Queen Elizabeth visits Hong Kong for the last time in 1986 – from the SCMP archive

‘Our thoughts will always be with you’: Queen confident on HK future

Hongkong gave Queen Elizabeth a warm and enthusiastic reception yesterday (October 21, 1986) when she arrived for her long-awaited visit.

And in return she gave the people a message of confidence in the future.

Fresh from her triumphant tour of the mainland, the Queen told a welcoming ceremony in City Hall that the Sino-British agreement over Hongkong’s future had made possible her trip to China, the first by a British sovereign.

She said the visit symbolised the new relationship between Britain and China, a relationship in which the agreement over Hongkong had played a significant part.

“You have been promised in that agreement that in the institutions, traditions and way of life so important to the people of Hongkong will be preserved.

“The agreement, and the firm commitment to the governments of the United Kingdom and China enshrined it will, I trust, be an assurance and encouragement to you as you face the challenges of the future.”

She recalled that on her first visit to Hongkong in 1975, the first by a British sovereign, times “were not altogether easy” because of a recession.

“However, I felt the determination and commitment of the people and the Government to overcome those difficulties, to build a better city and a better society,” she said.

“No one sailing into Hongkong Harbour, as I did this morning, could fail to be impressed with what that determination and that commitment have achieved.

“The people of Hongkong, with imagination and hard work, have created a unique city and a unique society. And this has earned you respect and goodwill throughout the world.”

She said Hongkong had profited from both Chinese and British traditions in surviving the rapid changes of the past.

“The pace of change distinguishes Hongkong from most other parts of the world. Much that we saw in 1975 has gone, much that is new has taken its place.

Because you have profited from your two traditions you have been able to adapt to this rapid progress where less adaptable folk may well have succumbed.”

Hongkong would be able to draw on these two strains in the future.

She concluded: “As you move towards a new phase in your development, our thoughts will always be with you.”

As if to symbolise the harmony of views over Hongkong, the monarch was met at Queen’s Pier not only by the Governor, Sir Edward Youde, but also by China’s top representative here, Mr Xu Jiatun, director of the Hongkong branch of the New China News Agency.

Later, at lunch, she spoke at length with Mr Xu, but officials could not say what they discussed.

For most people, however, thoughts of the future took second place to the genuine enthusiasm the Queen’s visit generated everywhere.

The eventful day began when the Royal yacht Britannia led a stately procession down the harbour.

Exactly on schedule the Queen stepped ashore to a cheering, flag-waving crowd.

After the welcoming ceremony before more than 1,000 dignitaries in City Hall, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh laid a wreath at the Cenotaph, and then visited the Legislative Council chambers and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank headquarters.

After lunch at Government House, they travelled across the harbour to the Hongkong Polytechnic, and then returned to the island to lay a foundation stone for the Convention Centre in Wan Chai.

Months of meticulous planning had gone into making the day a success and it paid off handsomely. Even the weather co-operated, and the Queen was able to see the territory she last visited 11 years ago at its sun-drenched best.

In the evening, the Queen travelled to Tsim Sha Tsui, where huge crowds were waiting to greet her.

The mood was festive, the evening air balmy, and the short trip to Hongkong Coliseum for a Youth Spectacular with a cast of 6,000 young people, was made to cheers and applause.

The performance, which included the national anthem played on Chinese instruments – much to the delight of the Queen and the Duke – was a fitting finale to a day marked by a good deal more spontaneous warmth than the Queen received in some parts of China.

It was a day when Hongkong was able to forget tomorrow and rejoice in the present.