By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept

News Junction

Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • World News
    World NewsShow More
    A book points to Biden’s decline and Democrats’ cowardice: 6 takeaways
    A book points to Biden’s decline and Democrats’ cowardice: 6 takeaways
    May 14, 2025
    In one Indian city, reflective paint and bus stop sprinklers offer relief from killer heat
    In one Indian city, reflective paint and bus stop sprinklers offer relief from killer heat
    May 14, 2025
    Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina’s party barred from election as party registration suspended
    Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina’s party barred from election as party registration suspended
    May 14, 2025
    Cassandra Ventura testifies, tells jury freak offs became a job
    Cassandra Ventura testifies, tells jury freak offs became a job
    May 13, 2025
    White South Africans arrive in US after Trump administration granted them refugee status | World News
    White South Africans arrive in US after Trump administration granted them refugee status | World News
    May 13, 2025
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Ukraine blows up bridges to consolidate its positions in Russia
    Ukraine blows up bridges to consolidate its positions in Russia
    August 18, 2024
    Commentary: AI phones from Google and Apple will erode trust in everything
    Commentary: AI phones from Google and Apple will erode trust in everything
    August 18, 2024
    The most famous Indian Dishes – Insights Success
    The most famous Indian Dishes – Insights Success
    August 18, 2024
    Life on the road as a female long rides cyclist
    Life on the road as a female long rides cyclist
    August 18, 2024
    UK inflation rises to 2.2%
    UK inflation rises to 2.2%
    August 18, 2024
  • Cryptocurrency
    CryptocurrencyShow More
    Bitcoin (BTC) Still Dominates the Market With 3,000 Price Tag, But Investors Are Rushing to Get in On Ruvi AI (RUVI) Thanks to 100% Early Bonus and 20,000% Price Prediction
    Bitcoin (BTC) Still Dominates the Market With $103,000 Price Tag, But Investors Are Rushing to Get in On Ruvi AI (RUVI) Thanks to 100% Early Bonus and 20,000% Price Prediction
    May 14, 2025
    Dogecoin Price Completes Weekly Close Above Pre-Halving Highs, Next Stop Above alt=
    Dogecoin Price Completes Weekly Close Above Pre-Halving Highs, Next Stop Above $0.2?
    May 14, 2025
    Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) News: 4,812 Bitcoin Purchased
    Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) News: 4,812 Bitcoin Purchased
    May 14, 2025
    BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, ADA, DOGE, PI, LEO, HBAR
    BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, ADA, DOGE, PI, LEO, HBAR
    May 14, 2025
    Altcoins’ roaring returns and falling USDT stablecoin dominance suggest ‘altseason’ is here
    Altcoins’ roaring returns and falling USDT stablecoin dominance suggest ‘altseason’ is here
    May 14, 2025
  • Technology
    TechnologyShow More
    How to Improve Your Spotify Recommendations
    How to Improve Your Spotify Recommendations
    August 18, 2024
    X says it’s closing operations in Brazil
    X says it’s closing operations in Brazil
    August 18, 2024
    Supermoon set to rise: Top tips for amateur photographers | Science & Tech News
    Supermoon set to rise: Top tips for amateur photographers | Science & Tech News
    August 18, 2024
    Scientists Want to See Videos of Your Cat for a New Study
    Scientists Want to See Videos of Your Cat for a New Study
    August 18, 2024
    OpenAI’s new voice mode let me talk with my phone, not to it
    OpenAI’s new voice mode let me talk with my phone, not to it
    August 18, 2024
  • Entertainment
  • Sports News
  • People
  • Trend
Reading: China draws Hong Kong closer as development erases mainland border
Share
Font ResizerAa

News Junction

  • World News
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Trend
  • Entertainment
Search
  • Recent Headlines in Entertainment, World News, and Cryptocurrency – NewsJunction
  • World News
  • Business
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Sports News
  • People
  • Trend
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
News Junction > Blog > World News > China draws Hong Kong closer as development erases mainland border
China draws Hong Kong closer as development erases mainland border
World News

China draws Hong Kong closer as development erases mainland border

Published January 28, 2024
Share
19 Min Read
SHARE

Contents
Developing Hong Kong’s New TerritoriesPhysical integrationRising from the seaAbout this story
Comment

Save

HONG KONG — The Sham Chun River and adjoining wetlands, which separate Hong Kong from the Chinese city of Shenzhen, have throughout modern history served as a physical marker of the differences between the two territories and their distinct systems.

Millions swam across the river from Communist-ruled China to British Hong Kong in the 1960s, escaping famine and persecution in the hope of a better life.

As China’s economy liberalized decades later, skyscrapers and five-star hotels rose up in Shenzhen, looming over Hong Kong’s rugged and still-agrarian New Territories outside its central business district.

Even after the 1997 handover, when Britain ceded control to China, barbed wires and fences stood as a reminder that these were very different places, each with its own politics, courts of law, immigration policy, police force and way of life.

The river still flows, broad and slow, but the boundary it represented is dissolving. Two mammoth multibillion-dollar development projects backed by the Hong Kong and Chinese governments — including one that will straddle the banks of the river — will change the look, feel and economic pulse of Hong Kong, with one goal in mind: integration with mainland China.

Over the next decade, new rail links, bridges, logistics facilities, schools, office buildings and residential towers will transform Hong Kong’s outer fringes and remake the quiet towns and wetlands of the New Territories into an extension of Shenzhen, a Chinese technology hub. The property arm of a Chinese state-owned conglomerate, China Resources Group, has established a joint venture with a Hong Kong company to build residential units in what is being called the Northern Metropolis — signaling Beijing’s support.

The overall project will cover nearly 75,000 acres, almost 90 times the size of New York’s Central Park. Some $13 billion has already been put aside from government reserves for development, though the total cost will be many multiples more.

Map of Hong Kong and the proposed Northern Metropolis


The Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau

development projects, unprecedented in

scale and cost, will accelerate efforts to

physically integrate mainland China

and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong

International

Airport

Hong Kong-

Zhuhai-

Macao

Bridge

approx.

20 miles

to Macao

LAUREN TIERNEY/THE WASHINGTON POST

The Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau

development projects, unprecedented in scale and

cost, will accelerate efforts to physically integrate

mainland China and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong-

Zhuhai-

Macao

Bridge

Hong Kong

International Airport

approx.

20 miles

to Macao

LAUREN TIERNEY/THE WASHINGTON POST

The Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau development projects, unprecedented in scale and

cost, will accelerate efforts to physically integrate mainland China and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong

International Airport

Hong Kong-

Zhuhai-Macao

Bridge

approx.

20 miles

to Macao

LAUREN TIERNEY/THE WASHINGTON POST

At the same time, the Hong Kong government is pursuing a grand land reclamation scheme known as the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, a $75 billion project in the ocean waters off the city that will see the creation of three new islands. The project will result in nearly 2,500 acres of new territory for a business district, with apartment complexes that can accommodate 550,000 people. The islands will be connected to the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai to the west of Hong Kong and by new transport links to Shenzhen in the north.

Story continues below advertisement

Story continues below advertisement

The projects will bring Hong Kong fully into the “Greater Bay Area” — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision of linking nine Chinese coastal cities with Hong Kong and Macao, the former Portuguese colony, as a rival to Silicon Valley. The plans, introduced back in 2017, marked a “change in paradigm” for Hong Kong, said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, but they have been pushed harder and faster more recently in line with the broader crackdown.

[Witness against Hong Kong media mogul was mistreated, Post examination finds]

Hong Kong was promised control over its own domestic affairs until 2047. But Beijing has over the past three years moved swiftly to remake the territory’s once-autonomous institutions and subsume Hong Kong’s identity, using a draconian security law to neutralize the city’s boisterous politics and crush mass protests over the loss of democratic rights. Schools are incorporating patriotic education, as on the mainland; the syllabus will include study of Hong Kong’s role in the Greater Bay Area. The legislature has been drained of opposition figures and the streets, once full of protesters, have been pacified.

Now, development is becoming a corollary to political control.

“The reality is that the gap [between Hong Kong and China] is getting smaller and smaller,” Tsang said.

Developing Hong Kong’s New Territories

The Northern Metropolis development project is unprecedented in Hong Kong’s history, in both scale — it is 35 times bigger than the last development project in that area — and financing.

According to government proposals, the 75,000 acres earmarked for development will be divided into four zones catering to specific industries, such as information technology and logistics.

Full plans for each zone will be finalized this year, according to a blueprint, but work has already started on one major project — a tech park at the Lok Ma Chau Loop, a small piece of land by the Sham Chun River that used to belong to Shenzhen but could only be accessed from Hong Kong, and became part of its territory in 2017.

The government also plans to build half a million new residential units in the Northern Metropolis to accommodate 2.5 million people — about a third of Hong Kong’s current population.

Taken together, the plans could shift the territory’s economic center of gravity to the north.

RENDERING

An artist’s rendering depicts plans for the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, which will be located on both sides of the Sham Chun River. Work has already begun. (Hong Kong Development Bureau)

The Hong Kong Development Bureau said housing scarcity and the potential for spurring economic growth — more than politics — underscore the need for both the Northern Metropolis development and the island reclamation projects.

“The Northern Metropolis is an ideal platform for Hong Kong to forge closer economic cooperation with Shenzhen and the rest of the Greater Bay Area, capitalizing on the rapid economic development of the region,” the bureau said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Kwok Chi-wai, 69, at his home in the Ha Wan village in Lok Ma Chau, where he has lived all his life.
A view of construction from the house where Kwok lives with his wife. The garden is home to birds, turtles, and potted plants and longan trees planted by Kwok’s father.

Residents in the lush, rural enclaves scattered across Hong Kong’s northern fringe have started bracing for change. For decades, even as Hong Kong and southern China saw rapid development, these parts remained relatively untouched. The landscape — wetlands, fish and shrimp ponds fashioned out of mangrove swamp — has largely been preserved, offering a rare look at what life in this region was like before modernization in the 1980s. Village homes have been handed down through generations.

“Our families were pioneers who cultivated these lands,” said Kwok Chi-wai, 69, a lifelong resident of the Ha Wan village in Lok Ma Chau, adjacent to where the tech park will be built. Kwok remembers raising ducks, grass carp and mullet fish with his siblings as a child, and still cares for the trees he planted here with his father.

Story continues below advertisement

Story continues below advertisement

Authorities told Kwok that villagers, most of whom don’t own their land, could be relocated as early as next year, but he has received no specifics.

“We want our places here to not be taken away, so we can continue to stay and live here,” Kwok said. “But there’s nothing we can do.”

Physical integration

The effort to physically integrate Hong Kong with mainland China predates the two planned megaprojects, and even Beijing’s effort to suppress Hong Kong in the wake of the 2019 mass protests.

In late 2018, a 34-mile bridge-and-tunnel system — the world’s longest sea crossing — opened to the public, connecting Hong Kong with Macao and to Zhuhai in southern China.

The cost of building it swelled to some $20 billion — for a project that was seen by some as unneeded and as little more than a physical manifestation of the mainland’s encroachment on the city.

Cars drive on different sides of the road in mainland China and Hong Kong, and license rules differ between them. But authorities want to overcome these hurdles and increase traffic on the bridge. Mainland Chinese authorities allowed private vehicles from Hong Kong to start using the bridge last year, a move heralded as promoting further integration. The bridge is now open to tour groups from mainland China, and it hosted a half-marathon from Hong Kong in November.

The bridge followed the opening of the West Kowloon Station, connecting Hong Kong to China’s high-speed rail system. Its establishment introduced an unprecedented “co-location” agreement: Though physically in Hong Kong, half of the station was designated as mainland Chinese territory, with Chinese police and immigration officials allowed to operate there — a first for Hong Kong.

The West Kowloon highs-speed rail terminus in Hong Kong. Half of the station, although in Hong Kong, was designated as mainland Chinese territory under a “co-location” agreement, allowing Chinese police and immigration officials to operate there — a first for Hong Kong.
Passengers arrive from Shenzhen at the West Kowloon Station.
Departing passengers at the West Kowloon Station.

The ending of covid restrictions has seen increased utilization of the railway. The number of Chinese cities connected to Hong Kong by high-speed rail has grown to 73, and the number of passengers last year surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to data from Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation. By the end of 2023, more than 20 million passengers had ridden on the cross-border rail, many of them mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong.

The “co-location” agreement at the high-speed rail station could also be extended to the new Northern Metropolis projects, analysts say, increasing the official presence of Chinese security agents and police on Hong Kong’s territory.

Rising from the sea

The artificial islands reclamation project was first floated in 2014. Under the current chief executive, the project was renamed the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, and will involve the creation of three new islands with residential units, a new business district, sports facilities, open public space, arts facilities and more.

It took Hong Kong 170 years — its entire history as a colony — to secure through land reclamation from the sea about 17,300 acres of additional land across the territory to expand its ports and urban and residential areas, and for its international airport at Chek Lap Kok. Reclaiming the land needed for this new project in just 10 years will be a substantial undertaking, analysts say.

Though they are closer to Hong Kong’s existing islands than mainland China, the Development Bureau plans to connect the artificial islands to the Northern Metropolis, and characterizes the project as a way “to foster the integrated development between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.”

RENDERING

An artist’s rendering depicts planned development on artificial islands that will be built in the waters around the Kau Yi Chau islands. Reclamation work is scheduled to start in 2025. (Hong Kong Development Bureau)

The Hong Kong government says it will complete a feasibility study on roads and rail links that will connect to the new islands by 2024, that it will start reclamation work in 2025 and that it expects the first batch of residential units to be available by 2033.

Environmentalists have raised alarm at the plans, which they argue will damage the ecology of the area, including corals, marine life, microorganisms and species such as the rare Chinese white dolphin.

“When natural resources are lost, they are lost forever,” said Chan Hall-sion, a senior campaigner for Greenpeace in Hong Kong. “Reclamation is irreversible, and brings irreversible impacts to an ecosystem, as it is the home to many wildlife.”

Story continues below advertisement

Story continues below advertisement

In its responses to The Post, the Development Bureau said the area designated for the planned artificial islands close to the existing Kau Yi Chau islands is “ecologically less sensitive” and that the government is striving to minimize the impact on the environment. Environmental impact assessments will be done for both projects, the bureau added, and will be released for public scrutiny.

Yet the deteriorating political environment in Hong Kong has meant that even criticizing the government’s plans carries risk. The Liber Research Community, a nongovernmental organization focused on Hong Kong’s land and development policy, has been at the forefront of independent research on both projects, pointing out deficiencies and information gaps in the government’s plans. Last year, the group published slides from an April 2023 briefing from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the financial adviser to the Hong Kong government on both projects, stating that the Hong Kong government’s reserves “may not be sufficient” to fund both development of the Northern Metropolis and the Kau Yi Chau islands at the same time.

Ta Kung Pao, a newspaper controlled by China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, accused the Liber group of vilifying the government and “trying to create panic.”

[Hong Kong prisons work to compel loyalty to China among young activists]

Polling in Hong Kong has found deep skepticism among the population about pursuing the projects, with only 6 percent of residents saying they are behind simultaneous construction of both projects, according to a survey conducted by Greenpeace and the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute.

Public opinion is, however, an aside. “These are obviously integration projects,” said Brian Wong of the Liber Research Community, “so they are inevitable.”

About this story

Story by Shibani Mahtani and Theodora Yu. Photos by Ian Teh. Design and development by Irfan Uraizee. Graphics by Lauren Tierney. Story editing by Peter Finn. Project editing by Reem Akkad. Research by Cate Brown. Photo editing by Jennifer Samuel. Design editing by Joseph Moore. Graphics editing by Samuel Granados. Copy editing by Vanessa Larson.

Renderings provided by the Hong Kong Development Bureau.

The panoramic photos were stitched together from multiple images. The photo annotations are sourced from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands project.

#China #draws #Hong #Kong #closer #development #erases #mainland #border

TAGGED:borderChinacloserdevelopmentDrawserasesHongKongmainland
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Email Copy Link Print
Share
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
Previous Article Misfiring Leverkusen held at home by Gladbach Misfiring Leverkusen held at home by Gladbach
Next Article Gold Leaf-Topped Sliders : Rich N Famous Gold Leaf-Topped Sliders : Rich N Famous
- Advertisement -

Latest Post

Bitcoin (BTC) Still Dominates the Market With 3,000 Price Tag, But Investors Are Rushing to Get in On Ruvi AI (RUVI) Thanks to 100% Early Bonus and 20,000% Price Prediction
Bitcoin (BTC) Still Dominates the Market With $103,000 Price Tag, But Investors Are Rushing to Get in On Ruvi AI (RUVI) Thanks to 100% Early Bonus and 20,000% Price Prediction
Cryptocurrency
A book points to Biden’s decline and Democrats’ cowardice: 6 takeaways
A book points to Biden’s decline and Democrats’ cowardice: 6 takeaways
World News
Dogecoin Price Completes Weekly Close Above Pre-Halving Highs, Next Stop Above alt=
Dogecoin Price Completes Weekly Close Above Pre-Halving Highs, Next Stop Above $0.2?
Cryptocurrency
In one Indian city, reflective paint and bus stop sprinklers offer relief from killer heat
In one Indian city, reflective paint and bus stop sprinklers offer relief from killer heat
World News
Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) News: 4,812 Bitcoin Purchased
Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) News: 4,812 Bitcoin Purchased
Cryptocurrency
BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, ADA, DOGE, PI, LEO, HBAR
BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, ADA, DOGE, PI, LEO, HBAR
Cryptocurrency
- Advertisement -

You Might Also Like

US sanctions Israeli group for attacking Gaza aid convoys | Israel-Palestine conflict News
World News

US sanctions Israeli group for attacking Gaza aid convoys | Israel-Palestine conflict News

June 15, 2024
Donald Trump aide pleads not guilty to new charges in US documents case
World News

Donald Trump aide pleads not guilty to new charges in US documents case

August 10, 2023
Tuvalu’s pro-Taiwan leader loses seat in national election
World News

Tuvalu’s pro-Taiwan leader loses seat in national election

January 27, 2024
Georgia indictment to ‘solidify’ Trump’s support for now, analysts say | Donald Trump News
World News

Georgia indictment to ‘solidify’ Trump’s support for now, analysts say | Donald Trump News

August 16, 2023

About Us

NEWS JUNCTION (NewsJunction.xyz) Your trusted destination for global news. Stay informed with our timely and accurate reporting on diverse topics, including politics, technology, science, entertainment, sports, and more. Count on us for unbiased and reliable updates at your fingertips.

Quick Link

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact

Top Categories

  • World News
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Sports News
  • Trend
  • People

Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

    © 2023 News Junction.
    • Blog
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    Welcome Back!

    Sign in to your account

    Username or Email Address
    Password

    Lost your password?