is hong kong a country or what?

Since 1997 Hong Kong becomes SAR of China under 1 country 2 systems, the City remains its status quo unchanged. The City has been known as "Hong Kong" for 150 years whereas becoming China's SAR is only a dozen years or so. Given more time perhaps people may change their habit and start calling Hong Kong China or vice versa but the need in changing the name is no need. A Chinese company acquired IBM PC, the product still sticks to its original name.

Since the merge, Mainland is busy copying the judicial, governmental and social systems from the City where by and large are absence in China, who knows, China one day might as well move its capital to Hong Kong to save trouble from all the copying.

Some Mainland officials DogLover like twisting facts, quote,

"an implication of how some of the Hong Kong people who forgot how they are able to continuously live a prosperous life because of the special care and attention given by China but keep attacking China and damaging the future of Hong Kong."

Let's get the FACTS straight :

Hong Kong has been an important international port for over a century since British took over, it's the quickest to come out of the WWII recession in Asia and has remained in the region the No.1 trading, financial and travel hub ever since.

Hong Kong is China's major "foreign" investor in terms of number of establishments and capital invested, HK is also Beijing's No. 1 "foreign" investor.

Mainland cities and government have been dispatching officials to Hong Kong and Singapore to learn and copy their judicial, governmental and social systems which are largely absence in the Mainland.

RMB is not a convertible currency, hence the Mainland relies heavily on Hong Kong as a financial gateway to the outside world. As well, Hong Kong's business and judicial systems are more trusted by people from around the world. Today Hong Kong has the most number of Regional headquarters in Asia, newly added to the list include Wal-mart, GE, BASF, etc etc.

HK is the only city in Asia that levy zero import tariffs nor sales tax on most everything that's why it's one of the most favorable tourist and shopping paradise welcomed by tourists from around the world including Mainlanders. Note, this is purely a supply/demand pull and NOT due to someone holding a pistol at Mainland tourists that they must visit the City. If HK has not invested in the numerous infrastructure and the many efficient and reliable systems to accommodate the boom of tourism, will there be so many tourists landing onto the City on their own free will? The many Mainland tourists that are flooding into HK are in fact mostly cheap, greedy and uncivilized bunch that go over there to buy milk powder, food, shampoo and detergent that help drive up HK's inflation and polluting the place as they litter and spit along their way.

HK's GDP per capita already one of the top of the world long BEFORE 1997, currently it's about $40,000 while Mainland's is only $4,000. HK people already traveling, studying abroad when Mainlanders were being fed by CCP with tree roots and corpses as main diet. As a result HK people sent loads of necessaties and money to help out their poor relatives. As well, HK companies being the 1st batch bold enough to enter and invest in China right after the horrible Mao's rule. Other foreign companies only dared followed HK companies' footsteps in much later years. So who is helping who??? BTW, I'm an American Citizen, I've lived in Hong Kong for a number of years and like that place very much.

雖然中國與香港「本是一家人」，其實也是移民問題。

移民有別

譬如，鋼琴家郎朗、女星湯唯新近辦了移民，國務委員劉延東的女兒也來港產子，會不會被視為蝗蟲？當然絕無可能。證明雖然同為「大陸人」、「新移民」，但本質上與香港網民所罵的「大陸新移民」有別。

這其中的分別，也是許多國家移民政策的根本所在，譬如最多港人移民的加拿大，也都一樣關卡重重，先要有財產的保障，還要看職業貴賤，甚至查三世，必須身家清白。當然，非法移民不在此列，美國加拿大地廣人稀，非法移民到處鑽空子，大多要咬緊牙關做人，三代才能翻身。

香港本來就是移民城市，一九四九年起至文化大革命，前後有過百萬大陸人湧到香港，獅子山下遍地木屋，而殖民地政府相應推出房屋政策，但在那個年代卻並無「蝗蟲」之說。

四九年左右來港的移民，首先以民國政府之主要成份——資本家、地主、知識份子為主，乃至像商朝的首陽山，住滿了前朝的遺老遺少：譬如江湖大佬杜月笙，一起跟著杜逃來香港的，還有他的情婦，京戲名伶孟小冬。其他同期南下的「有錢佬」，為人熟知的，還有董伯之父董浩雲，以及晚一輩的唐英年之父、田北俊之父。

整個民國的上層社會，幾乎傾巢撤出中國大陸，譬如金庸，一九四八年就到了香港；張愛玲晚一點，一九五一年才離開上海。其他南下的，像費穆、李翰祥、胡金銓，錢穆、牟宗三，甚至算到晚一輩的，因為大饑荒爆發而逃到香港的倪匡，這些人到香港，非但沒有向殖民地政府伸手要這要那，還像白先勇在「金大班的最後一夜」裡所寫的一樣，給當地帶來財富、投資和文化的興起蓬勃，開創了一個多姿多彩的時代。

但香港本身，在中國移民大規模湧來之前，也已經是孫中山所稱許的，中國國土上，唯一秩序井然、街道清潔的地方，孫中山老實不客氣將這份 Credit，歸於英國人的法治。英國人提供良好的外在條件，民國的人才帶來文化內涵，其他吃苦耐勞的窮苦移民，則胼手胝足，締造了香港的經濟繁榮。

視國情於不顧

今天的香港依然日日有移民，是一件很奇怪的事情。因為從四九年到七十年代，中國經歷變天，毛澤東的錯誤統治，令中國陷入地獄，許多人為求生存背井離鄉，情有可原。中國自改革開放之後，國力崛起到今天全球第二，堪稱有史以來最盛，堯天舜日，照道理，中國人應已放下了移民之念。

當然，也許是香港特區向移民提供社會福利，不僅遠勝往昔，甚至冠絕中華——因為中國外地居民，想擠入北京、上海，也屢遭排斥，小孩上不到好學校，生病看不起醫生，相比之下，香港醫院中門大開，學校有教無類，社工、議員一條龍服務，太吸引人了。

今天中國大陸的新移民，其實並無生存受到威脅而必須移民的考慮，中國一無戰亂，二無大饑荒，三是全球第三大經濟體，中國擁有的投資環境與創業機會，都勝過香港，但這些新移民，無視國情之蒸蒸日上，不留在本國創建盛世，說穿了，只是為了坐吃白拿，譬如最為香港人詬病的「孕婦搶閘產子」之險況，就完全沒必要發生，難道中國的醫療水準不先進，設施不完善？甚麼「港人北上娶妻」，既然老婆可以在中國找，為何一家人不可在中國生根？道理上說不通的。

特區香港只是一個中國普通城市，已不像過去那樣是暫留之地，可為暫緩之計，香港的八十後，已經是本地第三代，也尚且為求職與供樓傷透腦筋，何況每天還有一百五十新移民入境搶佔有限資源？過去沒有蝗蟲，因為避亂求存，靠獅子山下的精神，白手興家，活得像個人；今天國力泰極，而民尚不安，只為一丁點福利甜頭，就放棄做人的原則，這不是給國家丟臉嗎？

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

http://www.happydragonhostel.com/

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China....

Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 when the British gave it back to China. Since then it has been a city in China.

Hong Kong is not only a city.

It is a region. Of China.

Special Economic Region.

I live an hour away.

It's a group of islands.

OK, there is Hong Kong Island, which isn't the biggest island.

Perhaps that's why so many of you think of it as a city,

But there's Kowloon, the New Territories, Lantau and other places included in this region.

Hong kong is a city in China, although many residents do consider themselves to be "hong kongers or hongers" rather than chinese from mainland china. Hong kong is a S.A.R (special administrative region), and it has its own government, currency, and its own unique transportation system. Many times, it's because hong kong being in china is kind of a known fact, so no clarification is really needed.

Hong Kong has never been a country.

Hong Kong was an overseas territory of the UK leased from Nationalist China for nearly 40 years until the PRC took over the mainland and surrounded HK in 1949. In an effort to avoid a military takeover (and resulting bloodshed) by the PRC and to continue "business as usual" in HK, the UK became one of the first countries to switch its recognition and diplomatic ties from Nationalist China to Communist China in the early 50's. Thus, the UK was allowed to continue the lease of the territory, but under a new "landlord". When the original lease provided by the ROC expired in1997, the PRC demanded the territory be returned to "China". Again, the wussie Brits took the less threatened route, and surrendered HK to the PRC, instead of the ROC. This action resulted in a great flow of Mainland Chinese residents seeking more freedoms moving into HK which has now become overpopulated.

It's a city in China.

It's like saying I'm from NYC, and that is a city in the US.

And consideting the fact that Hong Kong is large and China has a mass population.

its a city. people just say hong kong because everybody knows its in china

The reason why most people think HK is a nation bcz there are always HK team in sports competition, it must be strange and funny when audience see HK vs China . .... lol

Many friends asked me the reason, my Korean,Japanese and Dutch friends

But that is it. HK is a city in China and aslo as Special Administrative Region of China

Macao and Taiwan the same reason.