Occupied by the UK in
1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the
following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th
century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19
December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised
that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist
economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong
would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and
defense affairs for the next 50 years. Its languages are: Chinese
(Cantonese) 89.2% (official), other Chinese dialects 6.4%, English 3.2%
(official), other 1.2%.