00:00It is a new day in Hong Kong.
00:02Gone are the British who ruled Hong Kong as a colony for 156 years,
00:06and in their place are the Chinese,
00:08complete with a new legislature and thousands of troops.
00:12Barry Peterson is standing by in Hong Kong with the very latest.
00:15Good evening to you, Barry.
00:18Good evening from Hong Kong, China.
00:20In fact, China's bosses, who now have Hong Kong back,
00:23named a new target today, Taiwan.
00:25They say Taiwan could be like Hong Kong,
00:27live under Chinese rule and still have some freedom.
00:30The usual Taiwanese response to that is, no way.
00:34Meanwhile, here in Hong Kong,
00:36those same Chinese bosses wasted no time
00:38letting everyone know who's in charge.
00:43The Chinese dragon was alive and well this first dawn
00:46amid celebrations at the border with China,
00:49celebrations for the People's Liberation Army
00:51pouring in by the thousands,
00:53some in armored personnel carriers
00:55like those used in the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
00:58Their training was so thorough,
01:00they were even given lessons on how to wave.
01:04They came by land, by air, and even by sea,
01:08ships for a new Navy base.
01:10And no jokes about how it rained on their parade, please.
01:13In Chinese superstition,
01:15rain on an auspicious day like this
01:17is a very good omen.
01:20And a good souvenir shot
01:22from those glad to see the PLA.
01:24We have belonged to mainland China,
01:26so it's very natural to have Chinese soldiers in Hong Kong,
01:29I think.
01:30It's all that long, you think!
01:32Democracy advocates pushed the envelope
01:34on this first day,
01:36and no one stopped them.
01:37Yeah!
01:39Indeed, the new chief executive,
01:41blessed by Buddhist monks,
01:43said democracy will be a part of this new era.
01:45There was another new beginning today,
01:48the first baby born in Hong Kong, China.
01:51A girl born to Long Sung Ha,
01:54mother, baby, and city,
01:56all doing fine.
01:59Still a bit of one-upsmanship going on here
02:02in the harbor where last night
02:03the British spent about a half million dollars
02:05for a fireworks display.
02:07Tonight, the Chinese will spend
02:08considerably more than that,
02:10just to show them.
02:11So, for the people of Hong Kong,
02:13the order of the day is still party on.
02:16Jane?
02:17Barry, is the new Beijing-appointed legislature
02:19likely to make any significant changes?
02:24It's not really soon, I shouldn't think.
02:26In fact, the new executive is already talking
02:28about democracy in this new era,
02:30but I think as time goes on,
02:32we may see some rather substantial changes.
02:34Barry Peterson in Hong Kong, China.
02:36Thank you.
02:37Chinese leaders promise no big changes
02:39in Hong Kong's thriving economic system
02:41or its democratic traditions,
02:43but the world will be watching closely.
02:45CBS News anchorman Dan Rather
02:47asked U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
02:50why the former British territory
02:52is so important to the United States.
02:54We are interested that Hong Kong
02:56preserve its way of life,
02:58its democracy, it is vibrant.
03:01It's been important to the United States
03:03because it is a democracy
03:06or has been operating in a democratic way.
03:09It's important to us
03:09because they have helped us
03:11in law enforcement issues.
03:12We have something like 65 ships
03:15that stop here annually.
03:18And it's also important
03:19for the economic reasons.
03:20There are 40,000 Americans who live here.
03:23We have a great deal of investment here.
03:26And there's a lot of trade.
03:28This is, that is, the takeover,
03:30the handover, if you will,
03:31of Hong Kong to the Chinese
03:33is, quote,
03:34the biggest victory for a communist government
03:36in the last half of the 20th century.
03:38Do you agree with that?
03:39Well, I think that it is,
03:42the Chinese believe,
03:43and this has been a piece of their territory
03:47that they felt had been usurped by foreigners.
03:50They now are getting back their sovereignty.
03:53The question, frankly, is,
03:55is who will influence whom?
03:58They are taking upon or absorbing a system,
04:03this two systems, one country.
04:06And here is one system
04:07that is a very vibrant economy
04:09that has, might have a very strong influence on China.
04:13Secretary Albright also said
04:15that the Hong Kong of tomorrow
04:16must look like the Hong Kong of today,
04:19that is, a free city.
04:20The changeover from British rule
04:23to Chinese in Hong Kong
04:24was full of ceremony
04:25and emotion for all those involved.
04:28Bob Simon reports
04:29on the dignified British withdrawal.
04:31All right!
04:35Slap!
04:36Up!
04:37The sun did not set
04:38on the British Empire
04:39had been advertised.
04:40It never came up.
04:42It rained all day and all night.
04:44Prince Charles and Governor Patton
04:46got soaked at the farewell ceremony,
04:48the last purely British occasion
04:51on this last day of British rule.
04:53And the troops?
04:54It may have rained on their parade,
04:57but they didn't miss a step.
04:59Who but the British
05:00can make a retreat look like a triumphal march?
05:03Who else can bow to the inevitable,
05:05standing so upright
05:07with such grace and panache?
05:10For the last couple of days,
05:11people in Hong Kong
05:12couldn't get enough of them.
05:13The people who, according to Beijing,
05:15were overjoyed to see them leave
05:17wouldn't let them leave
05:18without one more snapshot.
05:20On Stonecutter's Island,
05:22soldiers of the Black Watch
05:23Royal Highland Regiment
05:25were bussed to ferries
05:26where they began chugging their way
05:28back to Scotland.
05:29Glad to be going home.
05:31What soldier isn't?
05:33And yet.
05:34It's a great sadness.
05:36I've had a wonderful four years here
05:38and just sad to be going.
05:40But all good things come to an end,
05:42as you guys know.
05:44In Vietnam,
05:44the last Americans
05:46turned the lights off.
05:47In Hong Kong,
05:48the British closed the gates.
05:50It was a bit more decorous
05:52than our departure from Saigon,
05:54but the essence of it
05:55wasn't all that different.
05:56It was the handing over of a country
05:58to a tough communist regime.
06:00And this time,
06:02the first time ever,
06:03not a single shot was fired.
06:06Governor Patton seemed overwhelmed
06:08by sadness
06:08as he said goodbye
06:10to his household staff.
06:11He made three tours of the driveway
06:13before leaving,
06:14a Chinese superstition
06:16indicating a desire to return.
06:18If he does,
06:19it will be as a tourist.
06:21Just before the flag came down
06:23by the Prince of Wales Barracks,
06:25the prince had a few words
06:27for the incoming rulers
06:28from Beijing.
06:30Britain learnt long ago
06:31that Hong Kong people know best
06:33what is good for Hong Kong.
06:36We have no doubt
06:37that Hong Kong people
06:38can run Hong Kong
06:41as the Joint Declaration promises.
06:45Out with the old,
06:46in with the new.
06:47The British marched off
06:49to old Angesign
06:50as the Chinese were coming in
06:52with armor.
06:56And then the prince
06:57and the governor
06:58boarded the Britannia
06:59and sailed off
07:00into the night.
07:01Just before leaving,
07:03Patton sent a short cable
07:04to London.
07:05It read,
07:06I have relinquished
07:07the administration
07:08of this government.
07:10God save the queen.
07:12Bob Simon, CBS News, Hong Kong.
07:15Sheezy I AMAK 9
07:17Sheezy I AMAK 9
07:17and below.
07:17,or to
07:17-How or..."".
07:18I feel
Comentarios