View allAll Photos Tagged Resumption
Its Thursday March 6th 1958 and this is the first passenger train over the line in eight months [ unknown photographer captured ]The rails are somewhat rusted and the gates are up and no longer working .This was dubbed the Mass Transit Special .This trip was intended to jump start resumption passenger service
On board was railroad officials and politicians and mass transit commission .Sad to say nothing ever happen with the service and only a few rail fan trips took place afterwards .All frt operations came to a stop the following year in June 1959.Today this is part of the ILLinois Prairie path.Photo collection Mark LLanuza
#574: As of 6/3/22, of my 3200+ pics, this is listed as #574 in most # of faves.
#959: As of 4/4/22, of my 3100+ pics, this is listed as #959 in most # of comments.
#1068: As of 4/4/22, under Flickr's popularity rankings of my 3100+ pics, this is listed as #1068 in "interestingness."
For a fun interlude, this is an alternative/filtered image based off one of my popular pics posted here on flickr in the last year+. This particular image was generated with the help of the FaceApp application, where I took a photo of the original "2020-02-24-pic11" pic I've posted here, then just applied a simple filter. This was done in part to help with the graininess or the poor lighting in the original - and to have some fun with light filtering.
The day this pic was originally taken, Feb 12, 2020, is still the last opportunity I've had for dressing up and going out en femme. It was about a month before everything shut down because of coronavirus, and (most impactful for my femme activity) about a month before my wife's company's office closed permanently, leaving her to work from home every day since then.
I'm still hopeful for some (limited) resumption of femme activity. Anyhow, when the opportunity does arise, I hope I can capture some of the magic I had this day from just over 2 years ago. What do you think? :-)
This is a technically poor shot given the harsh back lightning but one I want to add to the album just for the history. New England Central Railroad train 608 is doing a bit of switching after returning home from their turn north to Palmer and back. They are just north of the Bridge Street crossing at about MP 29.9 on the Palmer Sub, the former Central Vermont mainline.
This is very close to the location of the famous gallows signal that protected the crossing of three lines, the CV and two secondary New Haven Railroad mainlines, the Providence to Hartford route and the former Boston to New Haven air line route. This fascinating manually operated signal was built in 1854 and served for a century and today a fine replica exists at the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum just down the line north of here. To learn more and see photos of the original that stood almost immediately to the right of the lead unit check out this link:
whiteriverdivision.blogspot.com/2011/12/nh-cv-gallow-sign...
Also of interest to me in this image is the concrete pad and light poles. These are remnants of the brief period when Willimantic was once again a passenger stop. The town of course had passenger trains on all its routes for its first century but the last train called on the CV in 1947, and by that late date it was a mixed freight accommodation. Eight years later when the 1955 hurricanes severed the NH's mainline at Putnam the Boston to Hartford service that stopped here ended never to return. But astonishingly in 1989 daily passenger service returned to the south end of the CV when Amtrak rerouted its Montrealer this way between New London and East Northfield, MA. Two years later after lobbying Amtrak and a modest investment in the platform and lights you see here the town was successfully added as a stop, albeit with the trains calling in the dead of night. However the return of scheduled passenger service lasted only a fleeting three years or so until Amtrak discontinued the train on March 31, 1995. Although the abbreviated Vermonter replaced it the next day, this new state supported service traveled via Springfield and Palmer and avoided the south end of the old CV causing the town to lose passenger service for the second time in its history. Will it ever return? Seems doubtful but stranger things have happened!
If you're interested here is a hopeful article written upon the 1991 resumption of service here: www.courant.com/1991/11/02/amtrak-returns-to-willimantic/
As for the train, NECR 3857 (EMD GP38AC blt. Apr. 1971 as Gulf, Mobile and Ohio 730) in the lead is the last original blue and gold unit in service on the property dating from the road's 1995 startup. She is trailed by NECR 3040 (GMDD GP40-2LW blt. Sep. 1974 as CN 9495) in Rail America colors and NECR 417 (EMD GP40-2 blt. Oct. 1972 as FEC 417) in battered Florida East Coast blue.
Village of Willimantic
Windham, Connecticut
Friday October 28, 2022
Members of the British Army Aid Group (BAAG) are rescuing an British Army officer from the Japanese POW camps during their occupation of Hong Kong in the Second World War.
The British Army Aid Group was on Hong Kong paramilitary resistance movement consisting of British and other allied forces in Hong Kong and south China during the Second World War. In accordance with the order of battle, the BAAG was classified as an MI9 unit that was tasked with assisting their allied prisoners from escaping the Japanese POW camps.
Throughout the war the BAAG sent agents to gather military intelligence in south China and Hong Kong and these agents had also facilitated many of the POWs' escapes from Hong Kong to the Allied Command Headquarters in Chungking, China's wartime capital. Escaped POWs were then debriefed by BAAG staff and subsequently rejoined the war effort. 128 men, for example, were re-trained for further operations in Burma with the Chindits.
After the war, the BAAG played a vital role in the resumption of British sovereignty over Hong Kong.
In the aftermath of the Battle Of Hong Kong Lt. Colonel Sir Lindsay Ride. He was captured. Before the end of the battle, he had been the commander of the Hong Kong Voluntary Defence Corps Field Ambulance. Shortly after being captured, Ride escaped from an POW Camp in Sham Sui Po, with three other men. He suggested forming a group that became known as the British Army Aid Group.
The British Army Aid Group was supposed to appear in a brickfilm about the Second Sino-Japanese War, in the Hong Kong segment. However the concept was dropped, mainly because it would be too long and confusing, an idea for an seperate brickfilm has been proposed about the Battle Of Hong Kong, but it is still in on the drawing table.
Custom weapons/gear: Brickarms (Helmets printed by Theminifig.co)
Custom minifgure: Theminifig.co
Link to the brickfilm:
On a cloudy December day, Willamette Valley GP35 2503 rolls around the wye at Geer, Oregon. The locomotive had been acquired earlier in the year from Progress Rail. A former Southern Pacific unit, it had been retired by the Friendly in October 1995.
When this image was captured late in 1996, WVRD 2503 wore its fourth paint scheme. During its SP days, it had been delivered in the standard scarlet and gray. It also sported the so-called "Kodachrome" paint of the ill-fated SPSF merger. Before retirement, it was repainted into the SP/DRGW speed lettering scheme.
Sadly, the future for the railroad was not as bright as the fresh paint. Trackage west of this point was subsequently abandoned for a freeway project. Traffic on most of the line that remained never materialized to any great degree. Today, there is no active rail service through Geer. Resumption of rail service becomes more unlikely with each passing year.
743 was also present on the road outside the depot.
With my school run having been cancelled, I was drafted into the traffic office to help the controller on duty take calls, keep twitter updated, be part of the continuous reviewing of the situation, and most importantly - and my definite achievement of the day - once things had thawed enough to resume some sort of service, I set to work organising an emergency set of duties to work from for the rest of the day - which with a bit of work, I managed to get completed in just over 30 minutes from the time that a list of services able to operate was agreed!
All in all, another day in my career that I won't forget - and it's important to mention and recognise that the afternoon's limited resumption of service certainly couldn't have happened without a fab set of drivers who did a fantastic job of keeping the show on the road in the some of the most challenging of circumstances.
+++++ from Wikipedia +++++
Wong Tai Sin or Huang Daxian is a Chinese Taoist deity popular in Jinhua 金華, Zhejiang 浙江 and Hong Kong with the power of healing. The name, meaning the "Great Immortal Wong (Huang)", is the divine form of Huang Chuping or Wong Cho Ping (Chinese: 黃初平; c. 328 – c. 386), a Taoist hermit from Zhejiang.[2]
Contents
1 Legend
2 Establishment
2.1 Construction
3 Transition
4 Influence
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Legend
According to the text Self-Description of Chisongzi (赤松子自述; "Master Red Pine") kept at the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong, Wong Tai Sin was born Huang Chuping (Wong Cho Ping in Cantonese) in 328 in Lanxi, Jinhua, Zhejiang province.[3] Western sources have him listed at c. 284 to 364 CE.[2]
Wong Cho Ping is said to have experienced poverty and hunger, becoming a shepherd when he was eight years old.[4] He began practising Taoism at the age of fifteen after meeting an immortal or saintly person on Red Pine Mountain in his hometown. Legend has it that he was able to transform stones into sheep forty years later.[4] Wong Tai Sin later became known as the Red Pine Immortal (赤松仙子), after the mountain where he had his hermitage, and his birthday is celebrated on the 23rd of the eighth lunar month.[3]
Establishment
In the early 20th century, Leung Renyan (梁仁菴) spread the devotion to Wong Tai Sin from Xiqiao Mountain (西樵山) in Nanhai County, Guangdong to Wan Chai in Colonial Hong Kong. Leung arrived in Hong Kong in 1915 [5] and upon renting an apartment in Wan Chai 灣仔, set up an altar to Wong Tai Sin in his apartment. He later opened an herbal medicine shop nearby and moved the altar to the back of the shop, where customers could pray to Wong Tai Sin and seek advice for their ailments. Leung would then fill their prescriptions, and the popularity of Wong Tai Sin grew probably due to several successful cures. Leung's shop was destroyed by fire in 1918.
Construction
Wong Tai Sin Temple, a popular place of worship in Hong Kong
In 1921, Leung said that he received a message from Wong Tai Sin instructing him to build a new shrine. Leung and some Taoist priests were told to walk 3,000 paces northwards from Kowloon City Pier, eventually stopping at Chuk Yuen Village (竹園村). They marked the place with a piece of bamboo in the ground, and using Fu Ji (扶乩) to consult Wong Tai Sin, were told that it was an auspicious site. Wong Tai Sin taught them to determine the would-be centre of the temple by three Chinese feet (approximately 1m) on the right and three Chinese feet backwards of the bamboo mark and the would-be temple was named as "Chik Chung Sin Shrine" (赤松仙館) (Red Pine Immortal Shrine). The Taoist god of literature, Wenchang Dijun (文昌帝君), told the priests, again via Fu Ji, to begin construction of the shrine on 24th of the sixth lunar month.
Eventually, the shrine was completed and was dedicated on the 20th of the seventh lunar month, and the gods communicated several name changes over the next few years through Fu Ji. In the same year, during the celebration of the birthday of Wong Tai Sin on the 23rd of the eighth lunar month, the altar was named "Pu Yi Tan" (普宜壇) by the Jade Emperor (玉帝). Later on, Wenchang Dijun gave the name of the premises as "Sik Sik Yuen" (嗇色園) and the managing body was established.[6] In 1925, the shrine was renamed "Chik Chung Wong Sin Hall" (赤松黃仙祠) (Red Pine Wong Immortal Hall) by the god Lü Ju (呂祖), and it has been in use since then.
Sik Sik Yuen was once restricted to Taoists and their family members until 1934, when it formally applied to the government to have the temple open to the public during every 1st lunar month. The temple was finally opened to the general public in 1956.
Transition
The revival of venerating Wong Cho Ping as Wong Tai Sin occurred at the end of the 19th century. Prior to 1911, the Emperor of China was the primary divine religious symbol,[2] often stretching the Mandate of Heaven into religious terms. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, a replacement symbol was needed, and Leung Renyan arrived in Hong Kong in 1915 with a portrait of the god; it is thus disputed whether the success of Wong Tai Sin Temple is due to the timing of his worship's revival and historical circumstance.
Influence
The Wong Tai Sin area and Wong Tai Sin districts are named after the deity. Today, Sik Sik Yuen is an educational and charitable foundation that, true to Leung's origins as a healer, runs a free clinic. In Hong Kong, there is one MTR station named after Wong Tai Sin and there is a Wong Tai Sin Temple. Many tourists from all over the world visit Wong Tai Sin Temple every day.
Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory south to Mainland China and east to Macao in East Asia. With around 7.2 million Hong Kongers of various nationalities[note 2] in a territory of 1,104 km2, Hong Kong is the world's fourth most densely populated country or territory.
Hong Kong used to be a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island from the Qing Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and acquired a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during the Second World War until British control resumed in 1945. The Sino-British Joint Declaration signed between the United Kingdom and China in 1984 paved way for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, when it became a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China with a high degree of autonomy.[15]
Under the principle of "one country, two systems",[16][17] Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative and judiciary powers.[18] In addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of "appropriate fields".[19] Hong Kong involves in international organizations, such as the WTO[20] and the APEC [21], actively and independently.
Hong Kong is one of the world's most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the world's most competitive and freest economic entity.[22][23] As the world's 8th largest trading entity,[24] its legal tender, the Hong Kong dollar, is the world's 13th most traded currency.[25] As the world's most visited city,[26][27] Hong Kong's tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by competitive simple taxation and supported by its independent judiciary system.[28] Even with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it suffers from severe income inequality.[29]
Nicknamed "Pearl of the Orient", Hong Kong is renowned for its deep natural harbour, which boasts the world's fifth busiest port with ready access by cargo ships, and its impressive skyline, with the most skyscrapers in the world.[30][31] It has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the world's longest life expectancy.[32][33] Over 90% of the population makes use of well-developed public transportation.[34][35] Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring industrial areas of Mainland China, which adopts loose emissions standards, has resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates in winter.[36][37][38]
Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island.[39]
The source of the romanised name "Hong Kong" is not known, but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the pronunciation in spoken Cantonese 香港 (Cantonese Yale: Hēung Góng), which means "Fragrant Harbour" or "Incense Harbour".[13][14][40] Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour (Chinese: 香港仔; Cantonese Yale: Hēunggóng jái), literally means "Little Hong Kong"—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was an initial point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen.[41]
Another theory is that the name would have been taken from Hong Kong's early inhabitants, the Tankas (水上人); it is equally probable that romanisation was done with a faithful execution of their speeches, i.e. hōng, not hēung in Cantonese.[42] Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time.[43]
Fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour.[40]
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926.[44] Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
As of 1997, its official name is the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". This is the official title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Government's website;[45] however, "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are widely accepted.
Hong Kong has carried many nicknames. The most famous among those is the "Pearl of the Orient", which reflected the impressive nightscape of the city's light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The territory is also known as "Asia's World City".
History
Main articles: History of Hong Kong and History of China
Prehistory
Main article: Prehistoric Hong Kong
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area (now Hong Kong International Airport) from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.[46][47][48]
Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue to Hong Kong.[49][50] Eight petroglyphs, which dated to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC – 1066 BC) in China, were discovered on the surrounding islands.[51]
Imperial China
Main article: History of Hong Kong under Imperial China
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a centralised China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern-day Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the area of Hong Kong into his imperial China for the first time. Hong Kong proper was assigned to the Nanhai commandery (modern-day Nanhai District), near the commandery's capital city Panyu.[52][53][54]
After a brief period of centralisation and collapse of the Qin dynasty, the area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the Kingdom of Nanyue, founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC.[55] When Nanyue lost the Han-Nanyue War in 111 BC, Hong Kong came under the Jiaozhi commandery of the Han dynasty. Archaeological evidence indicates an increase of population and flourish of salt production. The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built as a burial site during the Han dynasty.[56]
From the Han dynasty to the early Tang dynasty, Hong Kong was a part of Bao'an County. In the Tang dynasty, modern-day Guangzhou (Canton) flourished as an international trading centre. In 736, the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang established a military stronghold in Tuen Mun to strengthen defence of the coastal area.[57] The nearby Lantau Island was a salt production centre and salt smuggler riots occasionally broke out against the government. In c. 1075, The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 AD in modern-day New Territories by the Northern Song dynasty.[58] During their war against the Mongols, the imperial court of Southern Song was briefly stationed at modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site) before their ultimate defeat by the Mongols at the Battle of Yamen in 1279.[59] The Mongols then established their dynastic court and governed Hong Kong for 97 years.
From the mid-Tang dynasty to the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Hong Kong was a part of Dongguan County. During the Ming dynasty, the area was transferred to Xin'an County. The indigenous inhabitants at that time consisted of several ethnicities such as Punti, Hakka, Tanka and Hoklo.
European discovery
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer, who arrived in 1513.[60][61] Having established a trading post in a site they called "Tamão" in Hong Kong waters, Portuguese merchants commenced with regular trading in southern China. Subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal, however, led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from southern China.
Since the 14th century, the Ming court had enforced the maritime prohibition laws that strictly forbade all private maritime activities in order to prevent contact with foreigners by sea.[62] When the Manchu Qing dynasty took over China, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance decree of the Kangxi Emperor, who ordered the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong from 1661 to 1669. Over 16,000 inhabitants of Xin'an County including those in Hong Kong were forced to migrate inland; only 1,648 of those who had evacuated subsequently returned.[63][64]
British Crown Colony: 1842–1941
A painter at work. John Thomson. Hong Kong, 1871. The Wellcome Collection, London
Main articles: British Hong Kong and History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)
In 1839, threats by the imperial court of Qing to sanction opium imports caused diplomatic friction with the British Empire. Tensions escalated into the First Opium War. The Qing admitted defeat when British forces captured Hong Kong Island on 20 January 1841. The island was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpi as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan. A dispute between high-ranking officials of both countries, however, led to the failure of the treaty's ratification. On 29 August 1842, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Treaty of Nanking.[65] The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.[66]
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Flag raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese immigrants crossed the then-free border to escape from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.[67][68]
Further conflicts over the opium trade between Britain and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the Crown Colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860.
In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease from Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, in which Hong Kong obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and over 200 other outlying islands.[69][70][71]
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants to settle from both China and Europe. The society, however, remained racially segregated and polarised under early British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance prevented ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong from acquiring houses in reserved areas such as Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. The British governors did rely, however, on a small number of Chinese elites, including Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as ambassadors and mediators between the government and local population.
File:1937 Hong Kong VP8.webmPlay media
Hong Kong filmed in 1937
In 1904, the United Kingdom established the world's first border and immigration control; all residents of Hong Kong were given citizenship as Citizens of United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC).
Hong Kong continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's first higher education institute. While there had been an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained unscathed. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.[72]
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translator, Clementi introduced the first ethnic Chinese, Shouson Chow, into the Executive Council as an unofficial member. Under Clementi's tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation as RAF Kai Tak and several aviation clubs. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out when the Japanese Empire expanded its territories from northeastern China into the mainland proper. To safeguard Hong Kong as a freeport, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the Crown Colony as a neutral zone.
Japanese occupation: 1941–45
Main article: Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Cenotaph in Hong Kong commemorates those who died in service in the First World War and the Second World War.[73]
As part of its military campaign in Southeast Asia during Second World War, the Japanese army moved south from Guangzhou of mainland China and attacked Hong Kong in on 8 December 1941.[74] Crossing the border at Shenzhen River on 8 December, the Battle of Hong Kong lasted for 18 days when British and Canadian forces held onto Hong Kong Island. Unable to defend against intensifying Japanese air and land bombardments, they eventually surrendered control of Hong Kong on 25 December 1941. The Governor of Hong Kong was captured and taken as a prisoner of war. This day is regarded by the locals as "Black Christmas".[75]
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese army committed atrocities against civilians and POWs, such as the St. Stephen's College massacre. Local residents also suffered widespread food shortages, limited rationing and hyper-inflation arising from the forced exchange of currency from Hong Kong dollars to Japanese military banknotes. The initial ratio of 2:1 was gradually devalued to 4:1 and ownership of Hong Kong dollars was declared illegal and punishable by harsh torture. Due to starvation and forced deportation for slave labour to mainland China, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when the United Kingdom resumed control of the colony on 2 September 1945.[76]
Resumption of British rule and industrialisation: 1945–97
Main articles: British Hong Kong, 1950s in Hong Kong, 1960s in Hong Kong, 1970s in Hong Kong, 1980s in Hong Kong, and 1990s in Hong Kong
Flag of British Hong Kong from 1959 to 1997
Hong Kong's population recovered quickly after the war, as a wave of skilled migrants from the Republic of China moved in to seek refuge from the Chinese Civil War. When the Communist Party eventually took full control of mainland China in 1949, even more skilled migrants fled across the open border for fear of persecution.[69] Many newcomers, especially those who had been based in the major port cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou, established corporations and small- to medium-sized businesses and shifted their base operations to British Hong Kong.[69] The establishment of a socialist state in China (People's Republic of China) on 1 October 1949 caused the British colonial government to reconsider Hong Kong's open border to mainland China. In 1951, a boundary zone was demarked as a buffer zone against potential military attacks from communist China. Border posts along the north of Hong Kong began operation in 1953 to regulate the movement of people and goods into and out of the territory.
Stamp with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
In the 1950s, Hong Kong became the first of the Four Asian Tiger economies under rapid industrialisation driven by textile exports, manufacturing industries and re-exports of goods to China. As the population grew, with labour costs remaining low, living standards began to rise steadily.[77] The construction of the Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme to provide shelter for the less privileged and to cope with the influx of immigrants.
Under Sir Murray MacLehose, 25th Governor of Hong Kong (1971–82), a series of reforms improved the public services, environment, housing, welfare, education and infrastructure of Hong Kong. MacLehose was British Hong Kong's longest-serving governor and, by the end of his tenure, had become one of the most popular and well-known figures in the Crown Colony. MacLehose laid the foundation for Hong Kong to establish itself as a key global city in the 1980s and early 1990s.
A sky view of Hong Kong Island
An aerial view of the northern shore of Hong Kong Island in 1986
To resolve traffic congestion and to provide a more reliable means of crossing the Victoria Harbour, a rapid transit railway system (metro), the MTR, was planned from the 1970s onwards. The Island Line (Hong Kong Island), Kwun Tong Line (Kowloon Peninsula and East Kowloon) and Tsuen Wan Line (Kowloon and urban New Territories) opened in the early 1980s.[78]
In 1983, the Hong Kong dollar left its 16:1 peg with the Pound sterling and switched to the current US-HK Dollar peg. Hong Kong's competitiveness in manufacturing gradually declined due to rising labour and property costs, as well as new development in southern China under the Open Door Policy introduced in 1978 which opened up China to foreign business. Nevertheless, towards the early 1990s, Hong Kong had established itself as a global financial centre along with London and New York City, a regional hub for logistics and freight, one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia and the world's exemplar of Laissez-faire market policy.[79]
The Hong Kong question
In 1971, the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s permanent seat on the United Nations was transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong's status as a recognised colony became terminated in 1972 under the request of PRC. Facing the uncertain future of Hong Kong and expiry of land lease of New Territories beyond 1997, Governor MacLehose raised the question in the late 1970s.
The British Nationality Act 1981 reclassified Hong Kong into a British Dependent Territory amid the reorganisation of global territories of the British Empire. All residents of Hong Kong became British Dependent Territory Citizens (BDTC). Diplomatic negotiations began with China and eventually concluded with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. Both countries agreed to transfer Hong Kong's sovereignty to China on 1 July 1997, when Hong Kong would remain autonomous as a special administrative region and be able to retain its free-market economy, British common law through the Hong Kong Basic Law, independent representation in international organisations (e.g. WTO and WHO), treaty arrangements and policy-making except foreign diplomacy and military defence.
It stipulated that Hong Kong would retain its laws and be guaranteed a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years after the transfer. The Hong Kong Basic Law, based on English law, would serve as the constitutional document after the transfer. It was ratified in 1990.[69] The expiry of the 1898 lease on the New Territories in 1997 created problems for business contracts, property leases and confidence among foreign investors.
Handover and Special Administrative Region status
Main articles: Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong and 2000s in Hong Kong
Transfer of sovereignty
Golden Bauhinia Square
On 1 July 1997, the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China took place, officially marking the end of Hong Kong's 156 years under British colonial governance. As the largest remaining colony of the United Kingdom, the loss of Hong Kong effectively represented the end of the British Empire. This transfer of sovereignty made Hong Kong the first special administrative region of China. Tung Chee-Hwa, a pro-Beijing business tycoon, was elected Hong Kong's first Chief Executive by a selected electorate of 800 in a televised programme.
Structure of government
Hong Kong's current structure of governance inherits from the British model of colonial administration set up in the 1850s. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration states that "Hong Kong should enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all areas except defence and foreign affairs" with reference to the underlying principle of one country, two systems.[note 3] This Declaration stipulates that Hong Kong maintains her capitalist economic system and guarantees the rights and freedoms of her people for at least 50 years after the 1997 handover. [note 4] Such guarantees are enshrined in the Hong Kong's Basic Law, the territory's constitutional document, which outlines the system of governance after 1997, albeit subject to interpretation by China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC).[95][96]
Hong Kong's most senior leader, Chief Executive, is elected by a committee of 1,200 selected members (600 in 1997) and nominally appointed by the Government of China. The primary pillars of government are the Executive Council, Legislative Council, civil service and Judiciary.
Policy-making is initially discussed in the Executive Council, presided by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, before passing to the Legislative Council for bill adoption. The Executive Council consists of 30 official/unofficial members appointed by the Chief Executive and one member among them acts as the convenor.[97][98]
The Legislative Council, set up in 1843, debates policies and motions before voting to adopt or rejecting bills. It has 70 members (originally 60) and 40 (originally 30) among them are directly elected by universal suffrage; the other 30 members are "functional constituencies" (indirectly) elected by a smaller electorate of corporate bodies or representatives of stipulated economic sectors as defined by the government. The Legislative Council is chaired by a president who acts as the speaker.[99][100]
SOR 597 makes an unusual daylight run from Paris to Garnet, seen here just north of Hagersville. In the time since this photo was taken, CN has done significant work on the line in preparation for their resumption of operations on the Hagersville Sub on September 18th. The line has been inspected and new AEI scanners and radio towers have been installed to support CN operations on the line.
+++++ from Wikipedia +++++
Wong Tai Sin or Huang Daxian is a Chinese Taoist deity popular in Jinhua 金華, Zhejiang 浙江 and Hong Kong with the power of healing. The name, meaning the "Great Immortal Wong (Huang)", is the divine form of Huang Chuping or Wong Cho Ping (Chinese: 黃初平; c. 328 – c. 386), a Taoist hermit from Zhejiang.[2]
Contents
1 Legend
2 Establishment
2.1 Construction
3 Transition
4 Influence
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Legend
According to the text Self-Description of Chisongzi (赤松子自述; "Master Red Pine") kept at the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong, Wong Tai Sin was born Huang Chuping (Wong Cho Ping in Cantonese) in 328 in Lanxi, Jinhua, Zhejiang province.[3] Western sources have him listed at c. 284 to 364 CE.[2]
Wong Cho Ping is said to have experienced poverty and hunger, becoming a shepherd when he was eight years old.[4] He began practising Taoism at the age of fifteen after meeting an immortal or saintly person on Red Pine Mountain in his hometown. Legend has it that he was able to transform stones into sheep forty years later.[4] Wong Tai Sin later became known as the Red Pine Immortal (赤松仙子), after the mountain where he had his hermitage, and his birthday is celebrated on the 23rd of the eighth lunar month.[3]
Establishment
In the early 20th century, Leung Renyan (梁仁菴) spread the devotion to Wong Tai Sin from Xiqiao Mountain (西樵山) in Nanhai County, Guangdong to Wan Chai in Colonial Hong Kong. Leung arrived in Hong Kong in 1915 [5] and upon renting an apartment in Wan Chai 灣仔, set up an altar to Wong Tai Sin in his apartment. He later opened an herbal medicine shop nearby and moved the altar to the back of the shop, where customers could pray to Wong Tai Sin and seek advice for their ailments. Leung would then fill their prescriptions, and the popularity of Wong Tai Sin grew probably due to several successful cures. Leung's shop was destroyed by fire in 1918.
Construction
Wong Tai Sin Temple, a popular place of worship in Hong Kong
In 1921, Leung said that he received a message from Wong Tai Sin instructing him to build a new shrine. Leung and some Taoist priests were told to walk 3,000 paces northwards from Kowloon City Pier, eventually stopping at Chuk Yuen Village (竹園村). They marked the place with a piece of bamboo in the ground, and using Fu Ji (扶乩) to consult Wong Tai Sin, were told that it was an auspicious site. Wong Tai Sin taught them to determine the would-be centre of the temple by three Chinese feet (approximately 1m) on the right and three Chinese feet backwards of the bamboo mark and the would-be temple was named as "Chik Chung Sin Shrine" (赤松仙館) (Red Pine Immortal Shrine). The Taoist god of literature, Wenchang Dijun (文昌帝君), told the priests, again via Fu Ji, to begin construction of the shrine on 24th of the sixth lunar month.
Eventually, the shrine was completed and was dedicated on the 20th of the seventh lunar month, and the gods communicated several name changes over the next few years through Fu Ji. In the same year, during the celebration of the birthday of Wong Tai Sin on the 23rd of the eighth lunar month, the altar was named "Pu Yi Tan" (普宜壇) by the Jade Emperor (玉帝). Later on, Wenchang Dijun gave the name of the premises as "Sik Sik Yuen" (嗇色園) and the managing body was established.[6] In 1925, the shrine was renamed "Chik Chung Wong Sin Hall" (赤松黃仙祠) (Red Pine Wong Immortal Hall) by the god Lü Ju (呂祖), and it has been in use since then.
Sik Sik Yuen was once restricted to Taoists and their family members until 1934, when it formally applied to the government to have the temple open to the public during every 1st lunar month. The temple was finally opened to the general public in 1956.
Transition
The revival of venerating Wong Cho Ping as Wong Tai Sin occurred at the end of the 19th century. Prior to 1911, the Emperor of China was the primary divine religious symbol,[2] often stretching the Mandate of Heaven into religious terms. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, a replacement symbol was needed, and Leung Renyan arrived in Hong Kong in 1915 with a portrait of the god; it is thus disputed whether the success of Wong Tai Sin Temple is due to the timing of his worship's revival and historical circumstance.
Influence
The Wong Tai Sin area and Wong Tai Sin districts are named after the deity. Today, Sik Sik Yuen is an educational and charitable foundation that, true to Leung's origins as a healer, runs a free clinic. In Hong Kong, there is one MTR station named after Wong Tai Sin and there is a Wong Tai Sin Temple. Many tourists from all over the world visit Wong Tai Sin Temple every day.
Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory south to Mainland China and east to Macao in East Asia. With around 7.2 million Hong Kongers of various nationalities[note 2] in a territory of 1,104 km2, Hong Kong is the world's fourth most densely populated country or territory.
Hong Kong used to be a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island from the Qing Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and acquired a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during the Second World War until British control resumed in 1945. The Sino-British Joint Declaration signed between the United Kingdom and China in 1984 paved way for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, when it became a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China with a high degree of autonomy.[15]
Under the principle of "one country, two systems",[16][17] Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative and judiciary powers.[18] In addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of "appropriate fields".[19] Hong Kong involves in international organizations, such as the WTO[20] and the APEC [21], actively and independently.
Hong Kong is one of the world's most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the world's most competitive and freest economic entity.[22][23] As the world's 8th largest trading entity,[24] its legal tender, the Hong Kong dollar, is the world's 13th most traded currency.[25] As the world's most visited city,[26][27] Hong Kong's tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by competitive simple taxation and supported by its independent judiciary system.[28] Even with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it suffers from severe income inequality.[29]
Nicknamed "Pearl of the Orient", Hong Kong is renowned for its deep natural harbour, which boasts the world's fifth busiest port with ready access by cargo ships, and its impressive skyline, with the most skyscrapers in the world.[30][31] It has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the world's longest life expectancy.[32][33] Over 90% of the population makes use of well-developed public transportation.[34][35] Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring industrial areas of Mainland China, which adopts loose emissions standards, has resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates in winter.[36][37][38]
Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island.[39]
The source of the romanised name "Hong Kong" is not known, but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the pronunciation in spoken Cantonese 香港 (Cantonese Yale: Hēung Góng), which means "Fragrant Harbour" or "Incense Harbour".[13][14][40] Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour (Chinese: 香港仔; Cantonese Yale: Hēunggóng jái), literally means "Little Hong Kong"—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was an initial point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen.[41]
Another theory is that the name would have been taken from Hong Kong's early inhabitants, the Tankas (水上人); it is equally probable that romanisation was done with a faithful execution of their speeches, i.e. hōng, not hēung in Cantonese.[42] Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time.[43]
Fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour.[40]
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926.[44] Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
As of 1997, its official name is the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". This is the official title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Government's website;[45] however, "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are widely accepted.
Hong Kong has carried many nicknames. The most famous among those is the "Pearl of the Orient", which reflected the impressive nightscape of the city's light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The territory is also known as "Asia's World City".
History
Main articles: History of Hong Kong and History of China
Prehistory
Main article: Prehistoric Hong Kong
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area (now Hong Kong International Airport) from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.[46][47][48]
Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue to Hong Kong.[49][50] Eight petroglyphs, which dated to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC – 1066 BC) in China, were discovered on the surrounding islands.[51]
Imperial China
Main article: History of Hong Kong under Imperial China
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a centralised China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern-day Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the area of Hong Kong into his imperial China for the first time. Hong Kong proper was assigned to the Nanhai commandery (modern-day Nanhai District), near the commandery's capital city Panyu.[52][53][54]
After a brief period of centralisation and collapse of the Qin dynasty, the area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the Kingdom of Nanyue, founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC.[55] When Nanyue lost the Han-Nanyue War in 111 BC, Hong Kong came under the Jiaozhi commandery of the Han dynasty. Archaeological evidence indicates an increase of population and flourish of salt production. The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built as a burial site during the Han dynasty.[56]
From the Han dynasty to the early Tang dynasty, Hong Kong was a part of Bao'an County. In the Tang dynasty, modern-day Guangzhou (Canton) flourished as an international trading centre. In 736, the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang established a military stronghold in Tuen Mun to strengthen defence of the coastal area.[57] The nearby Lantau Island was a salt production centre and salt smuggler riots occasionally broke out against the government. In c. 1075, The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 AD in modern-day New Territories by the Northern Song dynasty.[58] During their war against the Mongols, the imperial court of Southern Song was briefly stationed at modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site) before their ultimate defeat by the Mongols at the Battle of Yamen in 1279.[59] The Mongols then established their dynastic court and governed Hong Kong for 97 years.
From the mid-Tang dynasty to the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Hong Kong was a part of Dongguan County. During the Ming dynasty, the area was transferred to Xin'an County. The indigenous inhabitants at that time consisted of several ethnicities such as Punti, Hakka, Tanka and Hoklo.
European discovery
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer, who arrived in 1513.[60][61] Having established a trading post in a site they called "Tamão" in Hong Kong waters, Portuguese merchants commenced with regular trading in southern China. Subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal, however, led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from southern China.
Since the 14th century, the Ming court had enforced the maritime prohibition laws that strictly forbade all private maritime activities in order to prevent contact with foreigners by sea.[62] When the Manchu Qing dynasty took over China, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance decree of the Kangxi Emperor, who ordered the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong from 1661 to 1669. Over 16,000 inhabitants of Xin'an County including those in Hong Kong were forced to migrate inland; only 1,648 of those who had evacuated subsequently returned.[63][64]
British Crown Colony: 1842–1941
A painter at work. John Thomson. Hong Kong, 1871. The Wellcome Collection, London
Main articles: British Hong Kong and History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)
In 1839, threats by the imperial court of Qing to sanction opium imports caused diplomatic friction with the British Empire. Tensions escalated into the First Opium War. The Qing admitted defeat when British forces captured Hong Kong Island on 20 January 1841. The island was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpi as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan. A dispute between high-ranking officials of both countries, however, led to the failure of the treaty's ratification. On 29 August 1842, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Treaty of Nanking.[65] The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.[66]
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Flag raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese immigrants crossed the then-free border to escape from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.[67][68]
Further conflicts over the opium trade between Britain and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the Crown Colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860.
In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease from Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, in which Hong Kong obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and over 200 other outlying islands.[69][70][71]
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants to settle from both China and Europe. The society, however, remained racially segregated and polarised under early British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance prevented ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong from acquiring houses in reserved areas such as Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. The British governors did rely, however, on a small number of Chinese elites, including Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as ambassadors and mediators between the government and local population.
File:1937 Hong Kong VP8.webmPlay media
Hong Kong filmed in 1937
In 1904, the United Kingdom established the world's first border and immigration control; all residents of Hong Kong were given citizenship as Citizens of United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC).
Hong Kong continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's first higher education institute. While there had been an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained unscathed. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.[72]
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translator, Clementi introduced the first ethnic Chinese, Shouson Chow, into the Executive Council as an unofficial member. Under Clementi's tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation as RAF Kai Tak and several aviation clubs. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out when the Japanese Empire expanded its territories from northeastern China into the mainland proper. To safeguard Hong Kong as a freeport, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the Crown Colony as a neutral zone.
Japanese occupation: 1941–45
Main article: Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Cenotaph in Hong Kong commemorates those who died in service in the First World War and the Second World War.[73]
As part of its military campaign in Southeast Asia during Second World War, the Japanese army moved south from Guangzhou of mainland China and attacked Hong Kong in on 8 December 1941.[74] Crossing the border at Shenzhen River on 8 December, the Battle of Hong Kong lasted for 18 days when British and Canadian forces held onto Hong Kong Island. Unable to defend against intensifying Japanese air and land bombardments, they eventually surrendered control of Hong Kong on 25 December 1941. The Governor of Hong Kong was captured and taken as a prisoner of war. This day is regarded by the locals as "Black Christmas".[75]
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese army committed atrocities against civilians and POWs, such as the St. Stephen's College massacre. Local residents also suffered widespread food shortages, limited rationing and hyper-inflation arising from the forced exchange of currency from Hong Kong dollars to Japanese military banknotes. The initial ratio of 2:1 was gradually devalued to 4:1 and ownership of Hong Kong dollars was declared illegal and punishable by harsh torture. Due to starvation and forced deportation for slave labour to mainland China, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when the United Kingdom resumed control of the colony on 2 September 1945.[76]
Resumption of British rule and industrialisation: 1945–97
Main articles: British Hong Kong, 1950s in Hong Kong, 1960s in Hong Kong, 1970s in Hong Kong, 1980s in Hong Kong, and 1990s in Hong Kong
Flag of British Hong Kong from 1959 to 1997
Hong Kong's population recovered quickly after the war, as a wave of skilled migrants from the Republic of China moved in to seek refuge from the Chinese Civil War. When the Communist Party eventually took full control of mainland China in 1949, even more skilled migrants fled across the open border for fear of persecution.[69] Many newcomers, especially those who had been based in the major port cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou, established corporations and small- to medium-sized businesses and shifted their base operations to British Hong Kong.[69] The establishment of a socialist state in China (People's Republic of China) on 1 October 1949 caused the British colonial government to reconsider Hong Kong's open border to mainland China. In 1951, a boundary zone was demarked as a buffer zone against potential military attacks from communist China. Border posts along the north of Hong Kong began operation in 1953 to regulate the movement of people and goods into and out of the territory.
Stamp with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
In the 1950s, Hong Kong became the first of the Four Asian Tiger economies under rapid industrialisation driven by textile exports, manufacturing industries and re-exports of goods to China. As the population grew, with labour costs remaining low, living standards began to rise steadily.[77] The construction of the Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme to provide shelter for the less privileged and to cope with the influx of immigrants.
Under Sir Murray MacLehose, 25th Governor of Hong Kong (1971–82), a series of reforms improved the public services, environment, housing, welfare, education and infrastructure of Hong Kong. MacLehose was British Hong Kong's longest-serving governor and, by the end of his tenure, had become one of the most popular and well-known figures in the Crown Colony. MacLehose laid the foundation for Hong Kong to establish itself as a key global city in the 1980s and early 1990s.
A sky view of Hong Kong Island
An aerial view of the northern shore of Hong Kong Island in 1986
To resolve traffic congestion and to provide a more reliable means of crossing the Victoria Harbour, a rapid transit railway system (metro), the MTR, was planned from the 1970s onwards. The Island Line (Hong Kong Island), Kwun Tong Line (Kowloon Peninsula and East Kowloon) and Tsuen Wan Line (Kowloon and urban New Territories) opened in the early 1980s.[78]
In 1983, the Hong Kong dollar left its 16:1 peg with the Pound sterling and switched to the current US-HK Dollar peg. Hong Kong's competitiveness in manufacturing gradually declined due to rising labour and property costs, as well as new development in southern China under the Open Door Policy introduced in 1978 which opened up China to foreign business. Nevertheless, towards the early 1990s, Hong Kong had established itself as a global financial centre along with London and New York City, a regional hub for logistics and freight, one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia and the world's exemplar of Laissez-faire market policy.[79]
The Hong Kong question
In 1971, the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s permanent seat on the United Nations was transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong's status as a recognised colony became terminated in 1972 under the request of PRC. Facing the uncertain future of Hong Kong and expiry of land lease of New Territories beyond 1997, Governor MacLehose raised the question in the late 1970s.
The British Nationality Act 1981 reclassified Hong Kong into a British Dependent Territory amid the reorganisation of global territories of the British Empire. All residents of Hong Kong became British Dependent Territory Citizens (BDTC). Diplomatic negotiations began with China and eventually concluded with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. Both countries agreed to transfer Hong Kong's sovereignty to China on 1 July 1997, when Hong Kong would remain autonomous as a special administrative region and be able to retain its free-market economy, British common law through the Hong Kong Basic Law, independent representation in international organisations (e.g. WTO and WHO), treaty arrangements and policy-making except foreign diplomacy and military defence.
It stipulated that Hong Kong would retain its laws and be guaranteed a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years after the transfer. The Hong Kong Basic Law, based on English law, would serve as the constitutional document after the transfer. It was ratified in 1990.[69] The expiry of the 1898 lease on the New Territories in 1997 created problems for business contracts, property leases and confidence among foreign investors.
Handover and Special Administrative Region status
Main articles: Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong and 2000s in Hong Kong
Transfer of sovereignty
Golden Bauhinia Square
On 1 July 1997, the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China took place, officially marking the end of Hong Kong's 156 years under British colonial governance. As the largest remaining colony of the United Kingdom, the loss of Hong Kong effectively represented the end of the British Empire. This transfer of sovereignty made Hong Kong the first special administrative region of China. Tung Chee-Hwa, a pro-Beijing business tycoon, was elected Hong Kong's first Chief Executive by a selected electorate of 800 in a televised programme.
Structure of government
Hong Kong's current structure of governance inherits from the British model of colonial administration set up in the 1850s. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration states that "Hong Kong should enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all areas except defence and foreign affairs" with reference to the underlying principle of one country, two systems.[note 3] This Declaration stipulates that Hong Kong maintains her capitalist economic system and guarantees the rights and freedoms of her people for at least 50 years after the 1997 handover. [note 4] Such guarantees are enshrined in the Hong Kong's Basic Law, the territory's constitutional document, which outlines the system of governance after 1997, albeit subject to interpretation by China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC).[95][96]
Hong Kong's most senior leader, Chief Executive, is elected by a committee of 1,200 selected members (600 in 1997) and nominally appointed by the Government of China. The primary pillars of government are the Executive Council, Legislative Council, civil service and Judiciary.
Policy-making is initially discussed in the Executive Council, presided by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, before passing to the Legislative Council for bill adoption. The Executive Council consists of 30 official/unofficial members appointed by the Chief Executive and one member among them acts as the convenor.[97][98]
The Legislative Council, set up in 1843, debates policies and motions before voting to adopt or rejecting bills. It has 70 members (originally 60) and 40 (originally 30) among them are directly elected by universal suffrage; the other 30 members are "functional constituencies" (indirectly) elected by a smaller electorate of corporate bodies or representatives of stipulated economic sectors as defined by the government. The Legislative Council is chaired by a president who acts as the speaker.[99][100]
Panorama del porto di Marano Lagunare, Friuli venezia giulia,
Resumption of the port of Marano Lagoon, Friuli Venezia Giulia,
Foi controlado na manhã desta sexta-feira (após 4 dias) o incêndio causado pela explosão de uma de uma carga de fertilizantes à base de nitrato de amônio na noite da terça-feira, dia 24, em São Francisco do Sul, Norte de Santa Catarina.
A fumaça foi controlada por volta das 8h30. Agora, os bombeiros trabalham no rescaldo para evitar que a fumaça se reinicie. Barreiras do exército ainda estão nos bairros afetados pela fumaça. Por enquanto, moradores passam para pegar pertences e não há previsão de quando eles voltarão para casa.
A Marinha já autorizou na manhã desta sexta-feira a retomada das operações dos portos na região.
Nesta manhã, a Defesa Civil fez um sobrevoo na região do acidente e irá avaliar as imagens aéreas. Segundo Diogo Bahia Losso, capitão do Corpo de Bombeiros Militar de Santa Catarina, não há mais fumaça no local. O vento fraco desta sexta-feira também colabora para os trabalhos.
Durante a madrugada uma força-tarefa dos bombeiros militares e civis teve avanços consideráveis. Ainda na quinta-feira a equipe passou a utilizar uma câmera térmica (que mostra a temperatura) e suspendeu a retirada do material com máquinas pesadas.
Was controlled on the morning of Friday the fire caused by an exploding a load-based fertilizer ammonium nitrate on the night of Tuesday, the 24th, in São Francisco do Sul, Santa Catarina North.
The smoke was controlled at around 8:30 am. Now, firefighters work in the aftermath to prevent the smoke restart. Army are still barriers in neighborhoods affected by smoke. For now, residents go to get belongings and there is no predicting when they will return home.
The Navy has already authorized on the morning of Friday the resumption of operations of ports in the region.
This morning, Civil Defence made a flyover in the area of the accident and will evaluate the aerial images. According Diogo Losso Bahia, captain of the Fire Brigade of Santa Catarina, there is no more smoke on site. The Wind on Friday also contributes to the work.
During the dawn of a task force of firefighters and civilians had considerable advances. Also on Thursday the team began using a thermal camera (which shows the temperature) and suspended material removal with heavy machinery.
diariocatarinense.clicrbs.com.br/sc/geral/noticia/2013/09...
Robert Heath & Sons Ltd. No.6 0-4-0ST. Built in 1886, rebuilt in 1934. Purchased by the Knotty Coach Trust in 2020 who are fundraising for the resumption of its overhaul.
Taken in August 1994 at Caverswall Road on the Foxfield Railway
Porthmadog Harbour railway station, the terminus of both the Ffestiniog Railway and Welsh Highland Railway, Porthmadog, Gwynedd, North Wales.
The Station is the head office and operational headquarters of the Festiniog Railway Company, marketed as Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways.
The station is built at the western end of the Cob, the great embankment across the Traeth Mawr, on a peninsula from Ynys Madoc constructed in 1842 to form a slate wharf and a harbour wall. It was opened for passenger service on 6 January 1865. Welsh Highland Railway trains served the station from 1923, but these ceased running in 1936.
The station was closed to passengers on 15 September 1939, although slate trains continued operating through the Second World War until 1946. The buildings continued in use as the principal offices of the Festiniog Railway Company and the home of Manager (Mr Robert Evans) including throughout the years of almost total closure from 1 August 1946 to 24 September 1954. The station reopened for passengers on 23 July 1955. Welsh Highland Railway services were restored in 2011.
The present stone buildings, replacing earlier wooden buildings dismantled and reused elsewhere on the railway, date from 1878/79 and the goods shed was added in 1880. They were linked to the former goods shed by way of a major extension in 1975. Passenger facilities include a booking and enquiry office, a large tourist and hobby shop and a large cafeteria with licensed bar. The erection of the platform awning was completed in 1988.
With the resumption of services in 1955, all traffic on the line has been controlled from an office in Harbour station, known simply as "Control". Except for some early morning and late-night movements by works trains, this office is manned constantly when passenger-carrying services are in operation. Its remit was expanded in 1997 with the commencement of public services on the Welsh Highland Railway between Caernarfon and Dinas and its subsequent expansion south towards Porthmadog.
Information source
Collins Place was constructed in 1889 or 1890 for Ship Inn proprietor Michael Foley, on land he acquired in 1887. Around the same time Foley also built the neighbouring semi-detached houses of Greyscourt and Beth Eden, which later became known conjointly as Grays Court. Foley's houses were erected during the boom which transformed Grey Street - South Brisbane's principal residential street since the mid 1840s - into a fashionable address.
From 1890 until the early 1910s it was occupied by respected Brisbane surgeon Francis Glynn Connolly, who called the house Byanda.
It passed from the Foley family in 1928, but remained a rental property through subsequent ownerships.
Lynette Bloss, who purchased the property in 1983 and renovated the building, unsuccessfully appealed against its resumption by the Expo Authority in 1984. Ms Bloss bestowed the name Collins Place to commemorate 1857 deed of grant holder, squatter John Collins.
During Expo '88 the building functioned as Collins Place Spaghetti House. The building was used as a police station before a major restoration in 2020.
Source: Queensland Heritage Register.
*** THIS IS NOT MY PHOTO. ***
The image showing "Seabed Constructor" in the harbour of Bergen, Norway, is available from Norwegian-based Swire Seabed A/S, which offers specalised under-ocean works. Swire Seabed is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Swire Pacific Ltd., which is part of the Anglo-Hong Kong conglomerate John Swire & Sons Ltd.
www.swireseabed.com/about/overview
"Seabed Constructor" was in the news recently, as this vessel will undertake the resumption of the search for the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 that mysteriously went missing on 2014-03-08. Flight MH370 was enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8th March, 2014, when it went off-course and disappeared with 239 on-board. Other than a few pieces of debris washed up along the African coast, the rest of the widebody airliner was never located.
www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/the-mindb...
A chance conversation with a couple of flickr friends recently about the name Swire and its long association with Hong Kong flagship airlines Cathay Pacific reminded me about Swire's many other little-known operations. Swire Group has operations from high in the sky to deep under the sea!
Other than having named myself after the Yorkshire family that founded the historic Anglo-HK business, I've no true association with Swire Pacific Group. I've never even owned shares of Swire Pacific Ltd.
A wild vixen contemplates the proposed resumption of fox hunting in England and Wales.
If you can watch this video without feeling revulsion... then there is something seriously wrong with you - youtu.be/WChCAceRgjs
There has been a large shuffle of vehicles within Arriva's Kent Thameside and Kent & Surrey operation during May 2020 following the resumption of services after the COVID-19 lockdown.
With social distancing being implemented and severely restricting the capacity of buses as well as the requirement that all vehicles used have to be fitted with assault screens some larger vehicles have been swapped for smaller vehicles. From what I can ascertain here is what has happened: Northfleet received four E400s from Maidstone sending four StreetLites to Southend, Southend sent four E400 MMCs to Gillingham which in turn also received some E400s from Maidstone while the B7s were out of service being fitted with assault screens.
Pictured here on-loan from Southend to Gillingham is E400 MMC 6512 SN66 WJJ departing from Chatham Bus Station whilst working route 191. Friday 19th June 2020.
ADL E40D - ADL Enviro 400 MMC
GB Railfreight Class 92, 92020 runs light engine through Hartford as the light fades on 0Z12 15:38 Crewe Holding Sidings to Polmadie Carriage Maintenance Depot.
The Dyson formerly known as "Milton" was moving north from Wembley to Polmadie to bring the quota of 92s in Scotland up to the usual four ahead of the resumption of a full timetable of Caledonian Sleeper services in the run up to Christmas.
The first part of the 400 mile run north ran as 0Z11 from Wembley to Crewe. Despite the two paths ending and starting at Crewe Holding Sidings, in practice the 92 went through the station with a quick driver change in Platform 12.
Sydney Central Railway Station, in Sydney, Australia.
The present Central Railway Station was Sydney's third terminus, replacing the original 1855 station further south in Redfern and a later upgraded station built in the 1870s. Both earlier stations had served their time but had become too small and too isolated from the city by the 1890s.
A new station had been considered since 1895, with a view to locating the terminal closer to the central business district. Several sites and schemes were put forward, including a Hyde Park terminus, before the site of the old Devonshire Street cemetery was fixed upon. Although this site was also considered to be further from the city centre than was preferred, the costs of resumptions and construction of a station in the city centre were too high.
Work began on the Central Railway Station in June 1901, the new building was intended as a focal point for the railway and a junction of the rural network with the expanding city and suburban networks. The initial scheme for the new terminal complex was put together by Henry Deane, the Engineer-in-Chief of Railway Construction, in consultation with the Railway Commissioners.
The design of the buildings and complex were investigated by a Station Advisory Board established by the Minister for Works. This included Henry Deane, Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon and railway experts from New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria. Among other decisions, this committee approved the use of sandstone as the main construction material, rather than a brick and sandstone combination that had been previously suggested.
In 1902 the design of the building was altered by the Station Advisory Board, with the addition of an extra floor and a tower, which increased the likely cost from £230,000 to £400,000. The station building would therefore include: offices for the Railway Commissioners; underground subways to convey luggage, mail, and other materials; an underground pedestrian walkway between George and Elizabeth streets on the line of the former Devonshire Street; a tramway; taxi ranks; and 12 platforms with the ability to handle up to 40,000 passengers.
The first stage of the new station was opened in August 1906 with the second and third storey of the main building and the clock tower completed only in 1921. Additions to the station were made, such as electrification of the city underground line.
The position of the station at the southern end of the city and its scale made it an instant landmark, with the clock in the tower being used by surrounding neighbourhoods as well as commuters.
Information Source:
At least the display held to my camera for a change...
With the reopening of Abbotsford Bridge to road traffic, the many lettered deviations of Route 7 have ceased with resumption of the previous timetable and only the 7/7A numbers remaining to apply.
The 7A route also sees regular bus service return to the northern half of Stansted and Bentfield Green, previously only served by an on-demand minibus service during the bridge closure.
Trustybus Dennis Dart/Plaxton Pointer MPD HW54BTZ is seen heading along Cambridge Road in Stansted Mountfitchet having completed the loop of Bentfield Green on a Route 7A working to Bishops Stortford 30/12/19
Empty bogie bolsters from Anglesey Aluminium to Tees Yard. This was the last revenue earning freight on the coast line, apart from flasks. A situation since rectified by the resumption of stone traffic.
Guest locomotive Great Western Railway Castle Class 4-6-0 No. 5029 'Nunney Castle' and LNER Class A4 Pacific 4-6-2 No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley in BR Blue create a magical combination, awaiting the resumption of their onward journeys to Pickering and Grosmont respectively, on 28th September 2014, the third and final day of the NYMR Autumn Gala.
WEEK 16 – Barnes & Noble Ole Miss: Reunionited and It Feels So Good (II)
One last pic to wrap up this week, taking a look back down this third-floor hallway back towards the front wall of the Union. Again, it looks like a ghost town in these pics not because of COVID (although it probably *is* a ghost town these days because of that), but instead simply because I took these pics in August 2019, before the semester began and thus before most students had returned to campus to be able to enjoy the fancy new digs.
I’ve still got one more week scheduled for this album, which will be focusing entirely on the Union (despite the misleading B&N header line above, lol), so stick around for that two weeks from now! And until then, next week – come on back for the resumption (wow, surprised that’s actually a word!) of our ongoing Gordmans liquidation # 2 stour…
(c) 2021 Retail Retell
These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)
Porthmadog Harbour railway station, the terminus of both the Ffestiniog Railway and Welsh Highland Railway, Porthmadog, Gwynedd, North Wales.
The Station is the head office and operational headquarters of the Festiniog Railway Company, marketed as Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways.
The station is built at the western end of the Cob, the great embankment across the Traeth Mawr, on a peninsula from Ynys Madoc constructed in 1842 to form a slate wharf and a harbour wall. It was opened for passenger service on 6 January 1865. Welsh Highland Railway trains served the station from 1923, but these ceased running in 1936.
The station was closed to passengers on 15 September 1939, although slate trains continued operating through the Second World War until 1946. The buildings continued in use as the principal offices of the Festiniog Railway Company and the home of Manager (Mr Robert Evans) including throughout the years of almost total closure from 1 August 1946 to 24 September 1954. The station reopened for passengers on 23 July 1955. Welsh Highland Railway services were restored in 2011.
The present stone buildings, replacing earlier wooden buildings dismantled and reused elsewhere on the railway, date from 1878/79 and the goods shed was added in 1880. They were linked to the former goods shed by way of a major extension in 1975. Passenger facilities include a booking and enquiry office, a large tourist and hobby shop and a large cafeteria with licensed bar. The erection of the platform awning was completed in 1988.
With the resumption of services in 1955, all traffic on the line has been controlled from an office in Harbour station, known simply as "Control". Except for some early morning and late-night movements by works trains, this office is manned constantly when passenger-carrying services are in operation. Its remit was expanded in 1997 with the commencement of public services on the Welsh Highland Railway between Caernarfon and Dinas and its subsequent expansion south towards Porthmadog.
Information source
Windsor (/ˈwɪnzər/) is a town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family.
The town is situated 23 miles (37 km) west of Charing Cross, London. It is immediately south of the River Thames, which forms its boundary with Eton. The village of Old Windsor, just over 2 miles (3 km) to the south, predates what is now called Windsor by around 300 years; in the past Windsor was formally referred to as New Windsor to distinguish the two.
The early history of the site is unknown, although it was almost certainly settled some years before 1070 when William the Conquerorhad a timber motte and bailey castle constructed.[2] The focus of royal interest at that time was not the castle, however, but a small riverside settlement about 3 miles (5 km) downstream, possibly established from the 7th century.
Windsor, or Windlesora as it was called in the 11th century, is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The name originates from old English Windles-ore, or 'winch by the riverside'. The settlement had used an earlier name, but this is unknown. From about the 8th century, high status people started to visit the site occasionally, and possibly this included royalty. From the 11th century the site's link with king Edward the Confessor is documented, but again, information about his use of the place is scant. After the Conquest of 1066 royal use of the site increased, probably because it offered good access to woodlands and opportunities for hunting – a sport which also practised military skills. By the late 12th century, and the relocation of the royal household to an enlarged castle in 1110, the site was renamed Old Windsor.
Windsor Castle is noted in the Domesday Bookunder the entry for Clewer, the neighbouring manor to Windsor. Although this might seem strange, it occurred because plans for the castle had changed since 1070, and more land had been acquired in Clewer on which to site a castle town. This plan was not actioned until the early 12th century. By 1110, meetings of the Great Council, which had previously taken place at Windlesora, were noted as taking place at the Castle – referred to as New Windsor, probably to indicate that it was a two ward castle/borough complex, similar to other early castle designs, such as Denbigh. Henry I – according to one chronicle – had rebuilt it, and this followed the Norman kings' actions at other royal sites, such as Westminster, where larger and more magnificent accommodation was thought necessary for the new dynasty. King Henry married his second wife at Windsor Castle in 1121, after the White Ship disaster. The settlement at Old Windsor largely transferred to New Windsor during the 12th century, although substantial planning and setting out of the new town (including the parish church, marketplace, bridge, hermitage and leper hospital) did not take place until c. 1170, under Henry II, following the civil war of Stephen's reign. At about the same time, the present upper ward of the castle was rebuilt in stone. Windsor Bridge is the earliest bridge on the Thames between Staines and Reading, built at a time when bridge building was rare; it was first documented in 1191, but had probably been built, according to the Pipe rolls, in 1173. It played an important part in the national road system, linking London with Reading and Winchester, but also, by diverting traffic into the new town, it underpinned the success of its fledgling economy.
The town of New Windsor, as an ancient demesne of the Crown, was a privileged settlement from the start, apparently having the rights of a 'free borough', for which other towns had to pay substantial fees to the king. It had a merchant guild (known by the 14th century as the Fraternity or brotherhood of the Holy Trinity) from the early 13th century and, under royal patronage, was made the chief town of the county in 1277, as part of its grant of royal borough status by Edward I's charter. Somewhat unusually, this charter gave no new rights or privileges to Windsor but probably codified the rights which it had enjoyed for many years. Windsor's position as chief town of Berkshire was short-lived, however, as people found it difficult to reach. Wallingford took over this position in the early 14th century. As a self-governing town Windsor enjoyed a number of freedoms unavailable to other towns, including the right to hold its own borough court, the right of membership (or 'freedom') and some financial independence. The town accounts of the 16th century survive in part, although most of the once substantial borough archive dating back to the 12th century was destroyed, probably in the late 17th century.
The early history of the site is unknown, although it was almost certainly settled some years before 1070 when William the Conquerorhad a timber motte and bailey castle constructed.[2] The focus of royal interest at that time was not the castle, however, but a small riverside settlement about 3 miles (5 km) downstream, possibly established from the 7th century.
Windsor, or Windlesora as it was called in the 11th century, is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The name originates from old English Windles-ore, or 'winch by the riverside'. The settlement had used an earlier name, but this is unknown. From about the 8th century, high status people started to visit the site occasionally, and possibly this included royalty. From the 11th century the site's link with king Edward the Confessor is documented, but again, information about his use of the place is scant. After the Conquest of 1066 royal use of the site increased, probably because it offered good access to woodlands and opportunities for hunting – a sport which also practised military skills. By the late 12th century, and the relocation of the royal household to an enlarged castle in 1110, the site was renamed Old Windsor.
Windsor Castle is noted in the Domesday Bookunder the entry for Clewer, the neighbouring manor to Windsor. Although this might seem strange, it occurred because plans for the castle had changed since 1070, and more land had been acquired in Clewer on which to site a castle town. This plan was not actioned until the early 12th century. By 1110, meetings of the Great Council, which had previously taken place at Windlesora, were noted as taking place at the Castle – referred to as New Windsor, probably to indicate that it was a two ward castle/borough complex, similar to other early castle designs, such as Denbigh. Henry I – according to one chronicle – had rebuilt it, and this followed the Norman kings' actions at other royal sites, such as Westminster, where larger and more magnificent accommodation was thought necessary for the new dynasty. King Henry married his second wife at Windsor Castle in 1121, after the White Ship disaster. The settlement at Old Windsor largely transferred to New Windsor during the 12th century, although substantial planning and setting out of the new town (including the parish church, marketplace, bridge, hermitage and leper hospital) did not take place until c. 1170, under Henry II, following the civil war of Stephen's reign. At about the same time, the present upper ward of the castle was rebuilt in stone. Windsor Bridge is the earliest bridge on the Thames between Staines and Reading, built at a time when bridge building was rare; it was first documented in 1191, but had probably been built, according to the Pipe rolls, in 1173. It played an important part in the national road system, linking London with Reading and Winchester, but also, by diverting traffic into the new town, it underpinned the success of its fledgling economy.
The town of New Windsor, as an ancient demesne of the Crown, was a privileged settlement from the start, apparently having the rights of a 'free borough', for which other towns had to pay substantial fees to the king. It had a merchant guild (known by the 14th century as the Fraternity or brotherhood of the Holy Trinity) from the early 13th century and, under royal patronage, was made the chief town of the county in 1277, as part of its grant of royal borough status by Edward I's charter. Somewhat unusually, this charter gave no new rights or privileges to Windsor but probably codified the rights which it had enjoyed for many years. Windsor's position as chief town of Berkshire was short-lived, however, as people found it difficult to reach. Wallingford took over this position in the early 14th century. As a self-governing town Windsor enjoyed a number of freedoms unavailable to other towns, including the right to hold its own borough court, the right of membership (or 'freedom') and some financial independence. The town accounts of the 16th century survive in part, although most of the once substantial borough archive dating back to the 12th century was destroyed, probably in the late 17th century.
The Last Supper by Franz de Cleyn in the West Gallery of Windsor parish church of St John The Baptist.[3]
New Windsor was a nationally significant town in the Middle Ages, certainly one of the fifty wealthiest towns in the country by 1332. Its prosperity came from its close association with the royal household. The repeated investment in the castle brought London merchants (goldsmiths, vintners, spicers and mercers) to the town in the late 13th century and provided much employment for townsmen. The development of the castle under Edward III, between 1350–68, was the largest secular building project in England of the Middle Ages, and many Windsor people worked on this project, again bringing great wealth to the town. Although the Black Death in 1348 had reduced some towns' populations by up to 50%, in Windsor the building projects of Edward III brought money to the town, and possibly its population doubled: this was a 'boom' time for the local economy. People came to the town from every part of the country, and from continental Europe. The poet Geoffrey Chaucerheld the honorific post of 'Clerk of the Works' at Windsor Castle in 1391.
The development of the castle continued in the late 15th century with the rebuilding of St George's Chapel. With this Windsor became a major pilgrimage destination, particularly for Londoners. Pilgrims came to touch the royal shrine of the murdered Henry VI, the fragment of the True Cross and other important relics. Visits to the chapel were probably combined with a visit to the important nearby Marian shrine and college at Eton, founded by Henry VI in 1440, and dedicated to the Assumption; which is now better known as Eton College. Pilgrims came with substantial sums to spend. From perhaps two or three named inns in the late 15th century, some 30 can be identified a century later. The town again grew in wealth. For London pilgrims, Windsor was probably – but briefly – of greater importance than Canterbury and the shrine of the City's patron Saint Thomas Becket. With the closures of the Reformation, however, Windsor's pilgrim traffic died out. Henry VIII was buried in St George's Chapel in 1547, next to Jane Seymour, the mother of his only legitimate son, Edward (Edward VI). Henry, the founder of the Church of England, may have wanted to benefit from the stream of Catholic pilgrims coming to the town. His will gives that impression.
The town began to stagnate about ten years after the Reformation. The castle was considered old-fashioned and shrines to the dead were thought to be superstitious. The early modern period formed a stark contrast to the medieval history of the town. Most accounts of Windsor in the 16th and 17th centuries talk of its poverty, badly made streets and poor housing. Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor is set in Windsor and contains many references to parts of the town and the surrounding countryside. Shakespeare must have walked the town's streets, near the castle and river, much as people still do. The play may have been written in the Garter Inn, opposite the Castle, but this was destroyed by fire in the late 17th century. The long-standing – and famous – courtesan of king Charles II, Nell Gwyn, was given a house on St Albans Street: Burford House (now part of the Royal Mews). Her residence in this house, as far as it is possible to tell, was brief. Only one of her letters addressed from Burford House survives: it was probably intended as a legacy for her illegitimate son, the Earl of Burford, later the Duke of St Albans.
Windsor was garrisoned by Colonel Venn during the English Civil War. Later it became the home of the New Model Army when Venn had left the castle in 1645. Despite its royal dependence, like many commercial centres, Windsor was a Parliamentarian town. Charles Iwas buried without ceremony in St George's Chapel after his execution at Whitehall in 1649. The present Guildhall, built in 1680–91, replaced an earlier market house that had been built on the same site around 1580, as well as the old guildhall, which faced the castle and had been built around 1350. The contraction in the number of old public buildings speaks of a town 'clearing the decks', ready for a renewed period of prosperity with Charles II's return to the Castle. But his successors did not use the place, and as the town was short of money, the planned new civic buildings did not appear. The town continued in poverty until the mid 19th century.
In 1652 the largest house in Windsor Great Park was built on land which Oliver Cromwell had appropriated from the Crown. Now known as Cumberland Lodge after the Duke of Cumberland's residence there in the mid 18th century, the house was variously known as Byfield House, New Lodge, Ranger's Lodge, Windsor Lodge and Great Lodge.
In 1778, there was a resumption of the royal presence, with George III at the Queen's Lodge and, from 1804, at the castle. This started a period of new development in Windsor, with the building of two army barracks. However the associated large numbers of soldiers led to a major prostitution problem by 1830, in a town where the number of streets had little changed since 1530. In the 18th c. the town traded with London selling the Windsor Chair which was actually made in Buckinghamshire.
A number of fine houses were built in this period, including Hadleigh House on Sheet Street, which was built in 1793 by the then Mayor of Windsor, William Thomas. In 1811 it was the home of John O'Reilly, the apothecary-surgeon to George III.
Windsor Castle was the westernmost sighting-point for the Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790), which measured the precise distance between the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the Paris Observatory by trigonometry. Windsor was used because of its relative proximity to the base-line of the survey at Hounslow Heath.
The substantial redevelopment of the castle in the subsequent decade and Queen Victoria's residence from 1840, as well as the coming of two railways in 1849, signalled the most dramatic changes in the town's history. These events catapulted the town from a sleepy medieval has-been to the centre of empire – many European crowned heads of state came to Windsor to visit the Queen throughout the rest of the 19th century. Unfortunately, excessive redevelopment and 'refurbishment' of Windsor's medieval fabric at this time resulted in widespread destruction of the old town, including the demolition of the old parish church of St John the Baptist in 1820. The original had been built around 1135.
Most of the current town's streets date from the mid to late 19th century.[5] However the main street, Peascod Street (pronunciation: /ˈpɛskɒd/) is very ancient, predating the castle by many years, and probably of Saxon origin. It formed part of the 10th-century parish structure in east Berkshire[citation needed] and is first referred to as Peascroftstret in c. 1170. The 1000-year-old royal Castle, although the largest and longest-occupied in Europe, is a recent development in comparison. "New Windsor" was officially renamed "Windsor" in 1974.
is accessible from Junction 6 of the M4 and from Slough via a 3 mile long dual carriageway. Bus services in the town are mostly provided by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley, although a park-and-rideservice and one local route are operated by Courtney Coaches.
Windsor has two railway stations. Windsor & Eton Central railway station has a shuttle service to Slough. Windsor & Eton Riverside station provides a service to London Waterloo. Both stations were time in the 19th century, as the two train companies which owned the lines both wanted to carry Queen Victoria to Windsor, with the first line opened gaining the privilege.[8] From 1883 to 1885, the London Underground's District line's westbound service ran as far as Windsor.
Windsor has frequent bus services to/from London Heathrow Airport, Victoria Coach Station in central London and Legoland Windsor Resort.
Photo Copyright 2012, dynamo.photography.
All rights reserved, no use without license
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Hong kong)
Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory south to Mainland China and east to Macao in East Asia. With around 7.2 million Hong Kongers of various nationalities[note 2] in a territory of 1,104 km2, Hong Kong is the world's fourth most densely populated country or territory.
Hong Kong used to be a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island from the Qing Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and acquired a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during the Second World War until British control resumed in 1945. The Sino-British Joint Declaration signed between the United Kingdom and China in 1984 paved way for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, when it became a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China with a high degree of autonomy.[15]
Under the principle of "one country, two systems",[16][17] Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative and judiciary powers.[18] In addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of "appropriate fields".[19] Hong Kong involves in international organizations, such as the WTO[20] and the APEC [21], actively and independently.
Hong Kong is one of the world's most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the world's most competitive and freest economic entity.[22][23] As the world's 8th largest trading entity,[24] its legal tender, the Hong Kong dollar, is the world's 13th most traded currency.[25] As the world's most visited city,[26][27] Hong Kong's tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by competitive simple taxation and supported by its independent judiciary system.[28] Even with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it suffers from severe income inequality.[29]
Nicknamed "Pearl of the Orient", Hong Kong is renowned for its deep natural harbour, which boasts the world's fifth busiest port with ready access by cargo ships, and its impressive skyline, with the most skyscrapers in the world.[30][31] It has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the world's longest life expectancy.[32][33] Over 90% of the population makes use of well-developed public transportation.[34][35] Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring industrial areas of Mainland China, which adopts loose emissions standards, has resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates in winter.[36][37][38]
Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Prehistory
2.2 Imperial China
2.3 British Crown Colony: 1842–1941
2.4 Japanese occupation: 1941–45
2.5 Resumption of British rule and industrialisation: 1945–97
2.6 Handover and Special Administrative Region status
3 Governance
3.1 Structure of government
3.2 Electoral and political reforms
3.3 Legal system and judiciary
3.4 Foreign relations
3.5 Human rights
3.6 Regions and districts
3.7 Military
4 Geography and climate
5 Economy
5.1 Financial centre
5.2 International trading
5.3 Tourism and expatriation
5.4 Policy
5.5 Infrastructure
6 Demographics
6.1 Languages
6.2 Religion
6.3 Personal income
6.4 Education
6.5 Health
7 Culture
7.1 Sports
7.2 Architecture
7.3 Cityscape
7.4 Symbols
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
10.1 Citations
10.2 Sources
11 Further reading
12 External links
Etymology
Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island.[39]
The source of the romanised name "Hong Kong" is not known, but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the pronunciation in spoken Cantonese 香港 (Cantonese Yale: Hēung Góng), which means "Fragrant Harbour" or "Incense Harbour".[13][14][40] Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour (Chinese: 香港仔; Cantonese Yale: Hēunggóng jái), literally means "Little Hong Kong"—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was an initial point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen.[41]
Another theory is that the name would have been taken from Hong Kong's early inhabitants, the Tankas (水上人); it is equally probable that romanisation was done with a faithful execution of their speeches, i.e. hōng, not hēung in Cantonese.[42] Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time.[43]
Fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour.[40]
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926.[44] Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
As of 1997, its official name is the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". This is the official title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Government's website;[45] however, "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are widely accepted.
Hong Kong has carried many nicknames. The most famous among those is the "Pearl of the Orient", which reflected the impressive nightscape of the city's light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The territory is also known as "Asia's World City".
History
Main articles: History of Hong Kong and History of China
Prehistory
Main article: Prehistoric Hong Kong
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area (now Hong Kong International Airport) from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.[46][47][48]
Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue to Hong Kong.[49][50] Eight petroglyphs, which dated to the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC – 1066 BC) in China, were discovered on the surrounding islands.[51]
Imperial China
Main article: History of Hong Kong under Imperial China
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a centralised China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern-day Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the area of Hong Kong into his imperial China for the first time. Hong Kong proper was assigned to the Nanhai commandery (modern-day Nanhai District), near the commandery's capital city Panyu.[52][53][54]
After a brief period of centralisation and collapse of the Qin dynasty, the area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the Kingdom of Nanyue, founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC.[55] When Nanyue lost the Han-Nanyue War in 111 BC, Hong Kong came under the Jiaozhi commandery of the Han dynasty. Archaeological evidence indicates an increase of population and flourish of salt production. The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built as a burial site during the Han dynasty.[56]
From the Han dynasty to the early Tang dynasty, Hong Kong was a part of Bao'an County. In the Tang dynasty, modern-day Guangzhou (Canton) flourished as an international trading centre. In 736, the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang established a military stronghold in Tuen Mun to strengthen defence of the coastal area.[57] The nearby Lantau Island was a salt production centre and salt smuggler riots occasionally broke out against the government. In c. 1075, The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 AD in modern-day New Territories by the Northern Song dynasty.[58] During their war against the Mongols, the imperial court of Southern Song was briefly stationed at modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site) before their ultimate defeat by the Mongols at the Battle of Yamen in 1279.[59] The Mongols then established their dynastic court and governed Hong Kong for 97 years.
From the mid-Tang dynasty to the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Hong Kong was a part of Dongguan County. During the Ming dynasty, the area was transferred to Xin'an County. The indigenous inhabitants at that time consisted of several ethnicities such as Punti, Hakka, Tanka and Hoklo.
European discovery
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer, who arrived in 1513.[60][61] Having established a trading post in a site they called "Tamão" in Hong Kong waters, Portuguese merchants commenced with regular trading in southern China. Subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal, however, led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from southern China.
Since the 14th century, the Ming court had enforced the maritime prohibition laws that strictly forbade all private maritime activities in order to prevent contact with foreigners by sea.[62] When the Manchu Qing dynasty took over China, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance decree of the Kangxi Emperor, who ordered the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong from 1661 to 1669. Over 16,000 inhabitants of Xin'an County including those in Hong Kong were forced to migrate inland; only 1,648 of those who had evacuated subsequently returned.[63][64]
British Crown Colony: 1842–1941
A painter at work. John Thomson. Hong Kong, 1871. The Wellcome Collection, London
Main articles: British Hong Kong and History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)
In 1839, threats by the imperial court of Qing to sanction opium imports caused diplomatic friction with the British Empire. Tensions escalated into the First Opium War. The Qing admitted defeat when British forces captured Hong Kong Island on 20 January 1841. The island was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpi as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan. A dispute between high-ranking officials of both countries, however, led to the failure of the treaty's ratification. On 29 August 1842, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Treaty of Nanking.[65] The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.[66]
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Flag raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese immigrants crossed the then-free border to escape from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.[67][68]
Further conflicts over the opium trade between Britain and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the Crown Colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860.
In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease from Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, in which Hong Kong obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and over 200 other outlying islands.[69][70][71]
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants to settle from both China and Europe. The society, however, remained racially segregated and polarised under early British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance prevented ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong from acquiring houses in reserved areas such as Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. The British governors did rely, however, on a small number of Chinese elites, including Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as ambassadors and mediators between the government and local population.
File:1937 Hong Kong VP8.webmPlay media
Hong Kong filmed in 1937
In 1904, the United Kingdom established the world's first border and immigration control; all residents of Hong Kong were given citizenship as Citizens of United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC).
Hong Kong continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's first higher education institute. While there had been an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained unscathed. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.[72]
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translator, Clementi introduced the first ethnic Chinese, Shouson Chow, into the Executive Council as an unofficial member. Under Clementi's tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation as RAF Kai Tak and several aviation clubs. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out when the Japanese Empire expanded its territories from northeastern China into the mainland proper. To safeguard Hong Kong as a freeport, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the Crown Colony as a neutral zone.
Japanese occupation: 1941–45
Main article: Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Cenotaph in Hong Kong commemorates those who died in service in the First World War and the Second World War.[73]
As part of its military campaign in Southeast Asia during Second World War, the Japanese army moved south from Guangzhou of mainland China and attacked Hong Kong in on 8 December 1941.[74] Crossing the border at Shenzhen River on 8 December, the Battle of Hong Kong lasted for 18 days when British and Canadian forces held onto Hong Kong Island. Unable to defend against intensifying Japanese air and land bombardments, they eventually surrendered control of Hong Kong on 25 December 1941. The Governor of Hong Kong was captured and taken as a prisoner of war. This day is regarded by the locals as "Black Christmas".[75]
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese army committed atrocities against civilians and POWs, such as the St. Stephen's College massacre. Local residents also suffered widespread food shortages, limited rationing and hyper-inflation arising from the forced exchange of currency from Hong Kong dollars to Japanese military banknotes. The initial ratio of 2:1 was gradually devalued to 4:1 and ownership of Hong Kong dollars was declared illegal and punishable by harsh torture. Due to starvation and forced deportation for slave labour to mainland China, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when the United Kingdom resumed control of the colony on 2 September 1945.[76]
Resumption of British rule and industrialisation: 1945–97
Main articles: British Hong Kong, 1950s in Hong Kong, 1960s in Hong Kong, 1970s in Hong Kong, 1980s in Hong Kong, and 1990s in Hong Kong
Flag of British Hong Kong from 1959 to 1997
Hong Kong's population recovered quickly after the war, as a wave of skilled migrants from the Republic of China moved in to seek refuge from the Chinese Civil War. When the Communist Party eventually took full control of mainland China in 1949, even more skilled migrants fled across the open border for fear of persecution.[69] Many newcomers, especially those who had been based in the major port cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou, established corporations and small- to medium-sized businesses and shifted their base operations to British Hong Kong.[69] The establishment of a socialist state in China (People's Republic of China) on 1 October 1949 caused the British colonial government to reconsider Hong Kong's open border to mainland China. In 1951, a boundary zone was demarked as a buffer zone against potential military attacks from communist China. Border posts along the north of Hong Kong began operation in 1953 to regulate the movement of people and goods into and out of the territory.
Stamp with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
In the 1950s, Hong Kong became the first of the Four Asian Tiger economies under rapid industrialisation driven by textile exports, manufacturing industries and re-exports of goods to China. As the population grew, with labour costs remaining low, living standards began to rise steadily.[77] The construction of the Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme to provide shelter for the less privileged and to cope with the influx of immigrants.
Under Sir Murray MacLehose, 25th Governor of Hong Kong (1971–82), a series of reforms improved the public services, environment, housing, welfare, education and infrastructure of Hong Kong. MacLehose was British Hong Kong's longest-serving governor and, by the end of his tenure, had become one of the most popular and well-known figures in the Crown Colony. MacLehose laid the foundation for Hong Kong to establish itself as a key global city in the 1980s and early 1990s.
A sky view of Hong Kong Island
An aerial view of the northern shore of Hong Kong Island in 1986
To resolve traffic congestion and to provide a more reliable means of crossing the Victoria Harbour, a rapid transit railway system (metro), the MTR, was planned from the 1970s onwards. The Island Line (Hong Kong Island), Kwun Tong Line (Kowloon Peninsula and East Kowloon) and Tsuen Wan Line (Kowloon and urban New Territories) opened in the early 1980s.[78]
In 1983, the Hong Kong dollar left its 16:1 peg with the Pound sterling and switched to the current US-HK Dollar peg. Hong Kong's competitiveness in manufacturing gradually declined due to rising labour and property costs, as well as new development in southern China under the Open Door Policy introduced in 1978 which opened up China to foreign business. Nevertheless, towards the early 1990s, Hong Kong had established itself as a global financial centre along with London and New York City, a regional hub for logistics and freight, one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia and the world's exemplar of Laissez-faire market policy.[79]
The Hong Kong question
In 1971, the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s permanent seat on the United Nations was transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong's status as a recognised colony became terminated in 1972 under the request of PRC. Facing the uncertain future of Hong Kong and expiry of land lease of New Territories beyond 1997, Governor MacLehose raised the question in the late 1970s.
The British Nationality Act 1981 reclassified Hong Kong into a British Dependent Territory amid the reorganisation of global territories of the British Empire. All residents of Hong Kong became British Dependent Territory Citizens (BDTC). Diplomatic negotiations began with China and eventually concluded with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. Both countries agreed to transfer Hong Kong's sovereignty to China on 1 July 1997, when Hong Kong would remain autonomous as a special administrative region and be able to retain its free-market economy, British common law through the Hong Kong Basic Law, independent representation in international organisations (e.g. WTO and WHO), treaty arrangements and policy-making except foreign diplomacy and military defence.
It stipulated that Hong Kong would retain its laws and be guaranteed a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years after the transfer. The Hong Kong Basic Law, based on English law, would serve as the constitutional document after the transfer. It was ratified in 1990.[69] The expiry of the 1898 lease on the New Territories in 1997 created problems for business contracts, property leases and confidence among foreign investors.
Handover and Special Administrative Region status
Main articles: Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong and 2000s in Hong Kong
Transfer of sovereignty
Golden Bauhinia Square
On 1 July 1997, the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China took place, officially marking the end of Hong Kong's 156 years under British colonial governance. As the largest remaining colony of the United Kingdom, the loss of Hong Kong effectively represented the end of the British Empire. This transfer of sovereignty made Hong Kong the first special administrative region of China. Tung Chee-Hwa, a pro-Beijing business tycoon, was elected Hong Kong's first Chief Executive by a selected electorate of 800 in a televised programme.
Structure of government
Hong Kong's current structure of governance inherits from the British model of colonial administration set up in the 1850s. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration states that "Hong Kong should enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all areas except defence and foreign affairs" with reference to the underlying principle of one country, two systems.[note 3] This Declaration stipulates that Hong Kong maintains her capitalist economic system and guarantees the rights and freedoms of her people for at least 50 years after the 1997 handover. [note 4] Such guarantees are enshrined in the Hong Kong's Basic Law, the territory's constitutional document, which outlines the system of governance after 1997, albeit subject to interpretation by China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC).[95][96]
Hong Kong's most senior leader, Chief Executive, is elected by a committee of 1,200 selected members (600 in 1997) and nominally appointed by the Government of China. The primary pillars of government are the Executive Council, Legislative Council, civil service and Judiciary.
Policy-making is initially discussed in the Executive Council, presided by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, before passing to the Legislative Council for bill adoption. The Executive Council consists of 30 official/unofficial members appointed by the Chief Executive and one member among them acts as the convenor.[97][98]
The Legislative Council, set up in 1843, debates policies and motions before voting to adopt or rejecting bills. It has 70 members (originally 60) and 40 (originally 30) among them are directly elected by universal suffrage; the other 30 members are "functional constituencies" (indirectly) elected by a smaller electorate of corporate bodies or representatives of stipulated economic sectors as defined by the government. The Legislative Council is chaired by a president who acts as the speaker.[99][100]
In 1997, seating of the Legislative Council (also public services and election franchises) of Hong Kong modelled on the British system: Urban Council (Hong Kong and Kowloon) and District Council (New Territories and Outlying Islands). In 1999, this system has been reformed into 18 directly elected District Offices across 5 Legislative Council constituencies: Hong Kong Island (East/West), Kowloon and New Territories (East/West); the remaining outlying islands are divided across the aforementioned regions.
Hong Kong's Civil Service, created by the British colonial government, is a politically neutral body that implements government policies and provides public services. Senior civil servants are appointed based on meritocracy. The territory's police, firefighting and customs forces, as well as clerical officers across various government departments, make up the civil service.[101][102]
While I have been shooting mostly landscapes, cityscapes and infrared, shooting up close is something that I also love. While my photographic journey last year was on and off, I will be trying to be more active this time around...Happy New Year everyone!
Sony Alpha a7S ı Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA ı 35mm ı f/2.8 ı 1/60s ı ISO 125
©Rik Amar 2015. All Rights Reserved
Para escuchar: RUINAS DEL MONASTERIO
La Basílica de Santa Teresa de Jesús es un templo religioso de la villa ducal de Alba de Tormes, (Salamanca).
Templo inacabado de estilo neogótico. Fue concebida por Enrique María Repullés y Vargas para albergar los restos de Santa Teresa de Jesús y acoger a los miles de peregrinos que acuden a visitarlos. Las obras comenzaron oficialmente el 1 de mayo de 1898. Impulsó el proyecto el obispo Tomás Cámara, Durante la II República, en el año 1933, las obras se interrumpen de forma definitiva; un proyecto grandioso de traza neogótica con más de 3100 m² de extensión, naves de once metros de altura con numerosas capillas laterales. El 8 de noviembre de 2007, el obispo de Salamanca, Carlos López Hernández, firmó el acta de replanteo con el arquitecto Ricardo Pérez Rodríguez-Navas y el constructor y director de la obra Jesús Yañez, acto que daba inicio a la reanudación de las obras de la basílica, cuyo objetivo era cubrir el ábside y el presbiterio, llegando hasta el crucero. A principios del 2010 se termina esta fase de las obras y se aparca el proyecto por dificultades de presupuesto y el impacto de la crisis económica. Los trabajos realizados han permitido cerrar 1000 m² del templo
The Basilica of St. Teresa of Jesus is a religious temple of the ducal town of Alba de Tormes (Salamanca).
Unfinished Neo-Gothic temple. It was conceived by "Enrique Mary Repullés, Vargas" to house the remains of St. Teresa and welcome thousands of pilgrims who come to visit them. Work officially began on May 1, 1898. Bishop pushed the project Thomas House, during the Second Republic, in 1933, the works are interrupted permanently; a grand neo-Gothic project draws more than 3100 m long, ships from eleven meters high with numerous side chapels. The November 8, 2007, the bishop of Salamanca, Carlos Lopez Hernandez, signed the act of staking with the architect Ricardo Pérez Rodríguez-Navas and builder and director of the play Jesus Yanez, an act that was home to the resumption of work the basilica, whose aim was to cover the apse and the presbytery, reaching the cruise. In early 2010 this phase of work is completed and the project is parked budget difficulties and the impact of the economic crisis. The work has allowed us to close 1000 m² Temple
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to discuss the formal resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, in the Oval Office, July 30, 2013. To the President's left are, Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat and Mohammed Shtayyeh. To the Vice President's right are Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Yitzhak Molho. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.
Fly on your way, like an eagle.
Fly as high as the sun.
On your way, like an eagle.
Fly and touch the sun.
In Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspected that Icarus and Daedalus had revealed the labyrinth's secrets and imprisoned them either in a large tower overlooking the ocean or in the labyrinth itself, depending upon the account. Icarus and Daedalus escaped using wings Daedalus constructed from birds’ molted feathers, threads from blankets, the leather straps from their sandals, and beeswax. Before escaping, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too low or the water would soak the feathers and not to fly too close to the sun or the heat would melt the wax. Icarus ignored Daedalus' instructions not to fly too close to the sun, causing the beeswax in his wings to melt. Icarus fell from the sky, plunged into the sea, and drowned. The myth gave rise to the idiom, "fly too close to the sun."
The aircraft here is an ARV Super2 (Air Recreational Vehicle) which is a British two-seat light aircraft with strut-braced shoulder wings and tricycle landing gear. Designed by Bruce Giddings, the Super2 was available either factory-built or as a kit. It was intended to be both a cost-effective trainer and an affordable aircraft for private owners. Later called the "Opus".
About 35 aircraft were produced in the 1980s before the Isle of Wight-based company went into liquidation. Subsequently, there have been a number of attempts to restart production, all unsuccessful, of which the most recent was by Opus Aircraft. In November 2013, Opus Aircraft announced that its assets had been auctioned off successfully, adding: "We hope to see our plans continued and to see the all-aluminium plane flying by 2015." Since 2015, little has been heard of the ARV and no resumption of production has occurred.
Just prior to the resumption of the fledgling Te Huia passenger rail service that had been suspended due to Covid travel restrictions, some re-familiarisation runs were held. Two locomotives are used to facilitate quick reversals in its normal service pattern as well as in this instance at Te Awamutu and Hamilton. The driving control car cabs are not considered safe by the rail unions and are only used occasionally for shunting purposes within depot limits.
Here we see a morning run as it speeds through Ohaupo.
Great Market Hall:
It is located at the end of the pedestrian shopping street Váci utca and on the Pest side of the Liberty bridge at Fővám square.
The building was designed and built by Samu Pecz (a Hungarian architect) around 1897. the roof is covered with decorative Zsolnay tiles.
During the World Wars it was extensively damaged and closed for some years. Throughout the 1990s restoration works brought back the market to its ancient splendour. The building was awarded with FIABCI Prix d’Excellence in 1999. The Central Market Hall is one of the most popular tourist attractions of the city.
The Central Market Hall (officially called 'Központi Vásárcsarnok' in Hungarian) is the largest indoor market in Budapest.
There are four other markets like this in Budapest, all built in the same style. Alll five buildings opened on the same day, February 15th 1897.
The Zsolnay Tiled Roof:
The Zsolnay factory was established by Miklós Zsolnay (1800–1880) in Pécs, Hungary, to produce stoneware and other ceramics in 1853. In 1863, his son, Vilmos Zsolnay (1828–1900) joined the company and became its manager and director after several years. He led the factory to worldwide recognition by demonstrating its innovative products at world fairs and international exhibitions, including the 1873 World Fair in Vienna and the 1878 World Fair in Paris, where Zsolnay received a Grand Prix. In 1893, Zsolnay introduced porcelain pieces made of eosin. Tádé Sikorski (1852–1940) married Vilmos’ daughter Júlia and became the chief designer. In 1900 Vilmos’ son Miklós took over. Frost-resisting Zsolnay building decorations were used in numerous buildings specifically during the art nouveau movement. By 1914, Zsolnay was the largest company in Austro-Hungary.
During World War I production of pottery and building materials were curtailed, and the factory produced was used military use. After World War I the fortunes of the factory declined due to the Serbian occupation, loss of markets, and difficulty to secure raw materials. After the depression, conditions improved.
During World War II Budapest production site was bombed. With the rule of communism the factory was nationalized in 1948. Eventually, the Zsolnay name was dropped. The Pécsi Porcelángyár (Pécs Porcelain Factory) was used primarily to produce common tableware goods. However, in 1982 with the resumption of a market economy, the company regained its operational independence, was reorganized, and the Zsolnay name returned.
In 1991, the Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture became a stock company, and five years later it was bought by a private equity enterprise. In September 2008 a contract was concluded with the Swedish company, IKEA.
A short 255 speeds west at Curran, Illinois just after Ford announced the resumption of F150 and Transit van production at their Kansas City assembly plant. The plant had been idled for all of May due to the computer chip shortage.
NS 4260 - AC44C6M
Curran, Illinois
June 6, 2021
First day of seasonal Condor service in 2024, as Condor arrives at MSP in front of a full Aircraft Viewing Area.
A339 / D-ANRD / CFG2010 (FRA-MSP) May 17, 2024
With the resumption of Air Canada flights into Edinburgh, it also presents a different Dreamliner operator.
On March 24th, nearly 2 months after my last prior upload to Flickr on January 28th subsequent to a Zoom event, I had the opportunity to meet the Editor of the St. Louis Gender Foundation’s newsletter, the Gazette, for an inspection visit of a restaurant with outdoor seating as a potential venue for the resumption in April of the Gender Foundation’s monthly luncheon gatherings. Due to local pandemic restrictions, the last organized luncheon was held back in October 2020.
This photo was captured soon after getting dressed and just prior to my departure to join our newsletter editor at the restaurant for lunch.
A statue of native Kentuckian Abraham Lincoln stands underneath the dome of the Kentucky State Building in Frankfort.
Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln speech, 1858:
"What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, the guns of our war steamers, or the strength our gallant and disciplined army? These are not our reliance against a resumption of tyranny in our fair land. All of those may be turned against our liberties, without making us weaker or stronger for the struggle. Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises."
– Source: Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois (11 September 1858); quoted in Lincoln, Abraham; Mario Matthew Cuomo, Harold Holzer, G. S. Boritt, Lincoln on Democracy (Fordham University Press, September 1, 2004), 128.
On 30 July 2020, 230003 arrives at Bedford on crew-training, prior to resumption of service to Bletchley. (This had been suspended since March owing to COVID-19 and replaced with buses.)
Sunday 27th October saw Greater Anglia rail services between Broxbourne and Stansted Airport/Audley End replaced by road transport until 0930.
Trustybus Scania L94UB/Wright Solar YN05WKD is seen motioning along Church Road in Stansted Mountfitchet working the final northbound service to Stansted Airport before resumption of the train service 27/10/19
Porthmadog Harbour railway station, the terminus of both the Ffestiniog Railway and Welsh Highland Railway, Porthmadog, Gwynedd, North Wales.
The Station is the head office and operational headquarters of the Festiniog Railway Company, marketed as Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways.
The station is built at the western end of the Cob, the great embankment across the Traeth Mawr, on a peninsula from Ynys Madoc constructed in 1842 to form a slate wharf and a harbour wall. It was opened for passenger service on 6 January 1865. Welsh Highland Railway trains served the station from 1923, but these ceased running in 1936.
The station was closed to passengers on 15 September 1939, although slate trains continued operating through the Second World War until 1946. The buildings continued in use as the principal offices of the Festiniog Railway Company and the home of Manager (Mr Robert Evans) including throughout the years of almost total closure from 1 August 1946 to 24 September 1954. The station reopened for passengers on 23 July 1955. Welsh Highland Railway services were restored in 2011.
The present stone buildings, replacing earlier wooden buildings dismantled and reused elsewhere on the railway, date from 1878/79 and the goods shed was added in 1880. They were linked to the former goods shed by way of a major extension in 1975. Passenger facilities include a booking and enquiry office, a large tourist and hobby shop and a large cafeteria with licensed bar. The erection of the platform awning was completed in 1988.
With the resumption of services in 1955, all traffic on the line has been controlled from an office in Harbour station, known simply as "Control". Except for some early morning and late-night movements by works trains, this office is manned constantly when passenger-carrying services are in operation. Its remit was expanded in 1997 with the commencement of public services on the Welsh Highland Railway between Caernarfon and Dinas and its subsequent expansion south towards Porthmadog.
Information source
The Merivale Bridge is a double track railway bridge crossing the Brisbane River. It crosses the Milton Reach of the river, slightly to the west of the William Jolly Bridge. Exclusively a railway crossing, it is located between the stations of South Brisbane and Roma Street, linking the northern and southern elements of the Queensland Rail City network. The Merivale Bridge is the only inner-city rail crossing in Brisbane. By 2016 it was expected to be over capacity, leading the Queensland Government to announce the Cross River Rail project.
The Merivale Bridge opened on 18 November 1978 by Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. At the opening, the then Premier, described the occasion as "the start of the second stage in the history of Queensland Railways".
It formed a more direct route into the city for Brisbane's southern system suburban trains than the existing route via Corinda. It also carries the standard gauge line from New South Wales. It was designed by Cameron McNamara Pty Ltd (consulting engineers) and was fabricated and erected by Transfield.
The bridge has been recognised with a number of awards. In 1980 it was named the most outstanding engineering project from the Association of Consulting Engineers of Australia. Judges appreciated the combination of aesthetics and functionality. It also won the 1979 Steel Award.
It had taken almost a century to get Brisbane's north and south rail networks joined by a bridge over the Brisbane River. As far back as 1885, the then Engineer-in-Chief for the Southern Division Railways arranged for the trial rail survey being done in South Brisbane to be extended across the river to the main western line near Countess Street.
In 1889, he arranged to have levels taken for alternative routes to Roma Street tunnel via Herschel Street, and to Central station via a direct route between Turbot and Ann Streets. The Herschel Street route was recommended for adoption, and plans subsequently prepared. However the government decided not to proceed and requested an alternative survey, but that too was held over.
Worried at losing trade to central city businesses, the merchants of South Brisbane fought against the bridge. In 1913, the then Premier requested that plans for a direct route through Ann Street to Albert Square (now King George Square) be put in hand. In 1919, the matter was raised again, but after further pressure from antilobbyists, was once more allowed to lapse.
In 1950, the issue was raised in connection with proposals to electrify the Brisbane suburban network. Surveys and plans were finalised in 1954, and in 1955 the State Government announced its decision to proceed with the construction and initiated land resumptions. However, financial constraints again caused a deferment.
Source: The Merivale Rail Bridge by J. Snelling, Engineers Australia, ABC, Living History of Brisbane by Janet Hogan 1982, Network Published by the Railways of Australia Committee February, 1979 pp7-11.
After losing the J15 at Weybourne on the outward trip the lone Rat attacks the steep climb up to the summit with the 14.03 Holt - Sheringham following the resumption of services after the lineside fire.
There was a large shuffle of vehicles within Arriva's Kent Thameside and Kent & Surrey operation during May 2020 following the resumption of services after the COVID-19 lockdown.
With social distancing being implemented and severely restricting the capacity of buses as well as the requirement that all vehicles used have to be fitted with assault screens some larger vehicles have been swapped for smaller vehicles. Northfleet received four E400s from Maidstone sending four StreetLites to Southend, Southend sent four E400 MMCs to Gillingham which in turn also received some E400s from Maidstone while the B7s were out of service being fitted with assault screens. All vehicles were returned to their home garages at the end of June 2020 - although the four Enviro 400s moved from Northfleet to Gillingham.
Pictured here during its final week on-loan from Northfleet to Southend and wearing the latest Sapphire livery branded for routes 480 & 490, Arriva Kent Thameside 4331 SK68 TXC is seen here on Ness Road, North Shoebury whilst working a westbound route 7 to Rayleigh Station. Wednesday 24th June 2020.
Wrightbus StreetLite DF 11.3m
But you always have to walk the darkest depths before it.
Queensland Railways opened its line between South Brisbane and Southport (Gold Coast) on 25 January 1889. A branch line from Ernest Junction inland of Southport and south to Nerang opened on 15 July 1889 and eventually extended to Coolangatta (Qld) and Tweed Heads, just across the border into New South Wales on 14 September 1903. Southport station was end on to what is the Gold Coast Highway today, just across the road from the sea slightly north of the Southport central business district.
Just east of Ernest Junction, the railway burrowed through a hill with what is known as the Ernest Junction tunnel. This tunnel was not long and slightly curved to the north at its western (Ernest Junction) end - standing at either end you can see reflected light from the other end.
By the early 1960’s, despite the Gold Coast just commencing its growth spurt, Queensland Railways was in the middle of a program of closures of uneconomic lines. The section from Nerang to Tweed Heads closed on 1 July 1961, from Ernest Junction to Nerang on 1 May 1964 and the “main line” from Beenleigh on the southern outskirts of greater Brisbane to the sea at Southport, through Ernest Junction on 1 July 1964.
As Brian Webber says in his wonderful book “Exploring Queensland Railways - South from Brisbane”, “ To many people, it appeared that this was not a railway that had outlived its usefulness, rather it was a railway crying out for upgrading. Many believed there was a future for the line using diesel locomotives and modern rail cars, the latter already in use. A suspicion was fueled that the Southport closure had more to do with assisting road transport by removing a competitor and road tax than with a genuine need to reduce wasteful expenditure on the railway”.
Hmmm. a very common story the world over.
Of course, there was light at the end of the tunnel, if not this one.
By 2018, the population of the Gold Coast (City Council area) was nearing 600,000, making it Australia’s largest regional city and only beaten by the five major mainland capital cities in size. In time, as well as the M1 motorway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast which is now a very busy four lanes each way with planning now under way for a complete duplication of the road on yet another alignment (M1- 2), the railway has been rebuilt to Helensvale (26 February 1996), Nerang (16 December 1997), Robina (31 May 1998) and Varsity Lakes or what was virtually West Burleigh (13 December 2009). There are plans, now very slow at progressing to extend it as far as the Gold Coast Airport at what would have been about the old Tugun station, not all that far from its original terminus, quite close to the sea. The modern railway does not yet make it to the sea, the cost of resumptions of land on this extremely valuable strip of coastal land far too expensive and disruptive to consider. So the railway stays inland a bit, it’s all developed suburbia now anyway on generally what was the original alignment from Ernest Junction south towards Coolangatta and Tweed Heads. Obviously the roads have become saturated and at times, the current electric trains north to Brisbane so overcrowded, commuters have dubbed them the Calcutta Express.
In addition, light rail now operates from Helensvale Station, north-west of Southport to Broadbeach along the coastal strip with plans now approved for an extension south to Burleigh Heads.
You can walk through Ernest Junction tunnel today from the eastern portal to the west where there are some station name boards and historical signs telling the story of the line and the tunnel. It is looked after by a local group known as The Friends of the Ernest Junction Tunnel. And don’t worry, if you choose to walk through, it’s easy going and no bats. I promise!
One last comment about these railways. Like a number around the world, for various reasons their fame and the love for them have outshone the average railway and train journey. In the years when car travel and ownership was in its infancy, and within living memory of some (just), from the post war years, the line conveyed passengers to the exotic location of the Gold Coast, a land of sunshine and beautiful beaches, a place for a honeymoon, a holiday or just a fun weekend away from the grind of city life. And so it took on a special feeling all of its own, like no other. And it was likewise for railway enthusiasts, who not only got caught up in that getting away from it all feeling, but who rode on a line that did things its own way, ran diminutive locomotives, often in pairs, special cars and “fast” expresses to the Gold Coast! Even before it was called the Gold Coast!
And as you steamed through that tunnel and burst into light of day, you knew that you were only a few miles and minutes from the end of the line, and another world of salt water, sunshine and sand between your toes and even just a bit of innocent naughtiness!
Ernest Junction Tunnel, Southport, Queensland