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The2000s in Hong Kong began a new millennium under thePeople's Republic of China (PRC).
After thetransfer 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 modernideology anddemocracy, 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 ofautonomy. Media inHong Kong has not come under state control, though many citizens believe the media practicesself-censorship. The economy would also begin the period with a rise inunemployment 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]
The two major political camps of the decade are thePro-Beijing camp and thePro-democracy camp.
In 2003, the government proposed an anti-subversion law titledArticle 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 ExecutiveTung 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 tomarch on 1 July 2003, making it the largest since theTiananmen Square protests of 1989.[2][3] The proposal fell after the several pro-government lawmakers withdrew their support to pass the bill. The resignation ofLiberal Party chiefJames Tien from theExecutive 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]
For the first time in Hong Kong's history, on 1 July 2006, thePeople'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 inVictoria Park.[5]
Many calls were made for the resignation ofTung Chee-hwa, a leader who was blessed by theChinese 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?] suspectedBeijing forced him to resign due to widespread public disapproval and his perceived lacklustre leadership. The2005 election filled the seat withDonald Tsang who was the No. 2 ranking official, Chief Secretary, and career civil servant during British colonial rule.
A survey conducted by theHong Kong Journalists Association found that 58.4% of journalists think press freedom in HK has deteriorated since the handover, mainly as a result ofself-censorship and government's tighter grip on information flow.[6] DirectInternet censorship in Hong Kong has not been a major issue. In 2009 HK was still ranked 48 by the internationalPress 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 stationTVB was labeled as CCTVB with censored news like the mainland'sCCTV.[8] The localCitizens' Radio was raided by theOffice of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) after being deemed illegal.[9]
The1997 Asian financial crisis caused a deflationary period that spanned 6 years into July 2004.[10] The2008 financial crisis damaged the financial well-being of the SAR's financial sector. Thebankruptcy of Lehman Brothers affected the territory greatly.Joseph Yam, the Chief Executive of theHong Kong Monetary Authority who was the highest paid central banker in the world resigned in 2009.[11][12] Traditionally,HK dollar is pegged against theUS dollar. Questions have come up on whether HK should peg to theChinese yuan since it is integrated to China economically. But since the yuan is not fullyconvertible, a peg to the yuan would cause disruptions.[13]
At the end of the 2000s, theInternational 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 theTwo 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 theCentral Plaza since 1992, with a height of 374 m (1,227 ft).
Many newinfrastructure projects had been completed throughout the territory during the 2000s. Examples of those infrastructures includes: For Railway - the completion ofMTRTseung Kwan O line in 2002,KCRWest Rail in 2003, KCRMa On Shan Rail in 2004, MTRDisneyland Resort line in 2005, the extension of theAirport Express toAsiaWorld–Expo in 2005, KCRLok Ma Chau Spur Line in 2007, and MTRKowloon Southern Link betweenEast Rail line andWest Rail line fromHung Hom station toNam Cheong station viaEast Tsim Sha Tsui station andAustin station in 2009. For major bridges and tunnels - the completion ofDiscovery Bay Tunnel in 2000,Nam Wan Tunnel in 2007, Deep Bay Bridge (Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Corridor) in 2007,Eagle's Nest Tunnel andSha Tin Heights Tunnel in 2008, andStonecutters Bridge in 2009.
Other major infrastructures includes the opening of theHong Kong Disneyland in 2005, which was the fifthDisneyland opened in the world and the second opened in Asia after theTokyo Disneyland, and the completion of theNgong Ping 360 in 2006, which was agondola lift system that connectsTung Chung New Town andNgong Ping Market.
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 frommainland citizens. Also in 2006, thebirth rate of 7.29 is ranked lowest among the list of countries surveyed by theCIA.[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 newimmigration topics include theRight of abode issue,Quality Migrant Admission Scheme or the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme.[17]
The passing of idol legends likeLeslie Cheung andAnita Mui rocked thecantopop industry. Their deaths in the early 2000s further sank the people's morale. The 2008Edison Chen photo scandal was also dubbed Asia's biggest scandal.[18] Other cultural phenomenon include the rise of young femaleLiang mou models.
The HK government and entertainment industry pursued a number of major charities in the decade. The1:99 Concert was held for theSARS outbreak. In early 2005, a major relief campaign concert was held for the victims of the neighbouring2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.[19][20] This was followed by one of the largest assembly of celebrities in the territory in theArtistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign for the2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2009, theArtistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign was held forTyphoon Morakot in Taiwan.
Hong Kong was the site for the2008 Olympics andparalympics Equestrian events. The events were held at theHong Kong Sports Institute inFo Tan,Sha Tin. Thetorch relay alsopassed through both the Special administrative regions of HK and Macau. Various stars and celebrities were also present at theopening ceremonies inBeijing. At the end of 2009, HK also held its first everEast Asian Games. It opened up with a performance on the water ofVictoria Harbour.[21]
Beginning in 2008, theMong Kok acid attacks began a series ofacid 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. Thehousing department began installingclosed-circuit television systems to monitor these throwing activities.[22] Other incident involve the creation of a mass-suicideFacebook 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 officials made theBird 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 preventthe global spread of theH5N1 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 inKam 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, theHealth, 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 aSwine flu pandemics followed, but citizens were more prepared this time.
The first suspected case ofsevere acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was recorded in February, 2003. Hong Kong remained on theWorld 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.
TheWorld Trade Organization Conference of 2005 was held inWan Chai. With 148 nations participating at theHong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, it was one of the largest international event ever held in the area. A series of protests broke out in the designated protest zones andHong Kong Police were resorted to usingtear gas andpepper spray for crowd control. Numerous sources proclaimed the conference as the"Siege of Wan Chai" as the world class city became the hosting site of the event.[29]
