How Britain handed Hong Kong to China in 1997 — and what followed under Tung Chee-hwa

Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first Chief Executive after the territory was handed back from British to Chinese rule, has died aged 89. His office said he died peacefully on September 8, in the presence of family members. He served as Hong Kong’s leader from July 1997 until his resignation in March 2005.

Former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa attends the funeral of Cheng Yu-tung, founder of Hong Kong property group New World Development, in Hong Kong, China October 13, 2016. (REUTERS)

Tung took charge at a pivotal moment: Hong Kong had just ended more than 150 years of British colonial rule and entered a new constitutional arrangement under Chinese sovereignty. His tenure became a test of how the territory’s promised autonomy would work in practice, amid an Asian financial crisis, disease outbreaks, economic difficulties and growing demands for greater democracy.