BRITISH FACE END OF COLONIAL ERA IN CHINA.Byline: Marcus Eliason Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. is celebrating its last British Christmas. The last colonial Christmas cards are being mailed by Gov. Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC (born 12 May 1944 in Bath, Somerset) is a prominent British Conservative politician and a Patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament, eventually rising to a cabinet minister and party chairman. , and it's probably the last time government radio will broadcast Queen Elizabeth II's holiday greeting to her subjects. But if there's any end-of-era melancholy, it seems confined purely to the dwindling dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. colonial set, for whom Christmas is one of the most evocative ties to the distant motherland moth·er·land n. 1. One's native land. 2. The land of one's ancestors. 3. A country considered as the origin of something. . Hong Kong expects the celebration of Christmas to survive and thrive long after the colony returns to Chinese rule July 1. After all, Hong Kong is watching as China itself falls in love with Christmas cheer, and residents see no reason why things should be any different here. China has guaranteed Hong Kong's religious freedom, and Christmas is to remain a two-day public holiday. ``The Chinese authorities would be very silly to attempt to change it,'' said Jimmy McGregor, a Scottish-born businessman and member of Patten's Cabinet. But ``it won't be quite the same,'' he said. Without the British presence, Christmas will become more Chinese, he said in an interview. ``There's already a psychological difference, and it will become a cultural difference in the long run.'' |
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