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45-541: Sha Ha is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy . 22°23′20″N 114°16′32″E  /  22.388988°N 114.275549°E  / 22.388988; 114.275549 This Hong Kong location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . New Territories The New Territories (abbr. N.T. , Chinese : 新界) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong , alongside Hong Kong Island and

90-719: A District Officer . During World War I , the British recruited the Chinese Labour Corps in Weihaiwei to assist the war effort. During the seamen's strike of 1922 in Hong Kong, the colonial government sent two European police officers to Weihaiwei in September of that year to recruit the first of about 50 Weihaiwei men as Royal Hong Kong Police constables. After completing six months' training in Weihaiwei,

135-610: A German sphere in Shantung and not build a railway from Weihaiwei into the interior of Shantung province. The nickname British sailors gave to this port was "Way High"; it was also referred to as Port Edward in English. During British rule, residences, hospital, churches, tea houses, sports grounds, post offices, and a naval cemetery were constructed. The Commissioner of Weihaiwei (traditional Chinese: 威海衛專員 ; simplified Chinese: 威海卫专员 ; pinyin: Wēihǎiwèi Zhuānyuán )

180-558: A Union Jack with a Chinese imperial dragon from the flag of the Qing dynasty as their flag. When Lockhart arrived as the first civil commissioner, he wrote to the Colonial Office requesting that the dragon be replaced by Mandarin ducks as he felt it was inappropriate to use a Chinese national symbol on a British flag. King Edward VII approved the new design as well as the creation of a civil flag of Weihaiwei in 1903. Below

225-667: A large number of Chinese and Westerners to seek their fortune in the city. Its population increased rapidly and the city became overcrowded. The outbreak of bubonic plague in 1894 became a concern to the Hong Kong Government . There was a need to expand the colony to accommodate its growing population. The Qing Dynasty 's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War had shown that it was incapable of defending itself. Victoria City and Victoria Harbour were vulnerable to any hostile forces launching attacks from

270-637: A mainland area of 72 miles (116 km) of coastline running to a depth of 10 miles (16 km) inland, an area roughly coterminous with the Huancui District of modern Weihai City. Together with Lüshunkou (Port Arthur) it controlled the entrance to the Bohai Sea and, thus, the seaward approaches to Beijing . The port of Weihaiwei served as the base for the Chinese Beiyang Fleet (Northern Seas Fleet), founded in 1871 during

315-551: A source of contraband shipping for blockade-runners bringing supplies into Port Arthur. After the Japanese victory over Russia in 1905, Japan took possession of Port Arthur. Britain extended its lease over Weihaiwei until 1930; the Japanese occupied Port Arthur from 1905 to 1945. The War Office were responsible for the territory as it was envisaged that it would become a naval base similar to British Hong Kong . As such,

360-484: Is a list of the military and civilian commissioners of Weihaiwei. No special postage stamps were ever issued for Weihaiwei. Just as in other treaty ports , Hong Kong stamps were used. From 1917, these were overprinted with the word "CHINA". Revenue stamps of Weihaiwei were issued from 1921. There were never any special coins or banknotes issued for circulation in Weihaiwei. The various currencies in circulation in China at

405-493: The Boxer Rebellion . The regiment was ordered to be totally disbanded in 1906 by Army Order No. 127 of 1906. Some of the soldiers were retained as a permanent police force with three British Colour Sergeants commissioned as police inspectors . In 1910 the police force comprised three European Inspectors and 55 Chinese Constables . Previously, the force had comprised one Chinese sergeant and seven constables under

450-591: The Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890 which was the law which granted extraterritorial powers over British subjects in China and other countries in which Britain had extraterritorial rights. The reason for this was that as a leased territory, subject to rendition at any time, it was not considered appropriate to treat Weihaiwei as if it was a full colony. In exchange for recognizing British Weihaiwei, Germany demanded and received assurance from Britain through Arthur Balfour that Britain would recognize

495-877: The Kowloon Peninsula . It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it is the region described in the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory . According to that treaty, the territories comprise the mainland area north of Boundary Street on the Kowloon Peninsula and south of the Sham Chun River (which is the border between Hong Kong and Mainland China ), as well as over 200 outlying islands , including Lantau Island , Lamma Island , Cheung Chau , and Peng Chau in

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540-585: The Royal Navy 's China Station and as a health resort. It also served as an occasional port of call for Royal Navy vessels in the Far East (very much secondary to using Hong Kong in southern China). Other than for military matters, local administration remained under Chinese control, and the port itself remained a free port until 1923. At the start of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905,

585-547: The British did not take over the New Territories immediately. During this period, there was no Hong Kong Governor and Wilsone Black acted as administrator. James Stewart Lockhart , the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong , was sent back from England to make a survey of New Territories before formal transfer. The survey found that the new frontier at Sham Chun River (Shenzhen river) suggested by Wilsone Black

630-415: The British made concessions to the indigenous inhabitants with regards to land use, land inheritance and marriage laws; the majority of which remained in place into the 1960s when polygamy was outlawed. Some of the concessions with regard to land use and inheritance remain in place in Hong Kong to this day and is a source of friction between indigenous inhabitants and other Hong Kong residents. Lord Lugard

675-663: The Germans in Qingdao (Tsingtao) and the Russians in Port Arthur. Chinese officials stayed in the walled cities of Kowloon City and Weihaiwei. The extension of Kowloon was called the New Territories. The additional land was estimated to be 365 square miles (950 km ) or 12 times the size of the existing Colonial Hong Kong at the time. Although the convention was signed on the 9 June 1898 and became effective on 1 July,

720-631: The Governor's proclamation of the takeover date. Fearing for their traditional land rights, in the Six-Day War of 1899 , a number of clans attempted to resist the British, mobilising clan militias that had been organised and armed to protect against longshore raids by pirates. The militia men attempted a frontal attack against the temporary police station in Tai Po that was the main British base but were beaten back by superior force of arms. An attempt by

765-601: The Outlying Islands. It comprises an area of 952 square kilometres (368 sq mi). Nevertheless, New Kowloon has remained statutorily part of the New Territories instead of Kowloon. The New Territories were leased from Qing China by the United Kingdom in 1898 for 99 years in the Second Convention of Peking (The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory). Upon the expiry of

810-600: The Privy Council . It appears that no appeal was ever heard in Hong Kong. Initially, the Crown Advocate for China, Hiram Parkes Wilkinson served as the Crown Advocate for Weihaiwei. When Wilkinson was appointed judge in 1916, Allan Mossop took over as Crown Advocate for Weihaiwei. Mossop later became Crown Advocate for China in 1926. Weihaiwei was returned to Chinese rule on 1 October 1930 under

855-642: The aegis of the final Commissioner of Weihaiwei Sir Reginald Johnston who previously had been a District Officer and a Magistrate in Weihaiwei. The last Commissioner of Weihaiwei flew the flag of the Republic of China alongside the Union Jack during the transitional day. Following the return of Weihaiwei to China, the Chinese replaced the British Commissioner role with their own version of

900-413: The area did not become fully committed until the late 1970s, when many new towns were built to accommodate the population growth from urbanised areas of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Despite rapid development of the new towns, which now accommodate a population of over 3 million, the Hong Kong Government confines built-up areas to a few areas and reserves large parts of the region as parkland . As

945-633: The boundary remain at the Sham Chun River. The new Hong Kong Governor, Henry Blake arrived in November 1898. The date for the takeover of the New Territories was fixed as 17 April 1899, and Tai Po was chosen as the administrative centre. The transfer was not smooth and peaceful. In early April 1899, Captain Superintendent of Police, Francis Henry May and some policemen erected a flagstaff and temporary headquarters at Tai Po and posted

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990-473: The civil seat of the Commissioner from Matou (lit. "wharf" or "port") to Port Edward and started to develop the territory as a holiday resort for British expatriates. As the position was not a full Governorship, it afforded the holders more authority as they did not have to consult any territorial legislative or executive councils when making decisions or passing ordinances. The Commissioner of Weihaiwei

1035-468: The clansmen at guerilla warfare was put down by the British near Lam Tsuen with over 500 Chinese men killed, and collapsed when British artillery was brought to bear on the walled villages of the clansmen. Most prominent of the villages in the resistance Kat Hing Wai , of the Tang clan , was symbolically disarmed, by having its main gates dismounted and removed. However, in order to prevent future resistance

1080-587: The commander of the Royal Navy's China Station was initially ordered to withdraw his ships from Weihaiwei to avoid Britain being drawn into the conflict. However, fearing that the Imperial Russian Navy might use Weihaiwei as a safe haven, the Japanese government successfully pressured the British to return their fleet. During the war, correspondents covering the conflict used the port as a telegraph- and radio-transmission station; it also served as

1125-752: The court were chosen from individuals serving as a judge or Crown Advocate of the British Supreme Court for China in Shanghai. The three judges of the court from 1903 to 1930 were: The Commissioner could also exercise judicial powers if the judges of the court were not available. Appeals from the High Court for Weihaiwei could be made to the Hong Kong Supreme Court , then finally in the Judicial Committee of

1170-764: The entirety of the Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong districts, as well as the mainland portion of the Sham Shui Po District (i.e. excluding the Stonecutters Island ) and the northern portion of the Kowloon City District (portion to the north of Boundary Street/Prince Edward Road West , as well as reclaimed land including the Kai Tak Airport ). Weihaiwei under British rule Weihaiwei or Wei-hai-wei , on

1215-535: The expiry date of the lease neared in the 1980s, talks between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China led to the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984), in which the whole of Hong Kong would be returned, instead of only the New Territories. The New Territories comprises nine districts each with their own District Council : According to the 2021 census ,

1260-589: The first Commissioners of Weihaiwei were appointed from the British Army and based themselves in Liu-kung Island . At the beginning of the lease, the territory was administered by a Senior Naval Officer of the Royal Navy, Sir Edward Hobart Seymour . However a survey led by the Royal Engineers deemed that Weihaiwei was unsuitable for a major naval base or trading port. In 1899, administration

1305-408: The form of an ultimatum with a 48-hour deadline. On April 2, the Chinese gave in to the British ultimatum, with the details of the lease, among others, that the lease on Wei-Hai-Wei would remain in force as long as the Russians occupied Port Arthur, to be settled later. The British fleet took possession and raised its flag on 24 May 1898. The British used the port primarily as a summer anchorage for

1350-594: The hills of Kowloon. Alarmed by the encroachment of other European powers in China, Britain also feared for the security of Hong Kong. Using the most favoured nation clause that it had negotiated with Peking, the United Kingdom demanded the extension of Kowloon to counter the influence of France in southern China in June 1898. In July, it secured Weihaiwei in Shandong in the north as a base for operations against

1395-581: The later years of the Qing dynasty in China. In 1895, Japanese land and sea forces captured the port in the Battle of Weihaiwei , the last major battle of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. The Japanese withdrew in 1898. On 28 March 1898, the day after the signing of a Sino-Russian convention granting a 25-year lease on Port Arthur to Russia, Sir Claude MacDonald , British minister in Beijing, met with

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1440-544: The lease, sovereignty was transferred to the People's Republic of China in 1997, together with the Qing-ceded territories of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula. In 2021, the population of the New Territories was recorded at 3,984,077, with a population density of 4,140 per square kilometre (10,720/sq mi). Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain in 1842 and Kowloon south of Boundary Street and Stonecutters Island in 1860. The colony of Hong Kong attracted

1485-549: The ministers of the Zongli Yamen to inform them that the British government was demanding the cession of Wei-Hai-Wai on terms comparable to the Russian lease. Upon the refusal of the Chinese, Sir Claude informed them that Britain would not press its demand if the Chinese were to obtain the departure of the Russians from Port Arthur. Two days later, the British minister reiterated the British demand for Wei-Hai-Wei, this time in

1530-420: The northeastern coast of China, was a leased territory of the United Kingdom from 1898 until 1930. The capital was Port Edward , which lay in what is now the centre of Huancui District in the city of Weihai in the province of Shandong . The leased territory covered 288 square miles (750 km ) and included the walled city of Weihaiwei, Port Edward just to the north, Weihaiwei Bay, Liu-kung Island and

1575-544: The population of the New Territories was 3,984,077, representing 53.7% of Hong Kong's total population. 90.4% of the residents of New Territories use Cantonese as their main language. 3.5% of its residents use English , 2.0% use Mandarin Chinese , and 2.3% of New Territories' residents use other Chinese dialects. 93.1% of the district's population is of Chinese descent. The largest ethnic minority groups are Filipinos (2.1%), Indonesians (1.8%), South Asians (1.1%), Mixed (0.8%) and Whites (0.7%). New Kowloon covers

1620-579: The recruits were posted to Hong Kong to maintain law and order in March 1923. The Weihaiwei policemen were known as the D Contingent in the HKP, and their service numbers were pre-fixed with letter "D" to differentiate them from the European "A", Indian "B" and Cantonese "C". At the end of 1927, the Chinese police were replaced by Indians. In 1903, the British established a High Court of Weihaiwei. The judges of

1665-546: The territory of Hong Kong. Later, after New Kowloon was defined from the area between the Boundary Street and the Kowloon Ranges spanned from Lai Chi Kok to Lei Yue Mun , and the extension of the urban areas of Kowloon, New Kowloon was gradually urbanised and absorbed into Kowloon. The New Territories now comprises only the mainland north of the Kowloon Ranges and south of the Sham Chun River, as well as

1710-558: The time were used; the Hong Kong dollar was also used. The following Chinese banknote issuers issued banknotes for circulation in Weihaiwei under British administration; The Bank of Communications - from 1914 to 1927. The Bank of China - in 1918. The National Industrial Bank of China - in 1924. These all have WEIHAIWEI overprinted in black on them. The Weihaiwei Regiment was formed in 1898 with Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton Bower as its first commanding officer and served in

1755-419: Was Governor from 1907 to 1912, and he proposed the return of Weihaiwei to the Chinese government, in return for the ceding of the leased New Territories in perpetuity. The proposal was not received favourably, although if it had been acted on, Hong Kong might have remained forever in British hands. Much of the New Territories was, and to a limited extent still is, made up of rural areas. Attempts at modernising

1800-404: Was also responsible for representing the territory overseas. After Lockhart, Arthur Powlett Blunt (1921–1923) and Walter Russell Brown (1923–1927) were appointed Commissioners in Weihaiwei. The last Commissioner was the sinologist Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston (previously tutor to the last Chinese emperor, Pu Yi ) who served from 1927 to 1930. The Commissioners of Weihaiwei initially used

1845-425: Was far from ideal. It excluded the town of Shenzhen (Sham Chun), and the boundary would divide the town. There was no mountain range as a natural border. Lockhart suggested moving the frontier to the line of hills north of Shenzhen. This suggestion was not received favourably and the Chinese official suggested the frontier be moved to the hill much further south of the Sham Chun River. It was settled in March 1899 that

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1890-483: Was not developed in the way that Hong Kong and other British colonies in the region were. This was because Shantung Province , of which Weihaiwei was part, was inside Germany's (and after World War I , Japan's) sphere of influence. It was normal practice for British colonies to be administered under the provisions of the British Settlements Act 1887 . However, Weihaiwei was actually administered under

1935-517: Was the head of government for the British leased territory of Weihaiwei between 1898 and 1930. Until 1902, the first Commissioners of Weihaiwei were members of the British Army before civilians were appointed to the role. A Civil Commissioner was appointed in February 1902 to administer the territory. The post was held by Sir James Stewart Lockhart until 1921, where he oversaw the renaming of

1980-588: Was transferred from the War Office to the Colonial Office which allowed for civilians to be appointed as the Commissioner. In 1909, the then Governor of Hong Kong , Sir Frederick Lugard , proposed that Britain return Weihaiwei to Chinese rule in return for perpetual rule of the New Territories of Hong Kong which had also been leased in 1898. This proposal was never adopted. Weihaiwei

2025-537: Was transferred to a military and civil commissioner , firstly Arthur Dorward (1899–1901), then John Dodson Daintree (1901–1902), appointed by the War Office in London. The territorial garrison consisted of 200 British troops and a specially constituted Weihaiwei Regiment , officially the 1st Chinese Regiment , with British officers. In 1901, it was decided that this base should not be fortified and administration

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