Waves of mass migrations from Hong Kong villagers exercised their right of abode in the United Kingdom and left for Europe. In 1967, a series of large-scale riots erupted in Hong Kong, causing social instability. These events led some of the richer Hong Kong residents to move abroad. Emigration took place to countries in Southeast Asia, South Africa or South American countries. This wave did not come to a rest until the mid-1970s. On the 19th of December 1984, the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom signed the "Sino-British Joint Declaration", validated the 1997 transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. The declaration prompted
Handover of Hong Kong which Hong Kong would be given special status by the PRC government. MacLehose's visit to the PRC raised the curtain on the issue of Hong Kong's sovereignty: Britain was made aware of the PRC's aspiration to resume sovereignty over Hong Kong and began to make arrangements accordingly to ensure the sustenance of her interests within the territory, as well as initiating the creation of a withdrawal plan in case of emergency. Three years later, Deng received the former British Prime Minister Edward Heath, who had been dispatched as the special envoy of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to establish an understanding