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 Observers Kong government to infiltrate pressure groups and monitor their activities. The greatest emphasis was placed on the Hong Kong Observers. Due to political pressure the committee ceased to exist in 1983. The group's main concern in 1980s was the Sino-British negotiation over the sovereignty of Hong Kong. They called for Hong Kong people to express their views and conducted an opinion poll on Hong Kong future. In 1983 before Beijing and London began negotiation over Hong Kong’s future, Anna Wu led a group of legal confrères to Beijing and met with the then Director of the Hong Kong and Macau