On July 1st, 1997, China and the United Kingdom fulfilled the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984 to transfer the sovereignty over Hong Kong to China, and to establish the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

At 11:30 pm on June 30th, the handover ceremony began at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. As midnight approached, the British flag and the British Hong Kong flag were lowered slowly to the sound of "God Save the Queen". At precisely 12:00 midnight, the flag of the People's Republic of China and the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were raised to the "March of the Volunteers", and the sovereignty of Hong Kong was officially transferred to China, bringing to an end the 156-year period of British rule.

In the morning of the 1st, Jiang Zemin delivered a speech at a celebration ceremony for the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Jiang said that the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong "signifies that the Chinese people have washed away the Century of Humiliation for losing the sovereignty over Hong Kong", and reiterated that the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee would unswervingly implement the policies of "One Country, Two Systems", "Hong Kong People Administering Hong Kong" and "A High Degree of Autonomy" to protect Hong Kong residents' rights and freedoms, in accordance with the law.

References: [香港回歸交接儀式 Hong Kong Handover Ceremony 1997] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_aPZGS3CH4); [中華人民共和國外交部("Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China")(Chinese)] (https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/pds/ziliao/zt/ywzt/wzzt/2108/2154/t23929.htm)