Hong Kong–South Africa relations Cathay Pacific also began flights on the same route. Hong Kong, despite then being linked to the Commonwealth as a British colony, did not comply with its measures against South Africa. Instead, like Britain, it only imposed unilateral sanctions, banning the imports of Krugerrands, iron and steel until 1991. Following the end of apartheid in 1994, and the coming to power of the African National Congress, there were concerns regarding future ties between South Africa and Hong Kong, given that Britain was due to transfer sovereignty of the territory to China in 1997. As Hong Kong had been under British
British Hong Kong to China, even though there had been several upsurges of Chinese nationalism. He explained: In the 1920s, the working class Chinese of Hong Kong did not have a good reason to rally around the Hong Kong government, and they were more susceptible to appeals based on Chinese nationalism. Consequently, the call of the Communists was basically heeded by the working men, and their actions practically paralysed the colony for a year. By the [end of the] 1960s, however, the attempts by the Hong Kong government to maintain stability and good order which helped improve everyone's living conditions, and ... the