What we got was a "war of words" between the three sides. China suspected that Britain would strip Hong Kong of all its assets and return a worthless colony to China.

Indeed, rather a lot of people in Hong Kong joked, during this phase, that Britain should indeed restore Hong Kong to its original condition before returning it!
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May I draw your attention to the rather architecturally undistinguished white office tower in the middle of this picture?



Today, it's the Bank of America Tower.

When built, in 1970, it was the Gammon Building, named after the still - prominent HK construction firm who built it as a speculative office block.

It was once at the centre of the greatest corporate bankruptcy in Hong Kong's history - the Carrian case.
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The HK$ had evolved from the Trade Dollar, but was linked to Sterling until the 1960s, when the devaluation of Sterling caused Hong Kong to move out of the Sterling Area. The HK$ then led a life of its own until the disastrous and spectacular Hong Kong property crash of 1983 (we'll get back to that) which caused a "run" on the currency.
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The time has come to consider the era of Hong Kong’s longest-serving, and, by general consent, greatest, Governor – Jock the Sock, aka Sir Murray MacLehose, aka Lord MacLehose of Beoch, 1971-82.




Unlike earlier Governors he is not commemorated by a road, a pier or a fireboat. He’s got a country walk named after him – the 100 kilometre long MacLehose Trail – but he’s in absolutely no danger of being forgotten. Read more »