Why did Margaret Thatcher give up Hong Kong, but not Northern Ireland?

Question

If I were the British i would have put my entire Army in Hong Kong and dared the Chinese to take it... She was a real wuss even bringing the subject of ong Kong up. They didn't sign the lease tith the Communists, they signed it with the Ching Dynasty.

Answer 1

Because Mrs. Thatcher, for all her faults, played by the rules. The fact that the lease was signed with the Ching Dynasty is totally irrelevant. The current regime is both de jure and de facto the Government of the Peoples Republic of China and, as such, legal successor to the earlier rulers. You may sign a lease for a house with Mr A. who dies during the term of the lease. You are still required to give up the lease at the end of the term to whoever has become entitled to the benefit of the lease. As for the idea of fighting a war over Hong Kong against the overwhelming numbers of the Red Army, 1000s of miles away from home, well it is ludicrous. The Chinese only needed to have mounted an air and sea blockade and the territory would have been starved out very quickly.

Answer 2

Different set of rules. Can't compare NI with Hong Kong. The lease for the latter was 100 years - the 100 years were up, so back it went to the Chinese.

NI however has always been part of Gt Britain hence Gt and N Ireland. The people of NI want to stay with Britain not attach itself to Ireland. NI is British. Ireland (Southern) is not, it is Irish.

Answer 3

Hong Kong was leased from the Chinese - it never was really British.
Northern Island is part of the UK and the British Government respects the rights of the cizitens for self determination - that is to remain part of the Union. To "give" up Northern Island would invite civil war.

Answer 4

Firstly, Hong Kong was only leased from china - even though we ruled there we didn't technically own it. Secondly, China's army is the largest in the world - far larger than ours. Thirdly, If all our troops were in HK then not only would we be failing in our peacekeeping commitments else where (alot of our overseas forces were in the Balkans at the time). Fourthly, Who would be defending the UK if all our troops were over there maintaining the empire? Fifthly, Labour were actually in power at the time of the hand over if I recall correctly - what does maggie have to do with it?

As for Northern Ireland - It remains part of the UK (of GB&NI) because a large number of Protestants wished to remain British when Ireland sought independence. As Ireland was their home too, part of Ireland remained British. The reason they wished to remain part of the UK was largely fear of oppression from the mainly catholic Irish free state (later Republic of Ireland.

EDIT: spelling and grammer

Answer 5

On Hong Kong a deal was a deal and it's time was up. ( you really don't want to piss the Chinese off that far from home).

On Northern Ireland, Mrs. Thatcher and her successors would have been quite happy to give up N.Ireland if they could only have avoided a civil war in that country. (Ireland was Britain's closest colony, and over the centuries it's biggest pain in the ***. With no real economic value, who wouldn't give it up?).

Answer 6

i'm a Catholic from the occupied 6 counties interior the North of eire, i'm no longer from Britain i'm no longer a similar race through fact the British and my human beings ( community Irish I:E Catholics) account for 88 % of the inhabitants of eire.

Answer 7

Because she is as dumb as she comes- made in Great Little Britain, sonewhere in a little dot in the map far far west of China!

Phew, does that answer your curiosity?

Answer 8

Ireland is a heck of a lot closer and the Irish won't deep fry the dog for dinner....

Peace.................pppppppffffffffttttttttzzzzzzzzzzzz (ah)

Answer 9

good curiosity.

who is owner of Earth. every where these people goes for business. then they enter in internal politics and they acquire every nation. is it good.