called army... and created a breeding programme basically... to increase the population again, cos those one child policies collapsed, or it went wrong. This is why, you still find those "stealing women and children" still occurs... Well.. today it is now a 1.2 billion..... Most are ignorant of their own histories. And their media won't ever show this.
The Cantonese. The Cantonese. Not the "chinese"... different kinds of people inside the PRC... and that is why you must not mix them up !!! Some people inside China will hate your guts... and they're dangerous.
I'm an Indian.. I was always fascinated by HK...this brought me here...nice video.. I didn't knew before Indians people played a role in HK history... What a diverse City it is..."Pearl of orient"
yeap, I grew up in Hong Kong, there are many Indian people in Hong Kong during british colonial time, some were military brought over by the brits, some stay behind even after 1997 cause their children were born in HK. there was a Sheikh temple there.
Indians played a far more important role than you think. I'm Chinese by the way. The second Opium War was fought by the British Navy sent from India. So the majority of the soldiers who took possession of the Kowloon Peninsular were Indian. That's why you have a huge Hindu temple in Kowloon Park. Many of their descendents are still living here. I'm sorry that my fellow Chinese look down on Indians. But I plead Jesus Christ: please forgive them because they know not what they do.
“If China sincerely wanted to let Hong Kong govern itself as part of a one country two system, we would be really in for a wonderful next century” Welp that didn’t age well 🤣
It seems no one reviewed this documentary again and recommended. At the end, there’s only one single person was not so confident and optimistic like others. And he was right, unfortunately.
HK in 1800s, the original residents were the HK Tanka people that is a ethnic group who living on the boat for hundreds of years in HK area. When HK became a colony of UK, the HK Tankas started to move to the land, after that there were some new immigrants coming to HK like Fuklou, Hakka, Southern Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indians and European. Almost of them came from coastal areas who related to sea culture. That’s why we can see so much sea culture in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is near to Canton and lots of southern Chinese immigrants, so they finally use Cantonese for communication. The Hongkongers are combined with different groups of people. They are not a same group with Han Chinese or Mandarin Chinese. But China like to call almost of ethnic groups to Han Chinese, just like Russia like to call Eastern European to Russian. The foreigners outside of China can never find out the truth of Chinese history, the translation version is also based on the Chinese version. The record and the points of views of history are controlled by their government. They called almost of ethnic groups to Han Chinese, it’s not the truth. The Hongkongers can not fit in China because their sea culture are different than the mandarin culture. They are not the same group of people with Han Chinese. Some of their ancestors are not Han chinese, and nowadays almost of them are just half chinese or non-Chinese. China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are just like Indian, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Wish the Hongkongers can be independent or return to UK. #hongkongers #hongkong #hongkongese
Loving this one thanks for sharing very important information giving thanks blessed love to all knowledge is power hopefully everyone pays attention keep up the good work 🙏🙏🙏🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲💪💪💪
Hong Kong got lucky. It came with a dark past with the British Colonization. I’m surprised how well we did.I hate how media romanticizes how great it is. But, ignored the history behind it.
[2] Barbados, to my mind, was to the Americas/Caribbean what Hong Kong was for Asia: a hub of trading, shipping, tourism, cruise-industry, and later finance, diplomacy, and excellence in public administration. The European colonisers and conquistadors brought horrible things to Asia and to the Americas, but they also brought some good aspects of one unifying global language, governance, rule of law, excellence in shipping, the merging and blending of nations and cultures, and combining the best of ancient/traditional and modern/industrial to produce cosmopolitan countries and cities that still exist and prosper throughout the world....e.g., Cayman Islands, B.V.I., Barbados, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and many others. . . .
History is full of conflicts. the despotic Napoleon empire made some of the most important advancements in law and civil reforms since the Romans. The British used brutal colonialism to lay the foundation of the modern secular democracy. Hong Kong has only been under Chinese control for 20 years, it's still early days to judge the Chinese central control system. In terms of economic effectiveness, the Chinese system has created an economic miracle for China in one generation. There is no doubt to this fact. Whether that economic prowess can transition to social enlightening is the next historical test for all Chinese.
The Brits lay the foundation of the modern "secular" democracy of Hong Kong? Are you kidding me? Britain ruled Hong Kong after it started and won the two Opium Wars in 1846 and 1856 (with France) till 1997. In those entire 100+ years, the island had been ruled by the Britain by the so called "Commissioners" appointed by the British queen. Before 1997, the Hong Kong people were just the second class "British subjects" of Britain.
@Lawrence Ng, this is an extremely biased history of HK from the European perspective. Check out the history of the Opium Wars and the Century of Humiliation; that would complete the picture of the history of HK.
Yes, it's absolutely laughable that this isn't included. If you don't know about the 19th century history of China and HK then you're blind. The British were hard drug dealers and made the equivalent of trillions from this trade.
Hong kong has been made into such a dynamic society,by all the peoples of several countries,into an economic powerhouse.To have the wisdom of several nations expertise and resilience has made it a democratic success.
"wisdom of several nations expertise and resilience has made it a democratic success" I think you're quite delusional, it was made by the british for the british and then their low cheap labor comes into sight.
I lived in Hong Kong, on the island and on Stonecutters from 1975 to 1977 but I won't go back. I prefer my memories to be intact, unchanging in my mind, even though I know the truth is something very different now. I don't want to see anything I won't be able to unsee later. I'm happy living with my ghosts of the past and I loved this video which leaves them undisturbed.
Thank you for educating me about Hong Kong history from an overseas Chinese American in San Francisco. As a dragon boat enthusiast, I found the dragon boat race clips especially heart warming. Presently, China is experiencing American and foreign companies fleeing China with other opportunities elsewhere in Asia. With these changes in China, it’s the people that will suffer. Meanwhile, UK is suffering from Brexit which is self inflicted due to their own arrogance. UK history of Chinese ethnic abuse doesn’t surprise me when I recently learned of enslavement of 14,000 Chinese men in British Caribbean from 1853 to 1879 to work the sugarcane fields.
Hi n*888; The 14,000 Chinese men in British Caribbean is a Pretty interesting story indeed... There is/ OR was indeed; a sizable Chinese Community in the West Indies at that time.... Also; in the Gold Rush in S. Africa; there was also; a Large Chinese Community in the 1900s.... I also; recommend the following Academic Book on the Topic for the Dutch East Indies... Chinese Indentured Labour in the Dutch East Indies, 1880-1942 : Tin, Tobacco, Timber, and the Penal Sanction. Auth: Benton, Gregor. But; the Book U really Should Read is the C.L.C. By Gregory James concerning the First World War. And the subsequent betrayal of the Corp's Memory.... That Concerned 140,000 Men. Happy Hunting....
1. Stanley Ho is not the descendant of Ho Tung. They are two different families. Ho Tung was a mixed raced Chinese born 100 years ago. While Stanley Ho is the King of Casinos in Macau. 2. There's not enough coverage of governors like Elliot, Pottinger, Brown, Henessey, Clementi, these all have street names in HK. And are early governors of HK. 3. My mom used to work at Happy Valley during the 70s before she worked as an assistant for DA firm in Central, then in the 80s she worked as a civil servant, evidence registry, in HK police, Sheungshui branch.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have been to Hong Kong a couple of times through the US military from the mid to late 70s. I love Hong Kong. Wish I had the money to go back and visit.
Do not go now, you d put yourself in danger under the national security law, unless you go mute the whole time, anything you say will be used to against you if the CCP/HKG government wanted to!!
Whilst informative, this docu brushes over the Opium Wars and the following status as a money laundering paradise that modern HK became for all the dodgy dealings they could not quite get away with in the City of London , The fines levied on many international banks for money laundering and insider dealing rose massively post British HK..
According to the West - Hong Kong was a free democratic capitalist utopia but became hell on reversion to China. unfortunately some of the HK young people been eating that bullshit all their lives.
Sure, and the Opium smuggling after Opium was Illegalized was to the bennefit of Chinese Merchants and those who wanted to continue the sale of opium. It's absolute nonsense to imagine the British had some bizzarre master plan to drug the Chinese nation into submissive mongs. It's important to remember that many.Europeans including the Brits were smoking opium. Infact many Brits were smoking Opium.inside Opium houses ran by the Chinese. The so called "Opium war" 2 itself was more to do with disagreements over trade and starvation of Brits living in.HK by refusal (by law) to sell food to Brits. Tensions heated and one politician who got bich slapped by a Chinese official. Then a British Merchant ship was burned. This was enough for Queen Vicky to give the order to invade. This was a crap excuse for an invasion . That's for sure. But, to imagine that the Brits somehow purposefully tried to make the Chinese go to sleep by.means of Opium sale is just bollocks. Helleveryone including the Brits was smoking it back then
@@johnh8186 Do you know which part of the West you are refering to or do you just think it's cool to copy this phrase? Seriously if you're a Hong Konger now then you would know it has become hell.on earth. If you want to go back to the Vi torian Colonial period then sure enough.the Chinese were oppressed but to think it got better after 1997 is utter shit and its an absolute mess now thanks to Beijing's authorotarian National Security law. Hey but if you want to be a fascist then you can't opt out of being treated as one.
@@morejoy5188 you guys will make any excuse for imperialism and colonization... let's see you praise the Afghans and Colombians for heroin and cocaine in the west now.
HongKong actually inspired the economic Nobel prize winner Milton Freidman. He cited the example of Hong Kong again and again. Its free style of capitalism without much intervention created a new hope for economic policy managers around the world.
debbie green It’s true that grass is not greener in Canada, but a least grass in Canada is not led by a communist party and an authoritarian government
With the recent events in Hong-Kong, this film is very welcome, today... Yes, the British made wrong in 19th century with this Opium trade! 3/4 of the population then, was addict to this "shit".... And I would not say more about the way it spread later over Europe and the rest of the World ....
ah but that's the beauty of history; so keep going back if you want a clearer picture of today en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_campaign_against_the_Yue_tribes; in the light of this documentary and article there are two considerations - all those that escaped the Maoist regime and the actuality of ehtnic Han imperialism. Modern China neglects the reality of the past errs of morality, with one ethnicity claiming a right of rule over so many; just as the English, the Prussians, the Muscovites, the Hindu, etc. History therefore is better understood from a cultural rather than a political outlook, if we want it to benefit humanity, and not use it to become lords over the dispossessed.
I think People of Hong Kong were happy with white British rule over them because they had no freedom or democracy under British Empire. They were paying Tax to British and their governors were all white British people. But there was a problem. Hong Kong was too close to China and China was not gonna let HK to be western military base. And last HK was rented to British by force. It wasn't like Alaska which Russia sold to America.
INTUITION I remember Prince Charles returning Hong Kong; that awful ceremony and sitting in the states seething with anger, thinking, you idiot !! Dear God, someone prevent this travesty and every gut instinct I had ringing bells. I had no stake in the game, knew no one there and few times in my life have I ever felt anything that overwhelming !! I knew Mao. Knew Chinese Communism, their long game and everyone I knew said Hong Kong ? What's wrong with you ? And I kept saying I can't explain it, they are in terrible peril, I just feel it. The second time I felt that way, worse, so palpabable it was like icy fingers around my heart and steel bands tightening around my throat was the election of Joe Biden. I broke out in a cold sweat, and I'm not a political animal. It was 100 times worse than the feeling I had about Hong Kong and scared the *** out of me. I sit now, in tears, watching my country in the hands of incapable mountebanks but way beyond that, .we are in far worse peril than anyone realizes. I'm never wrong. October 2021
Considering the current state of affairs between Hong Kong and Beijing, I found the last five minutes of this documentary very ironic and somewhat sad. It would be interesting to get an up to date interview with the half dozen or so.
@@MrK-js3it everybody knows through the fake news media in your country, isn't it? The same media that claimed iraq had WMD that warranted an invasion. You sound like someone who can't think for himself. Change the station and listen to other sides of the story. China is far better than it was, a force to reckon with in the world, keeps growing and guess who rules China spearheading the growth..... Its the same party you've been taught to hate.
Any Chinese people who I have met have been the greatest ambassadors for their no doubt excellent country and culture. It is wonderful to see the great mix of cultures in Hong Kong, perhaps a model for future international friendships. No empire should rule over free peoples and all cultures need to be equally respected. Let's hope China will not make the same mistakes of the British and European empires. People not politicians make great nations.
How ironic... it's a shame the reality is the exact opposite of your understanding. Britain caused human attrocities, genocides to indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada, America, enslaved people in Africa, India to name a few. And we think we need to be afraid of the Chinese?
This is a pretty good documentary for the business world, but the selling of Opium has been approved by the British Government because of the tea and pottery trade. This documentary will be much more appreciated if the real truth of the Opium War has been revealed.
Hong Kong's history dates back to the New Stone Age 5,000 years ago. After the unification of China, Qin Shihuang established three counties in the south, The South China Sea, Guilin and Xiangxian, and Hong Kong belonged to Panyu County in the South China Sea.
It's interesting how one person William Jardines of Jardines Matheson is perceived very differently. In RTHK's Hong Kong Story, William Jardines was actually told very positively, and he was said to be very friendly to the local businesses, but here, this HK story, Jardines was told very differently.
When Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842, there was no such entity called China. There was the Qing Empire, of which the current territory of China was a part. The Qing Empire came to an end in 1911, breaking into a number of states with some territories annexed by neighbouring countries. The trajectory was similar to the other large empires such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, etc. The present state of China has no legitimate claims to Hong Kong because Hong Kong and Kowloon were ceded to Britain by the Qing Empire, which also leased the New Territories to Britain for 99 years. Qing Empire has since disappeared. If Hong Kong were part of China, then Serbia should be part of Turkey and Croatia should be part of Austria. Should England be “returned” to Italy because it was part of the Roman Empire? LOL
I agree with you. And here comes the importance of military strategy. Britain had no way of defending the sovereignty of Hong Kong. Military geography is also why China left Mongolia independent and why it was so important to win the Vietnam War. They are protected by that bubble.
So if Trump change the name of USA to “Trump Empire”, then all claim and agreement with the USA is gone for good/bad? Japan surrounded to the USA, so now they can arm and have nuclear weapon? If so European have an alliance with USA, since it is gone and become “Trump Empire”, they are not ally anymore?
Well said, HK rightfully belongs to its own people now, and many leaders know it, HK have the right to make decisions. When UK decided to fulfill the old agreement, they did it out of fear of China, not because it had any true right to do so, you can not fulfill the contract with an entity that doesn't exist anymore, It was not merely the name of the country that changed. UK had the right to do whatever they wanted at that point, they could have kept HK or gave them independence.
36:55 - 37:46 Comparing historical events, that sounds like what eventually happened in the Fall of Saigon and what’s going on in the Fall of Afghanistan.
+grdpder i recently went to HK for an internship at my mum's old university. from chatting with the guys in the lab, and watching local political TV programs (with my limited chinese) things are pretty grim over there right now.
+Jesse Holt sorry to hear you had an u pleasant time. But I moved here 2 years ago from London, and we LOVE it here! Every country is having some sort of issue in politics. It does look from everywhere. However, my various circles of friends include people from all around the world as well as locals. It's beautiful.
+Jesse Holt its not that grim. Just that people have it good enough to complain a lot. If you want to see real grim look at the rest of south east Asia.
[1] Thanks for the great historical education! E.g., How many people in the world knew that Hong Kong was enslaved by the Japanese for 3 and a half years during World War 2? It reminds me of slavery in the Caribbean, also involving European powers, and later including people from Asia (both China and India) as indentured servants, but eventually arising from the ashes of slavery to become merchants, civil servants, professionals, and contributing to a modern society and economy . . . .
Fun story: There was a lot of accounts on the occupation, about the initial offensive, how people seeing dead British soldiers lying everywhere and decided to flee the place, and canninalism, I don't know how but there are story of butchers selling murdered Japanese soldiers as pork, people know it taste weird but never dared to question what it is.
The result is that Hong Kong is now damaging progressively by some HK people (want to get personal benefits from mainland communist government) and mainland communist government. We can see all news around. That is why a lot of HK people want to British back under her soverity.
Its proof that the British benefited the loyal colonies like Hong Kong, the trade net work benefitted many colonies aswell allowing them goods what wouldn't be possible for anyone else at the time.
benwong007 Yeah I don't get it. A lot of Mainland Chinese go to HK to buy all their milk products, give birth in HK, use up their medical facilities, sometimes urinating in their public transport, shoving and pushing in cues, and they are still not happy that mainland Chinese people are pouring money into their HK economy. Mainland China don't give a shit about the stupid 50 year promise nor your umbrella revolution. p.s. And that is why Taiwan has restrengthened their independence position.
Cruz Dela Mainland Chinese are pouring money NOT into the HK economy but as a back door to places likes Switzerland , Some Scandinavian countries (quite new) , most English speaking countries like USA and Canada by takign advantage of the packed US to HKD exchange.
***** LOl still isn't a toilet, shows how ill mannered Chinese people are, who saw the video recently of the Chinese man stamping on a infants head as people watch? please people of hongkong don't be like the Chinese follow the western way.
@flungingpictures, without bias? You should check out the non-European side of HK's history. Start with HK's part in the Opium Wars and Century of Humiliation.
![The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai's Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom [Full Film]](/img/n.gif)
I was born in HK in 1959, father was an English man working in the Royal Hong Kong police force, mother was Welsh and over there with her father and mother, her father was in the army and ran the NAAFI. We left in 67 to return to UK, I went back in 2010, for my 50th birthday, my word hasn't the place changed!
As a Hongkonger in my 40s growing up in HK, I am holding my tears watching this amazing documentary telling the true story of HK. Now this city is dying or many said it’s died already . We miss those good old days in HK. 😢
Thank you for watching and commenting.
Good old days because China was weak and HK was the gateway and trading house for China.
When China regained it's strength, the importance and competitiveness of Hong Kong and her people plummeted.
Hong Kong's decline in not due to China suppression but loss of competitiveness. Go check the facts. Don't rely on emotions.
@@wongcw08 Who mentioned suppression? Hong Kong has lost her competitiveness. Why? Go check the facts😄
@@wongcw08 na man, come on, HK declined because of China's oppressive invasion. I was in the protest of 2019 walking beside more than 1 million Hong Kongers. Nobody was happy about it. HK has always been my favourite city, and right now I'm sad because it's not HK anymore. Or is it? What do you think?
Everyone misses the "good ole days", regardless whether they ever existed
Nowadays the totalitarian communists rule all over China and all of that Talk about democracy has become a sham all over the globe
Very proud to call Hong Kong, my home, from 1995 to 2001. Fantastic memories and friendships during that era.
I was there in 94 looking over at Hong Kong from Kowloon caught strong emotion in me and tears formed over its presence - the place was abuzz everywhere until the typhoon hit - only a few people dodging the weather with all those shops signs swinging like crazy - i was also impressed by their tv ads as you would always see the grandparents in the picture - and staying at a tiny hotel with a bathroom as big as a cupboard - loved visiting there :)
I believe Hong Kong is a beautiful place with a colorful history and the people of Hong Kong are what make it such a special place.
It certainly used to be. Now, it is a dead city. And that is not because of the covid-19. Just another kind of pandemic...
dude, colonization is not colorful
@@ians4315 thanks Ian.
Colonization was not good but it shielded the place from the turmoils of the civil war, cultural revolution, all the devastations of the ill-fated stupid movements and cultural revolution by Mao and CCP the led to the death of tens of millions in the mainland if not more. The rule of law under the common law system, the right to assemble, right to free speech and non-corrupted administration, particularly during the 70's to late 90's were what allowed the people to do their things to get prosperous. It is all gone, gone with the wind.
@@ians4315 CCP is worst
Hong Kong was a miracle. It should have been a horrible place under foreign suppression. It wasn't perfect but EVERYONE in the world knew of HK. This beautiful, exciting, dynamic, PEACEFUL place. We love Hong Kong and always will.
"peaceful"??? Hong Kong was known for smuggling and counterfeiting and vice and gang violence as well. Let's not get too romantic
Save your love for Northern Ireland. A country which you've continued to oppress. Foreign rulers did nothing but steal from Hong Kong. Get off the propagandist fake news and go read real history...
@@heartmind6373 What could they have stolen from Hong Kong?
im so sad that china today is what it is .. heartbreaking soulcrushing
finally a video that people know hongkong exist
Was born in HK 1948 so my memories are very limited. But I shall pass this on to my older brother and my sister. Dad was interned by the Japanese and survived.
Ahhhhh the old videos and the calm taste of history...
You're the only one who gave credit to the film creators. Now I can reference this in my college paper. Thank You!
How did you go? What was the grade?
L😅😅bj
Simply brilliant production ... I have to say I just watched this very captivating documentary until the end. Was initially just interested to only browse different points along the way. But soon decided to put other things to the side just to watch this extremely illuminating and well presented history . Respects to Hong Kong
yes, it is a true documentation.
I remember my father talking about Hong Kong. He would say how busy everybody was 25 hours a day, and how literally it was the original city that never slept..... manufacturers could place any order and it would packed and shipped anywhere in world record time. People made fortunes before today's global world.
Don't get was your saying, in today's global world, what no one makes Fortunes now, as opposed to 25 years ago.?
@@phillipesteele2021 Its crystal what he is saying. HE IS SAYING PEOPLE COULD MAKE FORTUNES BACK THEN EXACTLY HOW THEY ARE TODAY. OK?
I have ordered a dictionary, hearing aid and reading glasses which are already packed and shipped from HK and will arrive tomorrow. They are a gift from the people of HK.
@@taketimeout2share -Thank-You!
Hmm but they all grew rich at the expense of the workers
@@sampuatisamuel9785 Same all over the planet.
Amazing compilation of historical footage, thank you!!
Prayers for Hong Kong , my Father was part of Royal Navy liberation force in 1945, he used his seaman's pay to buy rice for some poor starving people in return they gave him some Chinese wooden artifacts that my family still have today.
A documented fact is that the Colonial common wealth forces were also told to disregard the lives of the Chinese in Hong Kong.
Hakencruz; that’s very good, it helps you to be reminded of the dire life in HK as UK colony.
@@@chuenyeelau - they were told not to "interfere" with the lives of Chinese in HK. The HK Govt. was not unsympathetic to the plight of the local population, spending millions building many blocks of flats in places such as Castle Peak etc to house the refugees who fled China in 1949.
Gerry Layton please watch UA-cam clip: Battle of Hong Kong - A Savage Christmas 1941 at 14.01 of the video. Better yet watch the entire video. Hong Kong was just a way to make money not much more. Hong Kong and China were just property of the west and welfare of the Chinese was the last thing in the colonialist mind.
Gerry Layton the ‘keep them down’ colonial attitude must stop now.
I was lucky enough to visit several cities in China. Lovely people, fabulous sites, I walked on the Great Wall, visited the Forbidden City, Mao's tomb, Terra Cotta Warriors and shopped in Hong Kong and Macau. Wonderful trip, around early 80's as I recall.
Thats useful for us all to know
The 80's and the 90's were the golden years of Hong Kong.
@@taotao98103 Because Jackie Chan and Jet Li were younger back then, and Hong Kong films weren't ignored in the West like now.
I went in the late 70th...so romantic...I was young and saw everything trough pink glasses...then I went to China several times in late 90th and 2006, it was interesting but NEVER like HK...I would not want to see it now !!
The sound cut out for about 30 seconds around the 14 minute mark. But I enjoy it.
We were married at Hong Kong and had banquet at Macau back at 1964 now suddenly it's 2023 how time flies 4 children and ten grandkids enjoying life travel around the world etc !
[3] Ironically, this happened even to Japan itself, which evolved from being vanquished in World War 2 to learning from the Western ways of doing business, manufacturing, and advanced technologies, to becoming the second largest economy in the world for decades of the 20th century, only very recently surpassed by China, which has ten times Japan's population . . . . It is a modern miracle of bouncing back and rising to new heights despite the pain and the pitfalls of history . . .
You sound brain dead. Japan was already a modernised industrialized country before ww2. Hence the reason why it was strong enough to go about conquering others and even starting a war with US when it was already fighting on many fronts.
Japan today isn't as strong as it was before ww2. Today it has huge debts and isn't militarily strong. US did nothing for Japan except to kill its innocent civilians.
You sound brain dead. Japan was already a modernised industrialized country before ww2. Hence the reason why it was strong enough to go about conquering others and even starting a war with US when it was already fighting on many fronts.
Japan today isn't as strong as it was before ww2. Today it has huge debts and isn't militarily strong. US did nothing for Japan except to kill its innocent civilians.
@@heartmind6373 you actually believe what you wrote, now that's funny.
18:26 Pai Gow (translates to make nine): played with a set of 32 Chinese dominoes, dates back to the Song dynasty, it has 35960 four-tile combinations possible. (flies away)
Many in Singapore may not be awared that Cantonese dialect was mainly spokened in Chinatown. Even, the strong hardy 'sanswee' women labourers were staying there. They left for the construction sites by walking carrying a rattan basket with simple food for their lunch. They even smoked 'the trumpet cigarettes' for relaxation. Today, in Chinatown i talked to them in Cantonese and they responded merrily and happily. They admired Sun Yat-sen but not Mao Zedong. Definitely, they regarded Sun Yat-sen as 'the father of modern China' when Cantonese could be the official language for China but Sun did not instead Mandarin was chosen. KWONG WAI SHU hospital along the Serangoon road near 'Rumah Miskin Police Station'.
That is because the Qin dynasty... to the Song dynasty... the Southern Chinese were not the Northern Manchus.... This is why Canton and Cantonese people moved further down South, cos they assumed that their effort is needed. People down South revere Sun Yat Sen, because he was a Southern Cantonese man. He was part of the ROC government structure, before the West wanted the PRC structure because the Northern borders were really an issue.... The Russian issue had to be resolved at some point... This is why you often hear people in Chinatown say..... "Tong Yan Guy"... aka 'The Streets of the Tang people". Because that period also saw stability ...
Lived and worked there for two years and it was fabulous, one of the best experiences of my life I loved it
It’s a shame what has happened to this amazing city and people under current circumstances
I am seriously being effectively murdered by staged harassment manipulation torture sabotage setups & no one will help. I cannot survive this without help. I am seriously being murdered. This is no game to me. I am literally being murdered. I have begged for help. People know this is happening, but no one will help. I don't know what to do. I have value. I deserve better. But no one will help. I am truly being murdered. I wish someone would help. I want to live.
Ditto. Was sent there in 2002-2003. Lived and worked. The place absolutely gets into the blood. So many fond memories.
Today is a sad day for Hong Kong. It will never go back to where it used to be from today. Please everyone be safe and make sure the people around you are safe. This is the soul and beliefs of Hong Kong people that makes Hong Kong Hong Kong. They can have an ID but they will never have the spirits in you people.🇭🇰
Maybe you guys are quite similar to me going back and looking at the history. I think some of these tycoons of Hong Kong aren't right (52:02). The only hope I have is that they aren't in this world seeing how tragedy unfolds in the next coming years. We're already facing an economic downturn, making those who want to leave HK even harder. Even if they were still alive today (e.g. Stanley Ho just passed away recently), there is likely still little they could do for this city to regain its vibe/energy and sociopolitical stability.
CHINA traded with the brits silk, tea, gun power and other goods. the Brit gave the Chinese opium drugs. China said no illegal drugs. Brits started the opium wars and forced 100yr Hong Kong lease. FKD UP.
@@rotcataergeht we are not living in 100 years ago
@@pikkapikkachu9278 What are you talking about?🤔
@@rotcataergeht Now China is flooding the west with fentanyl. If the CCP does it a wide scale and kill so many people... They can't site the Opium wars anymore!
I am not Chinese but feel like Hong Kong is what a country could be with an open economy and Chinese business mindset and industriousness.
I wish African leader would watch this from beginning to end to see how a city transforms when her people believe in her. I admire the spirits of everyone involved in making Hong Kong what is it today.
acgillespie No, blacks can build. There are good cities in Africa. Just saying more could be done.
I can assure you that no blacks built them
acgillespie I don' care if u're black or white all i know is that u got a dumb brain, if the spoon wears out, who is to be blame the cook or the pot?
ITEOTWAWKI61 genocide to whom? White people? Bahahahahaha thats hilarious! Those poor white farmers what will they do?
The only 2 beautiful cities in Africa is Cape town and Johannesburg but white folk built that! And black folk are tearing it up cause they don’t know how to do nothing
As a kid back in the Summer of 1970 I recall how great the beach was there and the street food was to die for if
you were a kid. I hated having to come back to the states for school and I hated the school cafeteria food all
the more. However, I was kind of a star as I was the only kid in school who knew martial arts and I enjoyed
jumping in wherever there were fights attacking whoever was the bully. God, I miss those carefree days
and that lost world.
U sound like Bruce lee
Joyce, how do you like HK now? can you even breathe freely there?
@@stephensun7909 HK is still beautiful, except those traitors can go away!
What a cool experience that would be to have as a young American!
I spent my teen years in the then British Crown Colony of Hong Kong from the late 1950’s to 1969 . Remember the Governor was Sir David Trench and That period of time seems like a good old days. Being am an Cantonese Italian American ‘s point of view , Hong Hong seems like a super populated heaven on earth.
maybe it was but today it isn't
It is especially sad for all of us to see how the ccp took a baton to smash HK like how they ruthlessly killed its own young people back in the late 80’s. They didn’t care and they won’t care.
@@shinejs2589 : It is really weird too that... Inside the PRC now.. they have heavy censorship in the social media aspect. And yet... their satelite broadcasting channels.. literally shows you every piece of factual news and evidences that went on and happened inside China ? i.e. British fought with the locals as well.. and lend their hands to re-establish the Ming dynasties... only to enter into some kind of coups. Both British Indians... WERE drafted and WERE involved in actually monitoring the streets of Beijing too... Those were BRITISH INDIANS.... Cos inter-fighting broke out. Cannibalism also happened as well.. inside the PRC... and that was not even in places whereby Westerners were involved. These pieces of histories are also lost too.... (It is the "communists" that now make TV shows.. and broadcast it as a piece of history..... and some went to Beijing... to notify this... And then, they brought round the death penalties.. or basically sanctioned those individual... like a naughty child into remote places. ) By spreading people around, and out... Then, some people, created the so called army... and created a breeding programme basically... to increase the population again, cos those one child policies collapsed, or it went wrong. This is why, you still find those "stealing women and children" still occurs...
Well.. today it is now a 1.2 billion..... Most are ignorant of their own histories. And their media won't ever show this.
The soul of hong kong will never die .
Live our life every day .
Hope never dies .take care .
I was in the British Army stationed in the N.T. and it was by the best posting, the Chinese were lovely people.
The Cantonese. The Cantonese. Not the "chinese"... different kinds of people inside the PRC... and that is why you must not mix them up !!! Some people inside China will hate your guts... and they're dangerous.
I'm an Indian.. I was always fascinated by HK...this brought me here...nice video.. I didn't knew before Indians people played a role in HK history... What a diverse City it is..."Pearl of orient"
yeap, I grew up in Hong Kong, there are many Indian people in Hong Kong during british colonial time, some were military brought over by the brits, some stay behind even after 1997 cause their children were born in HK. there was a Sheikh temple there.
Indians played a far more important role than you think. I'm Chinese by the way. The second Opium War was fought by the British Navy sent from India. So the majority of the soldiers who took possession of the Kowloon Peninsular were Indian. That's why you have a huge Hindu temple in Kowloon Park. Many of their descendents are still living here. I'm sorry that my fellow Chinese look down on Indians. But I plead Jesus Christ: please forgive them because they know not what they do.
Manila was the original Pearl of the Orient.
“If China sincerely wanted to let Hong Kong govern itself as part of a one country two system, we would be really in for a wonderful next century”
Welp that didn’t age well 🤣
Amazing documentary. I hope this will always stay on UA-cam for reviewing . Thank you
We will keep this video up as long as we can.
I came from Hong Kong. I went to Queen's College founded in 1862.
Reading her Last Boat Out of Shanghai now. An excellent read.
I wish for one day for a remastered and enhanced version of this documentary.
its free to wish
It seems no one reviewed this documentary again and recommended. At the end, there’s only one single person was not so confident and optimistic like others. And he was right, unfortunately.
Watching and reflecting on Hong Kong's future on this, the first day of July 2020. Thank you for posting and stay safe.
HK in 1800s, the original residents were the HK Tanka people that is a ethnic group who living on the boat for hundreds of years in HK area. When HK became a colony of UK, the HK Tankas started to move to the land, after that there were some new immigrants coming to HK like Fuklou, Hakka, Southern Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indians and European. Almost of them came from coastal areas who related to sea culture. That’s why we can see so much sea culture in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is near to Canton and lots of southern Chinese immigrants, so they finally use Cantonese for communication. The Hongkongers are combined with different groups of people. They are not a same group with Han Chinese or Mandarin Chinese. But China like to call almost of ethnic groups to Han Chinese, just like Russia like to call Eastern European to Russian. The foreigners outside of China can never find out the truth of Chinese history, the translation version is also based on the Chinese version. The record and the points of views of history are controlled by their government. They called almost of ethnic groups to Han Chinese, it’s not the truth.
The Hongkongers can not fit in China because their sea culture are different than the mandarin culture. They are not the same group of people with Han Chinese. Some of their ancestors are not Han chinese, and nowadays almost of them are just half chinese or non-Chinese.
China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are just like Indian, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Wish the Hongkongers can be independent or return to UK.
#hongkongers #hongkong #hongkongese
Loving this one thanks for sharing very important information giving thanks blessed love to all knowledge is power hopefully everyone pays attention keep up the good work 🙏🙏🙏🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲💪💪💪
Amazingly those gardens and lots of those beautiful buildings are still there
Fantastic, and very interesting, condensed History lesson. Many thanks.
Hong Kong got lucky. It came with a dark past with the British Colonization. I’m surprised how well we did.I hate how media romanticizes how great it is. But, ignored the history behind it.
[2] Barbados, to my mind, was to the Americas/Caribbean what Hong Kong was for Asia: a hub of trading, shipping, tourism, cruise-industry, and later finance, diplomacy, and excellence in public administration. The European colonisers and conquistadors brought horrible things to Asia and to the Americas, but they also brought some good aspects of one unifying global language, governance, rule of law, excellence in shipping, the merging and blending of nations and cultures, and combining the best of ancient/traditional and modern/industrial to produce cosmopolitan countries and cities that still exist and prosper throughout the world....e.g., Cayman Islands, B.V.I., Barbados, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and many others. . . .
History is full of conflicts. the despotic Napoleon empire made some of the most important advancements in law and civil reforms since the Romans. The British used brutal colonialism to lay the foundation of the modern secular democracy. Hong Kong has only been under Chinese control for 20 years, it's still early days to judge the Chinese central control system.
In terms of economic effectiveness, the Chinese system has created an economic miracle for China in one generation. There is no doubt to this fact. Whether that economic prowess can transition to social enlightening is the next historical test for all Chinese.
@rvd356 This is the past get a grip. Ask Chinese about opium war if you want to go back there.
without the help of globalization, there was no such bullsxxt thing called the " economic miracle ".
The Brits lay the foundation of the modern "secular" democracy of Hong Kong? Are you kidding me? Britain ruled Hong Kong after it started and won the two Opium Wars in 1846 and 1856 (with France) till 1997. In those entire 100+ years, the island had been ruled by the Britain by the so called "Commissioners" appointed by the British queen. Before 1997, the Hong Kong people were just the second class "British subjects" of Britain.
Thank you for the interesting history of Hong Kong which I did not get to learn when I was in Hong Kong.
Glad you enjoyed it!
@Lawrence Ng, this is an extremely biased history of HK from the European perspective. Check out the history of the Opium Wars and the Century of Humiliation; that would complete the picture of the history of HK.
Yes, it's absolutely laughable that this isn't included. If you don't know about the 19th century history of China and HK then you're blind. The British were hard drug dealers and made the equivalent of trillions from this trade.
@@htlow3598 Century of humiliation? The lease was only 99 years. Fake news.
the background music is from God of Gamblers?
Hong kong has been made into such a dynamic society,by all the peoples of several countries,into an economic powerhouse.To have the wisdom of several nations expertise and resilience has made it a democratic success.
"wisdom of several nations expertise and resilience has made it a democratic success"
I think you're quite delusional, it was made by the british for the british and then their low cheap labor comes into sight.
I lived in Hong Kong, on the island and on Stonecutters from 1975 to 1977 but I won't go back. I prefer my memories to be intact, unchanging in my mind, even though I know the truth is something very different now. I don't want to see anything I won't be able to unsee later. I'm happy living with my ghosts of the past and I loved this video which leaves them undisturbed.
Thank you for educating me about Hong Kong history from an overseas Chinese American in San Francisco. As a dragon boat enthusiast, I found the dragon boat race clips especially heart warming. Presently, China is experiencing American and foreign companies fleeing China with other opportunities elsewhere in Asia. With these changes in China, it’s the people that will suffer. Meanwhile, UK is suffering from Brexit which is self inflicted due to their own arrogance. UK history of Chinese ethnic abuse doesn’t surprise me when I recently learned of enslavement of 14,000 Chinese men in British Caribbean from 1853 to 1879 to work the sugarcane fields.
Hi n*888;
The 14,000 Chinese men in British Caribbean is a Pretty interesting story indeed...
There is/ OR was indeed; a sizable Chinese Community in the West Indies at that time....
Also; in the Gold Rush in S. Africa; there was also; a Large Chinese Community in the 1900s....
I also; recommend the following Academic Book on the Topic for the Dutch East Indies...
Chinese Indentured Labour in the Dutch East Indies, 1880-1942 : Tin, Tobacco, Timber, and the Penal Sanction.
Auth: Benton, Gregor.
But; the Book U really Should Read is the C.L.C. By Gregory James concerning the First World War. And the subsequent betrayal of the Corp's Memory....
That Concerned 140,000 Men.
Happy Hunting....
1. Stanley Ho is not the descendant of Ho Tung. They are two different families. Ho Tung was a mixed raced Chinese born 100 years ago. While Stanley Ho is the King of Casinos in Macau.
2. There's not enough coverage of governors like Elliot, Pottinger, Brown, Henessey, Clementi, these all have street names in HK. And are early governors of HK.
3. My mom used to work at Happy Valley during the 70s before she worked as an assistant for DA firm in Central, then in the 80s she worked as a civil servant, evidence registry, in HK police, Sheungshui branch.
Stanley Ho was the grandnephew of Sir Robert Hotung.
There used to be an article online on wiki... that showed the Ho Tung family tree... but now, it's probably been edited out of existence...
I’ve been fortunate enough to have been to Hong Kong a couple of times through the US military from the mid to late 70s. I love Hong Kong. Wish I had the money to go back and visit.
Do not go now, you d put yourself in danger under the national security law, unless you go mute the whole time, anything you say will be used to against you if the CCP/HKG government wanted to!!
A very , very special place , it never leaves your mind once you have been here and I have many times . Love Tai O .
Whilst informative, this docu brushes over the Opium Wars and the following status as a money laundering paradise that modern HK became for all the dodgy dealings they could not quite get away with in the City of London , The fines levied on many international banks for money laundering and insider dealing rose massively post British HK..
According to the West - Hong Kong was a free democratic capitalist utopia but became hell on reversion to China. unfortunately some of the HK young people been eating that bullshit all their lives.
Sure, and the Opium smuggling after Opium was Illegalized was to the bennefit of Chinese Merchants and those who wanted to continue the sale of opium. It's absolute nonsense to imagine the British had some bizzarre master plan to drug the Chinese nation into submissive mongs. It's important to remember that many.Europeans including the Brits were smoking opium. Infact many Brits were smoking Opium.inside Opium houses ran by the Chinese.
The so called "Opium war" 2 itself was more to do with disagreements over trade and starvation of Brits living in.HK by refusal (by law) to sell food to Brits. Tensions heated and one politician who got bich slapped by a Chinese official. Then a British Merchant ship was burned.
This was enough for Queen Vicky to give the order to invade. This was a crap excuse for an invasion . That's for sure.
But, to imagine that the Brits somehow purposefully tried to make the Chinese go to sleep by.means of Opium sale is just bollocks. Helleveryone including the Brits was smoking it back then
@@johnh8186 Do you know which part of the West you are refering to or do you just think it's cool to copy this phrase?
Seriously if you're a Hong Konger now then you would know it has become hell.on earth. If you want to go back to the Vi torian Colonial period then sure enough.the Chinese were oppressed but to think it got better after 1997 is utter shit and its an absolute mess now thanks to Beijing's authorotarian National Security law.
Hey but if you want to be a fascist then you can't opt out of being treated as one.
Really, that's an interesting take
@@morejoy5188 you guys will make any excuse for imperialism and colonization... let's see you praise the Afghans and Colombians for heroin and cocaine in the west now.
This is the third version of Hong Kong's history, all quite different, I have viewed on UA-cam....are there many more.
HongKong actually inspired the economic Nobel prize winner Milton Freidman. He cited the example of Hong Kong again and again. Its free style of capitalism without much intervention created a new hope for economic policy managers around the world.
That was devil freidman
What happened to the audio at 14:03?
Ok yes Albert Yes Albania
This brings so many memories back!! What beauty 😍
human nature will never cease to astound me. make no mistake, it is human nature
"grass is not greener in Canada" he says. A lot of mainland Chinese seem to think so! Look at B.C. now
What a shame .
debbie green It’s true that grass is not greener in Canada, but a least grass in Canada is not led by a communist party and an authoritarian government
@@zachary4849 but at the same time, most of those immigrants fully support their "mommyland"
@@zachary4849 the fact is there is more millionaire in China than un Canada or USA.
lower taxes in Canada. And they only are their to buy property. The breadwinners stay in China. You don't know as much as you think you know
With the recent events in Hong-Kong, this film is very welcome, today...
Yes, the British made wrong in 19th century with this Opium trade!
3/4 of the population then, was addict to this "shit"....
And I would not say more about the way it spread later over Europe and the rest of the World ....
Wonderful... The island was developed by natives hongkoners build by hongkoners for to live free as a nation.. GOD be with you
No, Its was developed by the British. There were very few native peoples there when the British agreed a lease.
Was this recorded on a gameboy?
Better go back more to history " Opium Wars"
no one forced a single chinese to suck Opiom, not one, they loved it,
@@lunafringe10 yes now the Europeans are addicted to Heroin and it is destroying the society. Karma is a beautiful phenomenon.
ah but that's the beauty of history; so keep going back if you want a clearer picture of today
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_campaign_against_the_Yue_tribes;
in the light of this documentary and article there are two considerations - all those that escaped the Maoist regime and the actuality of ehtnic Han imperialism. Modern China neglects the reality of the past errs of morality, with one ethnicity claiming a right of rule over so many; just as the English, the Prussians, the Muscovites, the Hindu, etc. History therefore is better understood from a cultural rather than a political outlook, if we want it to benefit humanity, and not use it to become lords over the dispossessed.
Well said JGP
@@lunafringe10 You bitch must like drug yourself. Good for you. George Wu, AIA, Architect, NCARB 2019-10-9
I wish there was a way to show the people interviewed here what happens by the early 2020s. Would their confidence be shaken?
I’m sure it would’ve been shaken.
To hear those people predicting the future of Hong Kong when the chinese took it over . . .
I think People of Hong Kong were happy with white British rule over them because they had no freedom or democracy under British Empire. They were paying Tax to British and their governors were all white British people. But there was a problem. Hong Kong was too close to China and China was not gonna let HK to be western military base. And last HK was rented to British by force. It wasn't like Alaska which Russia sold to America.
INTUITION I remember Prince Charles returning Hong Kong; that awful ceremony and sitting in the states seething with anger, thinking, you idiot !! Dear God, someone prevent this travesty and every gut instinct I had ringing bells. I had no stake in the game, knew no one there and few times in my life have I ever felt anything that overwhelming !! I knew Mao. Knew Chinese Communism, their long game and everyone I knew said Hong Kong ? What's wrong with you ? And I kept saying I can't explain it, they are in terrible peril, I just feel it. The second time I felt that way, worse, so palpabable it was like icy fingers around my heart and steel bands tightening around my throat was the election of Joe Biden. I broke out in a cold sweat, and I'm not a political animal. It was 100 times worse than the feeling I had about Hong Kong and scared the *** out of me. I sit now, in tears, watching my country in the hands of incapable mountebanks but way beyond that, .we are in far worse peril than anyone realizes. I'm never wrong. October 2021
Love the narrator's English.
Imperial world slavery and drugs by England ,or communism ,can some one explain the difference .
No interest in Hong Kong and then this appeared in my recommendations, was absolutely fantastic, riveting from start to finished, so glad I watched
Considering the current state of affairs between Hong Kong and Beijing, I found the last five minutes of this documentary very ironic and somewhat sad. It would be interesting to get an up to date interview with the half dozen or so.
CCP is just not trustworthy, no one knows back then, but now the whole world knows
@@MrK-js3it how right you are sir. No sane person could ever trust a communist.
@@MrK-js3it DISGUSTING regime. Now nearly ALL governments in all countries are disgusting regimes.
Sweet tears of an empire in decline. Keep crying gringos, nowadays you can't even resolve your national matters, you are no longer the world's cop.
@@MrK-js3it everybody knows through the fake news media in your country, isn't it? The same media that claimed iraq had WMD that warranted an invasion. You sound like someone who can't think for himself. Change the station and listen to other sides of the story. China is far better than it was, a force to reckon with in the world, keeps growing and guess who rules China spearheading the growth..... Its the same party you've been taught to hate.
Taken by force, colonized, and... happy?! WTF???
IKR?? UA-cam "professionals" think they can just write away centuries of colonialism and say that Hong Kong should have remained British.
Far better than what the CCP did to China
Any Chinese people who I have met have been the greatest ambassadors for their no doubt excellent country and culture. It is wonderful to see the great mix of cultures in Hong Kong, perhaps a model for future international friendships. No empire should rule over free peoples and all cultures need to be equally respected. Let's hope China will not make the same mistakes of the British and European empires. People not politicians make great nations.
How ironic... it's a shame the reality is the exact opposite of your understanding. Britain caused human attrocities, genocides to indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada, America, enslaved people in Africa, India to name a few. And we think we need to be afraid of the Chinese?
This is a pretty good documentary for the business world, but the selling of Opium has been approved by the British Government because of the tea and pottery trade. This documentary will be much more appreciated if the real truth of the Opium War has been revealed.
Which version of the truth is best?
A very good documentary. Interesting and informative. I learned a lot.
Thank you very much for posting, enjoyed it so much :)
jettadude666, must have enjoyed the good feelings of being superior to the “YELLOW PERIL”.
Is that Matt Berry doing the voice over !?
It's bugging me haha
It’s historian Michael Wood
If the British Empire never took HK, who do you think would be living there now? What value do you think it would have?
Nothing no one
I'm themfarthest thing from British but I agree with you.
Interesting to know if the people interviewed stayed or left, after the Chinese takeover.
There for you telling us. The first drugs Pirates where the British and The Americans thank you for the information
Hong Kong's history dates back to the New Stone Age 5,000 years ago. After the unification of China, Qin Shihuang established three counties in the south, The South China Sea, Guilin and Xiangxian, and Hong Kong belonged to Panyu County in the South China Sea.
And, after 1997, HK went on to even greater things like the new airport, & amazing land connections. But, since the unrest of 2020, WHAT NOW?
miraculous city...
Awesome documentary thank you very much for the video keep up the great work
Very interesting to see different views on how history has taken place. :)
It's interesting how one person William Jardines of Jardines Matheson is perceived very differently. In RTHK's Hong Kong Story, William Jardines was actually told very positively, and he was said to be very friendly to the local businesses, but here, this HK story, Jardines was told very differently.
What is the marching song that is played at the end of the video starting at 51:26 until 54:56?
When Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842, there was no such entity called China. There was the Qing Empire, of which the current territory of China was a part. The Qing Empire came to an end in 1911, breaking into a number of states with some territories annexed by neighbouring countries. The trajectory was similar to the other large empires such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, etc.
The present state of China has no legitimate claims to Hong Kong because Hong Kong and Kowloon were ceded to Britain by the Qing Empire, which also leased the New Territories to Britain for 99 years. Qing Empire has since disappeared.
If Hong Kong were part of China, then Serbia should be part of Turkey and Croatia should be part of Austria. Should England be “returned” to Italy because it was part of the Roman Empire? LOL
That is so true lol
I agree with you. And here comes the importance of military strategy. Britain had no way of defending the sovereignty of Hong Kong. Military geography is also why China left Mongolia independent and why it was so important to win the Vietnam War. They are protected by that bubble.
Except the Chinese were more forced to give away massive land to different nations to stop them invading.
So if Trump change the name of USA to “Trump Empire”, then all claim and agreement with the USA is gone for good/bad? Japan surrounded to the USA, so now they can arm and have nuclear weapon? If so European have an alliance with USA, since it is gone and become “Trump Empire”, they are not ally anymore?
Well said, HK rightfully belongs to its own people now, and many leaders know it, HK have the right to make decisions. When UK decided to fulfill the old agreement, they did it out of fear of China, not because it had any true right to do so, you can not fulfill the contract with an entity that doesn't exist anymore, It was not merely the name of the country that changed. UK had the right to do whatever they wanted at that point, they could have kept HK or gave them independence.
The sound is off around the 14 minute area.
gurkha armies motto "better to die , than to be coward'. ayooooooooo gurkhaliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. during ww2
'Who dare's wins' the SAS motto 1st established in ww2.
prakash tyson gurung The Gurkhas are great friends of Hong Kong people.We are very much indebt to them.
14:02 - 14:32 no sound.
Does anyone know what is the music at the end?
Joe Bloggs The user was asking what the song is.
Joe Bloggs Do you know what the tune's name is?
36:55 - 37:46 Comparing historical events, that sounds like what eventually happened in the Fall of Saigon and what’s going on in the Fall of Afghanistan.
we know now what HK is like after the hand over. question answered...
+grdpder i recently went to HK for an internship at my mum's old university. from chatting with the guys in the lab, and watching local political TV programs (with my limited chinese) things are pretty grim over there right now.
+Jesse Holt sorry to hear you had an u pleasant time. But I moved here 2 years ago from London, and we LOVE it here! Every country is having some sort of issue in politics. It does look from everywhere. However, my various circles of friends include people from all around the world as well as locals. It's beautiful.
Wouldn't surprise me.
+Jesse Holt its not that grim. Just that people have it good enough to complain a lot. If you want to see real grim look at the rest of south east Asia.
Christopher Sobieniak p
Great Doco.
An interesting history lesson, thanks for this.
Was able to visit on several occasions and it was a favorite🌺
HK was a favorite city of my Dad when he left 😊 , Russia in the 1920’s.
[1] Thanks for the great historical education! E.g., How many people in the world knew that Hong Kong was enslaved by the Japanese for 3 and a half years during World War 2? It reminds me of slavery in the Caribbean, also involving European powers, and later including people from Asia (both China and India) as indentured servants, but eventually arising from the ashes of slavery to become merchants, civil servants, professionals, and contributing to a modern society and economy . . . .
Slavery and concentration camps are alive and well in China.
Every region on Earth engaged in slavery at one time or another.
Fun story: There was a lot of accounts on the occupation, about the initial offensive, how people seeing dead British soldiers lying everywhere and decided to flee the place, and canninalism, I don't know how but there are story of butchers selling murdered Japanese soldiers as pork, people know it taste weird but never dared to question what it is.
Something about the name of this channel I like.
The result is that Hong Kong is now damaging progressively by some HK people (want to get personal benefits from mainland communist government) and mainland communist government. We can see all news around. That is why a lot of HK people want to British back under her soverity.
Its proof that the British benefited the loyal colonies like Hong Kong, the trade net work benefitted many colonies aswell allowing them goods what wouldn't be possible for anyone else at the time.
benwong007
Yeah I don't get it. A lot of Mainland Chinese go to HK to buy all their milk products, give birth in HK, use up their medical facilities, sometimes urinating in their public transport, shoving and pushing in cues, and they are still not happy that mainland Chinese people are pouring money into their HK economy.
Mainland China don't give a shit about the stupid 50 year promise nor your umbrella revolution.
p.s. And that is why Taiwan has restrengthened their independence position.
Cruz Dela Mainland Chinese are pouring money NOT into the HK economy but as a back door to places likes Switzerland , Some Scandinavian countries (quite new) , most English speaking countries like USA and Canada by takign advantage of the packed US to HKD exchange.
***** Atleast Hongkong civilians use a toilet like the west instead of shitting on the street like the Chinese.
***** LOl still isn't a toilet, shows how ill mannered Chinese people are, who saw the video recently of the Chinese man stamping on a infants head as people watch? please people of hongkong don't be like the Chinese follow the western way.
Örülök, hogy (szószerint) pár napot ott tölthettem a feleségemmel és barátainkkal.
Excellent summation of HKG's history without bias, I think.
Happy Year of the Dog to one and all.
@flungingpictures, without bias? You should check out the non-European side of HK's history. Start with HK's part in the Opium Wars and Century of Humiliation.
The Muslim Community of Hong Kong were also part of the police force and arrived from India & Pakistan. They built the first Masjid (Mosque ) in 1850.
Am Indonesian but i life in Hong Kong since early of 2014 i like to stay here for more 👍