After the transfer of sovereignty, Hong Kong faced a series of problems, both political and economical. The government carried out a series of reforms to adopt a more modern ideology and democracy, but faced many difficulties. Despite a transfer of power to China, the citizens participate in how their government is run, and the region maintains some degree of autonomy. Media in Hong Kong has not come under state control, though many citizens believe the media practices self-censorship. The economy would also begin the period with a rise in unemployment rate from 2.2% in 1997 to 4.4% in 2000, and 7.9% in 2003. The economy had gradually recovered since 2004 and the overall unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in 2008, however the overall figure rose again to 5.4% in 2009 due to the global economic downturn in the last quarter of 2008.[1]
In 2003, the government proposed an anti-subversion law titled Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. Many people feared that the proposal would erode freedom of press, religion, and association. The unpopularity of Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa and his administration, combined with the dissatisfaction about economy recession and the pandemic control, prompted an estimated 500,000 - 1,000,000 people to march on 1 July 2003, making it the largest since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.[2][3] The proposal fell after the several pro-government lawmakers withdrew their support to pass the bill. The resignation of Liberal Party chief James Tien from the Executive Council on 6 July 2003 caused the eventual withdrawal of the legislation and the break-up of the "ruling alliance" of the Chief Executive. The security secretary, Regina Ip, who was heavily criticised for her arrogant and condescending handling of the proposed law, was forced to resign.[4]
Other marches
For the first time in Hong Kong's history, on 1 July 2006, the People's Liberation Army marched through the city. The display was one of power and symbolism staged by 19 pro-Beijing groups. The march was part of a celebration demonstration that began in Victoria Park.[5]
Many calls were made for the resignation of Tung Chee-hwa, a leader who was blessed by the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin. Tung remained in the office until 10 March 2005, 20 months after the march against Article 23. Hong Kong's Basic Law permitted Tung to serve another 3 years, many[who?] suspected Beijing forced him to resign due to widespread public disapproval and his perceived lacklustre leadership. The 2005 election filled the seat with Donald Tsang who was the No. 2 ranking official, Chief Secretary, and career civil servant during British colonial rule.
Media control in Hong Kong
A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Journalists Association found that 58.4% of journalists think press freedom in HK has deteriorated since the handover, mainly as a result of self-censorship and government's tighter grip on information flow.[6] Direct Internet censorship in Hong Kong has not been a major issue. In 2009 HK was still ranked 48 by the international Press Freedom Index.[7] This is still far ahead of the People's Republic of China. Other self-censorship events include the 2009 Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority forum where major station TVB was labeled as CCTVB with censored news like the mainland's CCTV.[8] The local Citizens' Radio was raided by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) after being deemed illegal.[9]
At the end of the 2000s, the International Commerce Centre (ICC), at 484 m (1,588 ft) high, was the tallest building in Hong Kong. The tallest building prior to the ICC was the Two International Finance Centre (2 IFC), at 415 m (1,362 ft) high, completed in 2003. Prior to that, the tallest building in Hong Kong was the Central Plaza since 1992, with a height of 374 m (1,227 ft).
In 2000, the population of Hong Kong was 6,900,000.[14] The population in the summer of 2006 was 6,994,500, though the majority of population increase is mostly contributed via immigration from mainland citizens. Also in 2006, the birth rate of 7.29 is ranked lowest among the list of countries surveyed by the CIA.[15] Towards the end of the decade, Hong Kong's population had slowed further to a growth of 0.5% in 2009 with the city having a total population of 7,055,071 as of 2009.[16] Other new immigration topics include the Right of abode issue, Quality Migrant Admission Scheme or the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme.[17]
The passing of idol legends like Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui rocked the cantopop industry. Their deaths in the early 2000s further sank the people's morale. The 2008 Edison Chen photo scandal was also dubbed Asia's biggest scandal.[18] Other cultural phenomenon include the rise of young female Liang mou models.
Beginning in 2008, the Mong Kok acid attacks began a series of acid throwing incidents from tall buildings. The government also stepped up effort against many incidents of throwing any random objects out of skyscraper windows and roofs. The housing department began installing closed-circuit television systems to monitor these throwing activities.[22] Other incident involve the creation of a mass-suicide Facebook group called "I want to practise suicide" (我要(練習)自殺). The group was shut down before urging 190 members to kill themselves.[23][24]
Health
Flu pandemics
Health officials made the Bird Flu crisis a top priority beginning in 1997. To control the spread of the virus, millions of chickens were slaughtered in an extreme measure to prevent the global spread of the H5N1 virus. The crisis would lead to a series of panic that continue well into the 2000s. The volume consumption of poultry was significantly reduced for a period. Beginning in 1997, over 1 million birds were slaughtered, followed by 860,000 in 2002. Another batch of 300,000 and 200,000 chickens in 5 farms in Kam TinNew Territories were also included in the quarantine process.[25]
China also had series of outbreaks, and the pandemic have left both regions strained in trade relationships.[26] Controversies of the handling of the crisis has been criticised by radio programmes, TVs and newspapers. Both Hong Kong and China were the center of international attention during the early 2000s. Specifically, the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau were constantly bombarded with questions about the effectiveness in the decision to slaughter in large numbers. Wild dogs, rats and cats preying on bags of uncollected dead poultry also made the whole procedure a public relations disaster for the government.[27] In 2009 a Swine flu pandemics followed, but citizens were more prepared this time.
SARS outbreak
The first suspected case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was recorded in February, 2003. Hong Kong remained on the World Health Organization's list of affected areas until 23 June 2003. The city was gripped by fear of contagion and panic throughout the epidemic. Children stayed home, while schools were halted. Economic activities were greatly disrupted. Restaurants were empty, and tourism ground to a halt. The epidemic infected more than 1,700 people and claimed 299 lives.[28] As director general of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan faced some tough issues.