British Hong Kong beginning of the emergence of a Hong Kong identity, changed the attitude of the local Chinese. They overwhelmingly rallied around the colonial British regime. British Hong Kong British Hong Kong denotes the period during which Hong Kong was governed as a colony and British Dependent Territory of the United Kingdom. Excluding the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841 to 1997. The colonial period began with the occupation of Hong Kong Island in 1841 during the First Opium War. The island was ceded by Qing China in the aftermath of the war
British Forces Overseas Hong Kong During the 1980s and 1990s, the CBF was normally a career Major General or Lieutenant General from the British Army. Until 1966, the CBF was an ex-officio member of the Legislative Council. Throughout the years of British rule in Hong Kong, a variety of British Army units spent various durations of time in the colony as resident units. In latter stages of the post-war period, British army units were sent to Hong Kong on a rotational basis for a period of three years. The following list contains resident units only and those which stayed in Hong Kong for short durations