Britain returned control of Hong Kong to China. The handover was dogged by fears in the territory about what the political change would bring. Would freedoms be eroded? Would its free-willing capitalist way of life be compromised? Jill McGivering was a journalist in Hong Kong in the 1980s and the BBC's correspondent there immediately after the handover. She's gone back to see how the former colony's faring ten years on.

The heat was oppressive. But as the long thin Chinese rowing boats sliced through the water, the crowd along the riverbank burst into life, cheering and waving and urging the teams on. The rowers were luminous in Lycra, pounding the water to the beat of a Chinese drum. The boats, each prow carved and painted as a rising Chinese dragon, flew towards the finish line. The Chinese festival of dragon boat racing stretches back thousands of years. Hong Kong loves it, partly because of a pride of Chinese tradition and partly because it is a great day out. All around me, small children, parents and grandparents were pressed against the rails, eating ice cream. The mood amongst spectators was relaxed. Peter Wang, a portly property agent with thick glasses, greeted me with a beaming smile. At the time of the handover, he said, he'd had mixed feelings. He had been proud Hong Kong was going back to China, but he was also frightened. Now he said he was just proud. "Politics, economics, everything is better now than ten years ago," he added. "The mainland has really helped Hong Kong." Others there said the same, "I used to think of myself as a Hong Kong person," an IT specialist told me. "But since the handover that's slowly changed, now I say I'm Chinese." He too said he'd been anxious then but not anymore. "Before we were ruled by a foreign government," he said, "Now we're part of the mother country." All these must be music to the ears of China's leaders in Beijing. They've been eager to foster patriotism in Hong Kong, a sense of unity and loyalty. And despite the dire predictions in 1997, Beijing's handling of Hong Kong so far may not have been perfect, but it hasn't been bad either. The economy is booming, businessmen are still making money. Public institutions like the police, the courts, the civil service are still efficient and accountable. Most basic rights including freedom of speech and the right to protest are alive and well. In a…

看来香港人的认同感确实有很大提高哈

这个挺好的,可是现在不想听哈

used to think of myself as a Hong Kong person," an IT specialist told me. "But since the handover that's slowly changed, now I say I'm Chinese."

听听听，睡睡睡