During the nineteenth century Britain concluded three treaties with the then Chinese Government relating to Hong Kong:

• the Treaty of Nanking, signed in 1842 under which Hong Kong Island was ceded in perpetuity;

• the Convention of Peking in 1860 under which the southern part of the Kowloon peninsula and Stonecutters Island were ceded in perpetuity;

• the Convention of 1898 under which the New Territories (comprising 92 per cent of the total land area of the territory) were leased to Britain for 99 years from July 1st 1898.

In the twentieth century, the Chinese Government consistently took the view that the whole of Hong Kong was Chinese territory, despite the Treaty of Nanking. Its position for many years was that the question of Hong Kong came into the category of unequal treaties left over from history: that it should be settled peacefully through negotiations when conditions were ripe; and that pending a settlement the status quo should be maintained. It made this position clear in a letter to the United Nations in 1972. Negotiations between Britain and China were conducted in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

On September 26th, 1984 representatives of the Governments of the United Kingdom and of the People's Republic of China initialed the draft text of an agreement on the future of Hong Kong. It was then published and the People of Hong Kong were provided with the opportunity to comment.

In 1985, the British Government published a White Paper on Nationality covering the prospective nationalities of various people’s of different origin who resided in Hong Kong and the New Territories. Many were given no nationality coverage.

As we all know, Hong Kong and the New Territories were given over to the control of the People’s Republic of China on July 1st 1997.

The new $20-billion airport at Chep Lap Kok, off Lantau Island, was mooted in 1989 and, after some initial opposition from the People's Republic of China, was opened In April 1998.
This story deals with the expectations of certain residents of Hong Kong with different backgrounds as they approached the date when Hong Kong and the New Territories were due to be given over to the control of the People’s Republic of China.

The story starts in 1985 and revisits the scene in 1991, 1995 and 1997. The story and the principal characters are fiction but the story is set within the history of the times.

“The Returning … a novel," John Graham,To be published.

Contact John Graham fior pre-publication information and samples.