Progress then setbacks in Hong Kong's pursuit of democracy: a timeline

Twenty-five years ago, the United Kingdom handed the governance of Hong Kongto the People's Republic of China in what became known as the Hong Kong handover.

Before Hong Kong became the international financial hub it is today, it was a small fishing village in the southern part of China's Guangdong province, and while formerly a British colony,its history is intertwined with mainland Chinesepolitics.

Until 1997, Hong Kong was ruled by a British-appointed governor. The governor selected members of the city's legislative council until1985 when Hong Kongersbegan electing lawmakers. However, not all the seats were directly elected by the people:some were functional constituencies, and others were geographical,mostly with pro-Beijing interests.

On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong's governor stepped down, and retired shipping tycoon Tung Chee-hwa became the city's first chief executive after being elected by a selection committee whose 400 members were chosen by Beijing.

Residents were promised universal suffrage one person, one vote inHong Kong's constitution, known as The Basic Law. And yet, successive chief executives have been chosen by a small circle of elites with strong ties to the Chinese government.

Since the 2000s, millions of Hong Kongers have calledfor the chief executive to be directly elected, butunder Beijing's mandate, there has been no meaningful progress toward universal suffrage.

Here is atimeline of Hong Kong's progress and setbacks in its pursuit of democracy:

1842: Hong Kong Island becomes a Crown colony of the British Empire after it winsthe First Opium War with Imperial China and signsthe Treaty of Nanking.

1860: The Crown colony expandsto include the Kowloon Peninsulaafter the United Kingdom wins the Second Opium War with China and signsthe Convention of Peking.

1898: Britain signsthe Second Convention of Peking with China to lease the New Territories for 99 years until June 30, 1997.

1949:The Chinese Communist Party establishes the People's Republic of China. Many people fleeto Hong Kong to escape the Communist takeover.

1966-1976: Chinese leader Mao Zedong launchesthe Cultural Revolution, purging anyone the government deemsto be promoting non-Communist values. Another wave of people try to make their way to Hong Kong by sea.

1976: The United Kingdom ratifiesthe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which extendsto Hong Kong and other British-dependent territories.

1979: Hong Kong governor Murray MacLehose representsthe United Kingdom in a visit toChinese leader Deng Xiaoping in Beijingand asksthat British administration be extended beyond 1997. Deng rejectsthe request and saysChina intendsto resume sovereignty over Hong Kong.

1984: China and the United Kingdom signa joint declaration on Hong Kong's return to China on July 1, 1997, where the Chinese government promisesHong Kong's capitalist system and way of life willremain unchanged for 50 years after the handover under the "one country, two systems" arrangement.

1985: Hong Kong holdsits first-ever legislative council election, in whichmore than half of its members are selected by mostly democratically elected district council deputies.

1989: The Chinese military cracksdown on student demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

1990: China's National People's Congress adoptsHong Kong's Basic Law, which stipulates that Hong Kong will apply the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights after the handover, and the chief executive and lawmakers will eventually be elected by universal suffrage.

1991: TheHong Kong Legislative Council introducesgeographical constituencies whose representatives are directly elected by the people.

1996: The Chinese government establishesa provisional Hong Kong Legislative Council withappointees to replace the Legislative Council elected by Hong Kong's electorate in 1995.

1997: A committee of 400 Beijing appointees selects the first chief executive of post-handover Hong Kongseveral months before the city's return to China.

2003: More than 500,000 people jointhe rally against the Hong Kong government's controversial draft national security legislationwhich, if passed,would empowerlocal police to prosecute people for treason, secession, sedition and subversion against the Chinese government. The city's security minister resigns several weeks after the rally.

2004: China's National People's Congress rulesout direct elections of the chief executive in 2007 and of all legislators in 2008.

2007: China's National People's Congress rejectsthe electionof the chief executive and all legislators by universal suffrage by2012, saying it is delayed until 2017.

2010: Hong Kong's Legislative Council approvesgovernment-proposed electoral reforms that ruleout direct elections but increasesthe number of seats in the Legislative Council election by2012 and expandsthe size of the committee that selects the chief executive in the same year.

2012: Thousands of Hong Kongers hold parades and hunger strikes to protestthe Hong Konggovernment's proposed Chinese propaganda curriculum. The proposal isscrapped in little more than a week.

2014: China's National People's Congress sayscandidates for Hong Kong's chief executiveshould be pre-screened before they can run and limited to three. The announcement sparksthe Umbrella Movementin reference to umbrellas used for defence against police pepper spray. The mass protests last from September to December but are not successful in gettingthe Chinese government to withhold its plan.

2017: The Hong Kong government disqualifiespro-democracy lawmakers who modified their oaths of allegiance to the People's Republic of China during the swearing-in ceremony at the Legislative Council held in 2016.

2019: TheHong Kong government introducesacontroversial draft extradition law that, if passed, would empower it to transfer people to mainland Chinese courts for criminal trials. The draft lawsparksprotests by millions of people.

2020: China's National People's Congress passes a revampednational security law on Hong Kong,allowing the Chinese government to convict people of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign entities on vaguely defined terms.

2021: The Hong Kong government overhaulsthe electoral system so that all candidates running for the positions ofchief executive andlegislatorsare pre-screened for their allegiance to the People's Republic of China.

2022: John Lee, Hong Kong's former security chief, who oversaw the police crackdown on protesters in 2019, isselected as the city's chief executive uncontested.