Hong Kong–United Kingdom relations a deeply important role in the formation of the modern Hong Kong. Sovereignty of Hong Kong was ceded to the UK "in perpetuity" on 29 August 1842 through the Treaty of Nanking. The UK further expanded the territory of Hong Kong in 1860 by another cessation, plus a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. The stability, security, and predictability of British law and government enabled Hong Kong to flourish as a centre for international trade. Localisation of teritary institutions, the Hong Kong government and the independent Judiciary in the run-up to the 1997 Handover of sovereignty, caused a
Hong Kong People's Association Hong Kong People's Association The Hong Kong People's Association () was a middle-class and professional oriented political organisation formed on 18 November 1984. Along with the Association for Democracy and Justice, it was established in response to the signage of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and then British Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe's visit in April 1984. It was one of the many political groups formed during the Sino-British negotiations on the sovereignty of Hong Kong in the early 80s and demanded democratic reform during the transition period, the others being notably the Meeting Point and Hong Kong Affairs Society. It participated