WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In 1898, after the Second Opium War, the British and Chinese governments signed the Second Convention of Peking, which included a 99-year lease agreement for the islands surrounding Hong Kong. They called it the New Territories, and the British formally took possession on April 16, 1899.

Detailed explanation-2: -The final treaty, the 1898 Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, leased the New Territories to Britain for 99 years. Under the terms of the treaty, China would regain control of its leased lands on July 1, 1997.

Detailed explanation-3: -Hong Kong–a small peninsula and group of islands jutting out from China’s Kwangtung province–was leased by China to Great Britain in 1898 for 99 years.

Detailed explanation-4: -Claude MacDonald, the British representative during the convention, picked a 99-year lease because he thought it was “as good as forever". The United Kingdom did not think it would ever have to give the territories back and viewed the lease as a convenient agreement.

Detailed explanation-5: -1898 Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory: the New Territories and outlying islands leased for 99 years until 1997.