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Treaty of Nanking
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The Treaty of Nanking was signed 170 years ago and, although its anniversary won't be marked by many, its legacy remains highly charged in the post-colonial era. Stuart Heaver reports

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Stuart Heaver
 
An 1846 engraving of the signing of the Treaty of Nanking. Seated at the table are Chinese negotiator Keying (second left) and Sir Henry Pottinger, Hong Kong’s first governor. Picture: Brown University Library
An 1846 engraving of the signing of the Treaty of Nanking. Seated at the table are Chinese negotiator Keying (second left) and Sir Henry Pottinger, Hong Kong’s first governor. Picture: Brown University Library
                                   

 

 

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The 170th anniversary of the treaty that ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain and set it on a very different path to that of the rest of China falls on Wednesday.

In the year that Hong Kong celebrates the 15th anniversary of its reunification with the motherland, you might think few residents would take any notice, given that it was so long ago.

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