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    Hong Kong, What If...?
    Hong Kong, What If...?
    Hong Kong, What If...?
    Ebook92 pages58 minutes

    Hong Kong, What If...?

    By Ken Albertsen

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    About this ebook

    If just one or two small things had transpired differently, prior to the 1997 hand-over, Hong Kong would likely still be a British colony or quite possibly an independent state, like Singapore. Strange as it sounds, Chinese officialdom wasn't cognizant of the treaty describing the hand-over - until British officials informed them in 1979. Chinese officialdom were unawares, because of the cavalcade of tumultuous events which took place in China during the 20th Century. The last treaty signed, by British and Chinese officials, actually specified that the most important part of the colony (delineated by 'Boundary Road') remain a member of the British commonwealth 'in perpetuity.'

    The first half of the book summarizes the actual true-life history of China, from the first Portuguese and British trading ships of the 16th century, up until the 1997 hand-over of Hong Kong. The second half of the Hong Kong book offers a fictional scenario of what might have happened if just one or two lead-up incidents had been slightly altered. Hong Kong island and Kowloon could well have remained British, according to signed treaties.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKen Albertsen
    Release dateFeb 14, 2018
    ISBN9781879338159
    Hong Kong, What If...?
    Author

    Ken Albertsen

    Ken is a .westward-moving guy. Started out in Denmark in 1952, then westward to Washington DC three years later. At age 22, Ken moved westward to northern California where he farmsteaded for 25 years. Then westward again at age age 47 to farmstead in northern Thailand. 20 years hence, and Ken is like whirled peas (world peace) leaving Thailand and landing on his feet, but where? Ken has over a dozen books showcased online - on as many topics, ranging from Tibetan Buddhism (Life Story of Milarepa) to diet (Fasting for Health and Highness), to history (Hong Kong, What if ....?) with a couple of sci-fi stories thrown in for good measure (Robon Take-Over and Mastodons on Mars). Additionally, Ken has written a novel (Lali's Passage), a humorous book (Buddha, Jesus and the Hippie), plus two memoirs. One is his auto-bio from age zero to 22 (C.I.A. Brat) and the most recent was written after serving time in a Thai prison on false charges (1 Pill = 28 Years). Ken will next release his first children's book titled: "Mabalo's Balloon." plus a crossword puzzle book and a dictionary of idioms. Ken has narrated two audio books, the latest: Himalayan Adventures features readings from the diaries of seven great explorers of the Himalayan region, five of whom did their explorations during the 19th century. Adventure1.com.

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      Book preview

      Hong Kong, What If...? - Ken Albertsen

      Hong Kong, What if...?

      written by Ken Albertsen

      Copyright 2012 by Adventure1 Publications

      ISBN 9781879338159

      Distributed by Smashwords

      This ebook is available for the person who purchased it. This ebook should not be copied or re-sold or given away to others. Exception: small portions of this book may be quoted in other venues, if it's in regard to reviews or within a teaching context. If you would like to share this book with others, please arrange for the purchase additional copies, accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author. Carpenters, lawyers, accountants and chefs get paid for the hours they devote to their professions, ....so too should authors. It is hoped you enjoy this book. Reviews are appreciated, thanks.

      Table of Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter 1. Actual Scenario Leading up to the Hand-Over of Hong Kong to China

      Chapter 2. Portuguese and British get started on Trade with China

      Chapter 3. First and Second Opium Wars - 1838 to 1862

      Chapter 4. Back to 1979

      Chapter 5. One Plausible Scenario, If Britain Had Insisted on Sticking With the Treaty

      Chapter 6. 1986, eleven years until proposed hand-over

      Chapter 7. Fast forward to; October, 1989, eight years until proposed hand-over.

      Chapter 8. January, 1990 - seven years until proposed hand-over

      Chapter 9. Summer 1995

      Other Books by Ken Albertsen

      About the Author

      Prologue

      Herein are two scenarios which tell about the transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997. The first scenario is the actual true-life scenario and the main historical events in China for the 400 years preceding the hand-over. The second scenario, described later in the text, tells a story of what might have happened if just one or two small things had differed from the true-life scenario, in the lead up to the 1997 handover.

      Chapter 1. Actual Scenario Leading up to the Hand-Over of Hong Kong to China

      - including historically relevant prior events in China, since the 16th Century, which led to the creation of Hong Kong as a City-State.

      The actual hand-over was kicked in to gear when then-governor of Hong Kong, Mr. Murrey Maclehose, met with the Chinese premier Deng. The year was 1979, and was Maclehose's first official meeting in China. At a social function, when Maclehose broached the subject of a somewhat impending transfer of Hong Kong territory to China, Premier Deng appeared surprised, as if being broadsided with news that China would magically gain valuable property, 19 years hence, with just a ceremonial hand-over. The scenario can possibly be explained by the flood of historical events which shook China, from the time of the first British involvement with Hong Kong, on through and in to the 20th century. Though there may have been some within China who were cognizant of the impending handover, yet the vast majority were just not up to snuff on the their history. That odd fact becomes more understandable, when seen in the perspective of preceding events.

      Let's turn the pages back on China's contemporary history, in order to get a better perspective of the events which saw a small rocky wind-swept island with just a thousand struggling fishing families - becoming a part of the British Commonwealth, and awhile later, one of the most prosperous cities in the world.

      In the decade between 1966 and 1976, a couple years prior to the fateful meeting in Beijing between Governor Maclehose and his Chinese counterpart, China had been tormented by sustained riotous behavior. Within every city, and on in to the provinces, young Chinese men and women calling themselves 'Red Guards' had gone witch hunting for intellectuals. Anyone associated with history, culture or higher learning, was hounded or rounded up. Penalties for being a University professor might be public humiliation at best, or murder. Chairman Mao and his wife were the prime inciters of the mayhem and mass cruelty, though even Mao probably wished he could put the genie back in the bottle when he saw, years later, how much mayhem was going on in his name.

      Even far reaches of Tibet were not spared. Centuries old works of art were destroyed in seconds, and monks were permanently run out of monasteries. Some of the destruction was carried out by monks with guns pointed at their heads by 'Red Guards.' One of Chairman Mao's oft repeated quotes from his Little Red Book, was; The sign of a true revolutionary is his desire to kill. He also forbade police from interfering in the Red Guards' mayhem. As if things couldn't digress further, Mao's wife, Jiang Quing, incited some Red Guard factions to storm Chinese military barracks and steal weapons. In lieu of that, it would have been an opportune time for a foreign country to have invaded, as China's military defenses were compromised. Yet, what country would have wanted to take over China at a time of such extreme turmoil?

      Twenty some years before the 'Cultural Revolution,' China experienced two full body slams concurrently. In 1937, Japan attacked northeastern China, in what became known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. The other was an internal Chinese civil war which had been going on for over a decade.

      The Sino-Japanese conflict wound up being the largest war in Asia during the 20th century, in terms of casualties and destruction. The other major conflict, the civil war between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC), was for the full control of China. The KMT was initially guided by Sun Yat Sen and later by Chiang Kai-Shek. Though the civil war dragged on, both sides chose to coordinate their militias somewhat,

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