One Country Two Systems approach

➖ It means that the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions, both former colonies, can have different economic and political systems from that of mainland China, while being part of the People’s Republic of China.

➖ The idea of two systems in one country resurfaced when Beijing started talks with Britain and Portugal, who were running Hong Kong and Macau, respectively.

➖ The British had taken control of Hong Kong in 1842 after the First Opium War.

➖ In 1898, the British government and the Qing dynasty of China signed the Second Convention of Peking, which allowed the British to take control of the islands surrounding Hong Kong, known as New Territories, on lease for 99 years.

➖ London promised Peking that the islands would be retuned to China after the expiry of the lease, in 1997.

➖ Macau, on the other side, had been ruled by the Portuguese from 1557. They started withdrawing troops in the mid-1970s.

➖ Hong Kong returned to Chinese control on July 1, 1997, and Macau’s sovereignty was transferred on December 20, 1999. Both regions became Special Administrative Regions of China.

➖ The regions would have their own currencies, economic and legal systems, but defence and diplomacy would be decided by Beijing.