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Henry’s identity Portfolio magazine

The night of

the new

country

HONG KONG HARBOR

By Henry Sykes

FAMILY TREE

This is my family tree. I made it on Geni.com

This is a picture of my dad, I based my narrative on the events that he went through.

RESEARCHBy Henry Sykes

In the 7th century when China discovered the drug opium it soon became banned. When the British discovered this drug they thought that they could benefit from it. The British started to smuggle it into Hong Kong. Once the Chinese found out it sparked the first Opium War (1839-42). After the vicious war the British empire had won, then on August 29, 1842 China signed a treaty to give Hong Kong to the empire for 155 years, pay 21 million dollars and open five Chinese ports including Shanghai and Guangzhou. Then, in October 1856 police men from Guangzhou boarded the British ship the Arrow, the men on the boat were charged with smuggling, therefore creating the second Opium War. The british easily won again with France on their side. As the years began to go by, the time that Britain had was depleting. Then in the year 1997, there was a huge ceremony hosted in the Hong Kong Convention Center for the return of Hong Kong to China.

A naval battle between China and Britain in the First Opium War

AUTHORS NOTEMy dad had flown to Hong Kong in 1997 form Bangkok to watch the Hong Kong Handover Ceremony. The 155 year British Rule of Hong Kong was ending and this was the event in which Hong Kong would become China’s. The event was handled very well and after there was a huge firework display while the HMS Britannia sailed out of the harbor. My dad seemed drawn to watching the boat until it wasn’t visible anymore. My story is mostly based on that moment, my dad watching the flickering lights from the boat as it left Hong Kong. many of my dad’s friends and colleagues in the room because their company had booked a ballroom in a hotel above the Hong Kong convention center so they could see the harbor. There was a TV in the middle of the room so they could see what was happening on the inside of the center. This story is about my dad’s feelings towards this event and what happened to him during the handover.

The Hong Kong Convention Center today

HONG KONG HARBORBy Henry Sykes

! It started on Aug. 29, 1842 when China signed a treaty to give Hong Kong to the British Empire for 155 years. Soon, British people started to smuggle the drug opium into Hong Kong, and Britain's rule was coming to an end. They thought they could just renew their time of ruling the land, but China refused. This brings us to tonight. !! Prince Charles and Tony Blair stepped onto the HMS Britannia and waved around as the crowd cheered. They were smiling, but to me it was just a veneer. Their faces looked as if they were trying to hide an emotion, one that they didn’t want others to see. Dismay.!! “Come on! Join the party!” one of my friends exclaimed. The talking and laughing of the party made me want to join, they seemed to be having a wonderful time, but my eyes seemed to be glued to the boat.

! “Not yet”, I replied.

! Once the H.M.S. Britannia started to sail out of the harbor the noise became deafening. The soft hum of the boat stood out from the yelling. I stared at the boat as it released from the dock. Then, the fire works started, they painted the sky in many different colors. The noises were almost intolerable, but I stayed there at the window looking out into the new country.

! What will life be like from now on? I thought. I wondered and wondered what changes would happen. Would the people’s life styles in the country be the same? !! My thoughts shut out the outside world, I felt like I was the only one in the room. Alone. The room started to get quieter and quieter. I had finally started to get a good look at the ship, The large white hull around the ship.!!

The bright lights on the ship made me feel like a moth attracted to a lamp. I can’t believe that Hong Kong is now China’s, I thought. It happened so fast, a blink of an eye, a snap of your fingers. And now this is no longer British land. !! The boat was now halfway out of the harbor, but still in plain sight. It was creeping at a steady pace towards the moon. The party was quite distracting but I stayed focused on one thing and only one thing. The ship. !! I wonder whats going on in the party I thought. I turned to my right and looked around. I saw many familiar faces laughing and smiling. I finally, had a good look around the ballroom from the huge draped curtains to the enormous TV in the middle of the room. The enormous chandelier hangs from the ceiling like a monkey from a tree. Bright lights around the room had a yellow tint that seemed to blend with the white wallpaper. There I stood, at the window glaring out at the skyline.

! As the boat was barely in sight, I shuffled over to the party. “That was amazing!” one of my friends exclaimed. “Very memorable!” another one commented. I looked back out into the dark waters of the bay. I watched as the ship finally turned into a speck in the distance and was swallowed by the darkness. !

!!!

INTERVIEW Q&A

Questions

What did it feel like when you saw the boat?Were there any major changes in Hong Kong?How did you feel about China getting Hong Kong?What were your thoughts?How did the people around act?Did other’s actions affect your affect yours?Did your lifestyle change in any way?How old were you at the time?Who were you with?Did anybody that you know go through major changes?What did the boat look like?How loud was everyone else around you?!!

INTERVIEW Q&AAnswers

it happened in the evening 30 of june 1997 in the convention center in hong kong island there was an official handover ceremonythis was attended by government officials from the UK, Hong Kong and China together with selected other VIP guestsMy dad watched the events from a hotel overlooking Honk Kong harbor watched the ceremony in the ballroom there were TV’s could see what was going on inside the convention centerthey could see the royal yacht of the british monarchy: H.M.S. Britannia

boat looked like: small, ocean liner

watched the royal yacht sail into the harbor picked up the outgoing governor of Hong Kong: Mr. Chris Patten. Who left Hong Kong with his family together with Prince Charles and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on the royal yacht. the yacht sailed out of the harbor. Then Hong Kong officially became Chinese territory.

A lot of people cheering and many people crying, sad that british rule came to an end, others were happy and optimistic about the future under chinese leadership

night of mixed emotions

Didn’t really affect life, just a memorable event, I was proud to witness, having lived in Hong Kong for 5 years previously (1987-92)

Flew to hong Kong from Bangkok to watch

Changes in Hong Kong: many more of the police and government officials became chinese people. there were fewer British people around.

Most vivid memory: watching HMS britannia sail out of Hong Kong Harbor until the boat was a tiny speck in the distance. kept on watching the boat until couldn’t be seen anymore. As a british person felt a little bit sad but felt very proud that the ceremony had been handled with honor and dignity. I was one of the very few british people in the room most were americans and people from other asian countries and they were enjoying the party atmosphere, made mood better

Huge firework display, party in hotel, many people had chinese hats on or hats that had the union jack on them.

REFLECTIONThis project has helped me to learn about my family’s history because I didn’t know that my dad attended the Hong Kong handover event. This hasn’t really given me a better sense of my identity.

I think doing a project like this is important because we can learn more about our culture, our lives, our history and our family. I enjoyed doing the interview because I learned a lot about the event and what happened during it. Also, I found out my dad’s opinion about the event and how he felt.

One problem I had was that my event wasn’t as exciting as other people’s narratives, so I had to try to keep the reader interested and not get bored.

I overcame this problem by writing a lot about about what my dad was thinking and describing the environment around him.

I think I have grown as a writer, I have grown in showing and not telling, descriptions and my sentence !uency. If I were to give advice to people before doing this project it would be that you should get as much information as you can whether it is from the interview or research. Also, you should make sure that you get a small moment quickly so that you can have more time to work on it to make it better.

BIBLIOGRAPHYWorld Book. Rep. Paul D. Hodges, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar754492>.