In the 1970s, Hong Kong underwent many changes that were to shape the future of the city. Economically, it reinvented itself from a manufacturing base into a financial centre; its future political status for the first time became an issue, a worrying one, after nearly a whole century; many corporations familiar to every Hong Konger today also started their business during this special period of time. Aberdeen Harbour and jetty where one can catch a sampan to the floating restaurant. ... Politics of Hong Kong takes place in a framework of a political system dominated by the Peoples Republic of China, an own legislature, the Chief Executive as the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Finance studies and addresses the ways in which individuals, businesses and organizations raise, allocate, and use monetary resources over time, taking into account the risks entailed in their projects. ...

Politics

Talks over the Sovereignty of Hong Kong

Main article: Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong

In the early 1970s, the New Territories land lease agreement, which would last until 1997, came to the surface. Facing a lease that would end within 27 years, the British Government had to decide what to do with the future status of the colony. In the first few years of the decade, Murray MacLehose began to visit Beijing, talking about the future of Hong Kong with leaders of the People's Republic of China (PRC). This was the start of a long battle, which would eventually involve Margaret Thatcher and other high-level PRC leaders. In 1982, the governments of the United Kingdom and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) initiated talks regarding the sovereignty of Hong Kong, which led to the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong. ... A major road, Kwong Fuk Road in Tai Po, a town in the New Territories. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Colonisation be merged into this article or section. ... Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch (麥理浩) KT, GBE, KCMG, KCVO, PC, HonLLD, MA (October 16, 1917 - May 27, 2000) was the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG OM FRS PC (born 13 October 1925) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. ...

It was envisioned by the British Government that they would be able to obtain a deal that would either permanently extend the land lease agreement, or extend it for many more years, thus solving the problem (Hong Kong's status) easily, or at least shelving it for a long time. The fact was far from the vision, as the British and the PRC were engaged in a long and uncompromising negotiation. What was once a negotiation on extending the land lease deal at last became one on a timeframe for Hong Kong's return to China and its post-colonial government framework.

Social movements

Anti-corruption campaign

In the 1970s, corruption was a way of life in Hong Kong, being an institution in all major public safety departments. Policemen would often extract a bribe (popularly called "tea fee") before they investigated a crime, as did firemen before they rescued people and put out fires. Many Chinese detective superintendents amassed incredible wealth from their corrupt dealings with triads and corporations. Their names have been seared into the memories of the older generations, their stories adapted into several popular movies in the 1990s, such as To be Number One (跛豪) of 1991. That is not to say British white officers were entirely clean in their dealings. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In 1974, Hong Kong Governor Lord MacLehose of Beoch, realizing the seriousness of the problem, founded the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The investigations and arrests of many police officers created a furor among the police, who protested against the ICAC and even tried to overrun the headquarters in one protest. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The Governor of Hong Kong was a British official who ruled Hong Kong during the colonial period between 1841 and 1997 and was ex officio Commander-in-Chief and Vice-Admiral of Hong Kong. ... Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch (麥理浩) KT, GBE, KCMG, KCVO, PC, HonLLD, MA (October 16, 1917 - May 27, 2000) was the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. ... The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was formed on 15 February 1974 to clean up endemic corruption in Hong Kong government and in particular, the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. ...

The governor, who was afraid of a police strike or even a rebellion, at last issued a pardon, preventing arrests in cases committed before a certain date. However, the pardon was not extended to higher-level detective superintendents. Those high-level Chinese officers, famous for their riches, left for exile to Taiwan, which had no extradition treaties with Hong Kong.

The efforts of the ICAC in time changed the habits of an entire population and turned Hong Kong into one of the least corrupt cities in the world.

Defend Diaoyutai Islands campaigns

In 1970, the American government returned the sovereignty of Ryukyu Islands to Japan, at the same time giving the Diaoyutai Islands to it. The act stirred up campaigns for defending the Diaoyutai Islands among Chinese societies all around the world. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789 by a constitutional convention, sets down the basic framework of American government in its seven articles. ... Location of Ryukyu Islands. ... The Senkaku Islands (Japanese: 尖閣諸島; Senkaku_Shotō) are islands are currently under Japanese control but claimed by the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan), by which they are known as Diaoyutai Islands or Diaoyu Islands—both literally mean Fishing Islands. ...

People in Hong Kong also reacted. The Hong Kong Federation of Students (香港專上學生聯會) requested to hold a protest at the Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on July 7 1971. Having been frightened by the Hong Kong 1967 riots, the Police were not to allow that to happen. The authority informed the students that the protest could not be held on just the day before the event. However, the students decided to have their way. The protest was held, but was eventually bloodily suppressed. The unnecessary violence adopted by the Police, regarded as a violation of democracy, was unanimously criticised by the society. The arrested students were released soon; the British police officer who led the suppression was sent back to England, though he went unpunished. Protests concerning the defence of Diaoyutai Islands were held in the following months. Statue of Queen Victoria in Victoria Park Victoria Park (Chinese: 維多利亞公園, pinyin: Wei Duo Li Ya Gong Yuan) is a public park in Hong Kong, named after Queen Victoria. ... Demonsrators, all dressed the same way and with Maos Quotations in their left hands, had a stand off with the Police Large scale riots erupted in Hong Kong in May 1967. ...

Economy

The waning industry

Toy guns made in Hong Kong during the 1960s, exhibited in the Hong Kong Museum of History.

In the early 1970s, the industries of Hong Kong, especially the making of clocks and watchs, clothes and toys, continued to bloom. However, during the second half of the decade, as the land price kept rising, those with handsome capital found that buying and selling lands would be a more profitable business. As a result, the lands originally used as factories were sold for building houses or shopping malls. The factories were gradually re-located to the mainland China, where both land price and wages are low. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 364 KB) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 364 KB) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... The Hong Kong Museum of History (香港歷史博物館) is a museum to preserve Hong Kongs historical and cultural heritage . ... A clock (from the Latin cloca, bell) is an instrument for measuring time. ... A wrist watch A watch is a small portable clock that displays the time and sometimes the day, date, month and year. ... (See also List of types of clothing) Introduction Humans often wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments or attire) on the body (for the alternative, see nudity). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

At the same time, other rapidly developing economies such as Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan underwent developments similar to those of Hong Kong, thus producing similar and competitive products. The competitiveness of Hong Kong products thus fell greatly. Moreover, many countries started adopting protectionism to shelter their local industries and products. Measures were set up to limit imports from other countries, including those from Hong Kong. All these contributed to the decline of Hong Kong industries. Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between nations, through methods such as high tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, a variety of restrictive government regulations designed to discourage imports, and anti-dumping laws in an attempt to protect domestic industries in a particular nation from foreign take-over...

Stock rush and market crash

Hong Kong people grew richer entering the 1970s. Not surprisingly, people started to look for some means of investment. Soon the stock rush began. New stocks were on sale every day; brokerage houses mushroomed; some people quitt their own jobs to become full-time investors, suffering a kind of urban disease which the doctors simply name "stock illness". It is said that the investors during this period numbered to 500,000.

The market was hot. The Hang Seng Index kept soaring, but not for long. Partly thanks to the foreign manipulators, the stock market prices plummeted, in March 1973. Many people were left bankrupted. Urban legend had it that the psychiatric hospital at Castle Peak became full-house at once after the market crash. The Hong Kong economy recovered only slowly over the next few years. Hang Seng Index (HSI, 恒生指數) is a capitalization-weighted stock market index in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. ... Urban legends are a kind of modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them (see rumor). ...

Emerging businesses

An old See Dor in Shek Wu Hui, Sheung Shui.

Wellcome, the first supermarket in Hong Kong, was opened in Central in 1970. It was called "Gweilo market" by some locals, as most customers were westerners during the initial period of its operation. Hong Kong people were soon to embrace this new kind of store, though. By 1975, more than 200 big- and small-scaled supermarkets could be found in the city. These new stores eliminated most traditional rice dealers (米舖), and many local Baan Gwun (辦館) and See Dor (士多, transliteration of "store"). Baan Gwun and See Dor are local types of grocery; they differ in the fact that the former sells more costly items like wines. Wellcome and PARKnSHOP didn't take long to captive the market, which they keep dominating to date. The front- and full-page ads of these two sellers, familiar to every Hong Konger today, also began to appear during the seventies. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 582 KB) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 582 KB) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Public estates in Sheung Shui. ... Wellcome logo A Wellcome store in Robinson Road, Hong Kong. ... Exterior of typical European supermarket (a Tesco Extra) Exterior of typical North American supermarket (a Safeway) A typical supermarket in Hong Kong. ... Gweilo (鬼佬; Jyutping: gwai2 lou2; Cantonese IPA: ; Pinyin: guÄ­lăo; sometimes also spelt Gwailo) is a derogatory Cantonese term for Caucasian people (generally men). ... Supermarket produce section A supermarket is a store that sells a wide variety of goods including food and alcohol, medicine, clothes, and other household products that are consumed regularly. ... PARKnSHOP (Chinese: ) is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong. ...

The first McDonald's restaurant in Hong Kong was opened on Paterson Street, Causeway Bay in 1975. The fast food tycoon was not the first hamburger seller (but Burger King) in Hong Kong; but it was the first successful one, quickly eliminating other smaller competitors. (Indeed, Burger King disappeared entirely from Hong Kong for many years. There are at the moment only two branches; in the Hong Kong International Airport and on The Peak.) McDonalds in Times Square, New York McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants, selling primarily hamburgers, french fries and carbonated drinks and more recently salads, fruit and carrot sticks. ... Large crowd of shoppers can be seen on Causeway Bay. ... Fast food is food prepared and served quickly at a fast-food restaurant or shop at low cost. ... Bold text // [edit] Headline text BURGERS ARE YUMMY!!!! BUT YOU WILL GET FAT The hamburger as ground meat can be traced back to the time when the Mongols (c. ... Burger King, Seoul, South Korea Burger King is a large international chain of fast food restaurants, predominantly selling burgers, french fries, soft drinks, desserts, and various sandwiches. ...

Infrastructure

The area around the entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel at the Island side in the 1970s, when the tunnel was being constructed.

Entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel at Tsim Sha Tsui in 2005.

Hong Kong's first underground railroad, the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) was opened in October 1979. The first line served eastern Kowloon from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong. In December services were extended to Tsim Sha Tsui and by 1980 it was possible to ride from Kwun Tong to the central business district in Central on the other side of the harbour on Hong Kong Island. Download high resolution version (600x800, 106 KB)The area around entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel, Hong Kong in the 1970s. ... Download high resolution version (600x800, 106 KB)The area around entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel, Hong Kong in the 1970s. ... The night view of the Island side as seen from the Kowloon side - the opposite side of the Victoria Harbour Hong Kong Island (Traditional Chinese: 香港島; Simplified Chinese: 香港岛; Cantonese Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 dou2; Mandarin Pinyin: Xiānggǎngdǎo) is the island where the colonial settlement of the Hong Kong territory... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 462 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Cross-Harbour Tunnel 1970s in Hong Kong Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 462 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Cross-Harbour Tunnel 1970s in Hong Kong Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... The Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui is a famous landmark of Hong Kong. ... This article is about MTR as a metro system. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Shek Kip Mei (石硤尾) is an area in New Kowloon, the North Eastern Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong. ... Kwun Tong (觀塘; originally 官塘; Jyutping: gwun1 tong4; Cantonese IPA: ) is an area in Kwun Tong District, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. ... The Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui is a famous landmark of Hong Kong. ... Kwun Tong (觀塘; originally 官塘; Jyutping: gwun1 tong4; Cantonese IPA: ) is an area in Kwun Tong District, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. ...

The Cross-Harbour Tunnel, the first underwater tunnel in Hong Kong, opened in 1972. For the first time in the history of Hong Kong, people could travel between Hong Kong and Kowloon without taking ferries. As a result, the "small electrical boats" (小電船, sampans with electrical motors), also know as "walawala" by the locals for the sound produced by the vehicle, were gradually eliminated. Toll plaza of Cross Harbour Tunnel at Hung Hom Kowloon Entrance of XHT The area around the entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel at the Island side in the 1970s, when the tunnel was being contructed. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Sampan on the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) river, China A sampan (舢舨) is a Chinese wooden boat from twelve to fifteen feet long. ...

As the mainland China shut down its water supply to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution, the colonial government built the then largest desalination plant in the world at Lok On Pai, Castle Peak in 1975. The construction, contracted by a Japanese company, cost more than HKD$400 million. However, when the High Island Reservoir was finished in 1978, the plant stopped its operation. It was officially closed in 1982 and pulled down in 1992. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Wúchǎn Jiējí Wénhuà Dà Gémìng; literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wénhuà dà gémìng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or even simpler, to 文革 wéngé, Cultural Revolution) in the People... Desalination refers to any of several processes that removes the excess salt and minerals from water in order to obtain fresh water suitable for animal consumption or for irrigation, sometimes producing table salt as a byproduct. ... The High Island Reservoir, located in the far south eastern part of the Sai Kung Peninsula, was opened in 1978 helping to alleviate water shortage problems in Hong Kong. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

Community life

Metrication

SI is put forth in Hong Kong during the 1970s. Television advertisements saying "1 metre equals to 3 feets 3 inches" (一米等如三呎三), as the Chinese term for metre literally means metric feet, are common. The International System of Units (symbol: SI) (for the French phrase Syst me International dUnit s) is the most widely used system of units. ...

Education

The Hong Kong government introduced the 6-year free compulsory education in 1971, and expanded it to 9-year in 1978. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Housing

To improve the quality of public housing and relieve overcrowded conditions, the government announced the Ten-year Housing Program (十年建屋計劃) in 1972, with the goal of providing quality housing for 1.8 millions people in ten years. The Hong Kong Housing Authority was thus formed to spearhead the program. The government also introduced the Home Ownership Scheme (居者有其屋計劃) in 1976, building houses and selling them at below-market prices to help people own property. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA; Traditional Chinese: 香港房屋委員會; pinyin: XiānggÇŽng FángwÅ« WÄ›iyuánhuì) is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. ... Home Ownership Scheme (居者有其屋計劃), is a housing programme in Hong Kong, selling of apartment flats at a price lower than the market, with subsidies on the land value by the government. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

Entertainment

VCD cover of The Private Eyes

Hong Kong people continued to enjoy television as their major entertainment, following the trend in the 60s. The television channels were all free at that time, which was one of the major reasons of the popularity of television even in the still-developing living standard. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (925x893, 2177 KB) VCD Cover File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (925x893, 2177 KB) VCD Cover File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

In September 7, 1975, Commercial Television (佳藝電視) was established and it provided competition for the other two television companies, Rediffusion Limited (麗的呼聲有限公司) and Television Broadcasts Limited (電視廣播有限公司). However, it failed to compete against the others, and closed down in August 22, 1978, after only about three years. September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Commercial broadcasting is the practice of broadcasting for profit. ... Television Broadcasts Limited (Chinese: 電視廣播有限公司; Cantonese IPA: , Yale: dinh sih gwóng bo yau haahn gÅ«ng sÄ«; Mandarin Pinyin: Diànshì GuÇŽngbō YÇ’uxiàn GōngsÄ«) SEHK: 0511, commonly known as TVB, was the first over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. ... August 22 is the 234th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (235th in leap years), with 131 days remaining. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

The long TV serial dramas, from 80 to 120 episodes, were created in 1976. These dramas, usually broadcast at 7:00 P.M., captivated the whole Hong Kong population. The theme songs of these dramas helped to revived the Cantonese music - the term Cantopop was indeed coined during this period of time. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The anime series Ultraman (ウルトラマン, known as 咸蛋超人 in Hong Kong, named so as the protagonist had eyes resembling eggs, or was really mocking the sun on the Japanese national flag for looking like the red yolk of salt-preserved duck eggs) was introduced from Japan into Hong Kong in 1975. The children were fascinated. Kids tried to "fly" in the air, imitating their heroes. Two of them, who were brothers, one three-and-half years old another four-and-half, attempted a flight from a seven-storey flat in Kowloon City on July 26 1975. The younger brother was killed on the spot, while the elder was miraculously saved. The broadcast of the anime was suspended for some time after the accident. The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) Anime ) (IPA pronunciation: in Japanese, but typically or in English) is an abbreviation of the word animation. Outside Japan, the term most popularly refers to animation... It has been suggested that Dorako be merged into this article or section. ... Kowloon City (九龍城, Pinyin: Jiu3long2cheng2) is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. ...

The martial arts films starred by Bruce Lee, including The Big Boss (《唐山大兄》) of 1971 and Fist of Fury (《精武門》) of the following year, were sensational. Cornered for some times by Western and Mandarin films, Cantonese films were much revived in the 1970s, with the great success of The Private Eyes (《半斤八兩》) of 1976 (directed and starred by Michael Hui), which is said to remain the all-time box-office king of Hong Kong cinema when inflation is taken into account. Martial arts film is a film genre that originated in the Pacific Rim. ... Bruce Jun Fan Lee (Chinese: 李振藩 Cantonese: Léi Janfàan Pinyin: Lǐ Zhènfán); born November 27, 1940 in San Francisco - died July 20, 1973 in Hong Kong. ... The Big Boss (1971, 唐山大兄, also known as Fists of Fury in the U.S., not to be confused with Fist of Fury) was Bruce Lees first major film. ... Fist of Fury (Simplified Chinese: 精武门; Traditional Chinese: 精武門; Pinyin: JÄ«ng wÇ” mén; known as The Chinese Connection in the U.S., not to be confused with Fists of Fury) was a 1972 film directed by Lo Wei. ... The Private Eyes was a film starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts. ... Michael Hui Koon-Man (許冠文 pinyin: XÇ” Guànwén) (born September 3, 1942) is a Hong Kong film comedian, scriptwriter and director. ... The term box office can refer to either: A place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue The amount of business a particular production, such as a movie or theatre show, does. ...

The 1970s was also the beginning of the golden age of Hong Kong football, as the professional league, the first of its kind in any Asian country or region, was set up in the 1968-69 season. Look up Football in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Natural disasters

In August 1971, Typhoon Rose came to Hong Kong and brought along disasters, even forcing the hoisting of Hurricane Signal, No. 10 on August 16. 5,664 people, belonging to 1,032 families, were homeless afterwards. This typhoon destructed 653 wooden huts, and damaging 24 buildings, among with 6 are beyond repair. (See the full report of Hong Kong Observatory here) 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Hong Kong Observatory (Chinese: 香港天文台; Yale: hēung góng tīn màhn tòih, Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 tin1 man4 toi4; Mandarin Pinyin: Xiānggǎng Tiānwén Tái), known as the Royal Observatory (Chinese: 皇家香港天文台) before 1997, is a department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special...

In June 1972, torrential rains caused two serious landslides in Sau Mau Ping and the Mid-levels respectively. The Mid-levels case happened at Kotewall Road. A large area of a slope collapsed, demolishing a 12-storey apartment block and taking the top floors off a block next to it. In the Sau Mau Ping case, shanty town dwellers refused to evacuate despite warning; a road embankment partially collapsed and the debris buried those in their dwelling. Together there were over 150 deaths, 110 injured and more than 5000 people were left homeless. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Sau Mau Ping Temple, Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, China Kowloons Sau Mau Ping Temple provides the setting for the Monkey God Festival, one of Hong Kongs most fascinating, and strange, celebrations. ... Mid-levels (半山區) is a residential area on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. ...

Trivia

Tsang Tsou Choi, or the Kowloon Emperor, began his career of calligraphy graffiti in 1970. Tsang Tsou Choi (Chinese: 曾灶財), or Kowloon Emperor (九龍皇帝) (born 1920 in Huaxian, Guangdong) is well-known in Hong Kong for his calligraphy graffiti that were seen in many places in Hong Kong streets. ...