99 Year Lease

In 1898, Great Britain leased the largest part of Hong Kong from China for ninety-nine years and added to the two sections that they held in perpetuity. In 1980, the two countries began negotiations for the return of all of Hong Kong back to China. Great Britain wanted another ninety-nine-year lease. The People’s Republic of China would only accept the return of all of Hong Kong. In the negotiations that followed, China prevailed, and it was agreed that all of Hong Kong would be returned to China. Hong Kong and PRC transition teams had to be created in order to plan for the transition. A UN team was also created to mediate any roadblocks. Office space and housing had to be found for all the personnel. Great Britain felt defeated and demoralized. They wanted to leave a legacy that would last forever before they left. They decided to build the biggest, most modern, most efficient airport ever built as their legacy, even though there were many objections. The biggest drawback was the airport must be completed by June 30, 1997, an impossible task. Even though a site for the airport still had to be selected and large amounts of money had to be raised and large numbers of labor and materials had to be brought in, British and Hong Kong governments pulled out all the stops, and they would do everything in their power to have the airport completed on time. Unknown to anyone on the project, a group of wealthy Hong Kong businessmen was against the handover. They planned to do everything in their power to prevent the return of Hong Kong to China, including disrupting the airport project.