mprofaca@china.com
 Starcam a live camera feed of Hong Kong   The Hong Kong TakeoverBBC Worldservice  ![[REUTERS]](goldreut.gif){kind=small} Definitive guide to the historic Handover of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty International news agency Reuters and The Web Connection, Hong Kong's top Internet consultancy, 6 June 1997 launched Hong Kong 1997, The Return To China, a definitive guide to the historic Handover of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty which takes place at midnight on 30 June, 1997. The site will combine constantly updated, up-to-the minute news reports from Reuters with a host of archive information relating to the historic occasion from Reuters, the Hong Kong Government and the Hong Kong Tourist Association. As it evolves, the site will form a lively and interactive on-line encyclopaedia of the Handover, the people and the events which have shaped and will shape Hong Kong's destiny. "Many other 1997 websites are out there, but this is the only one offering real time news, updated as it breaks," said Peter Houston, Director of Content for The Web Connection. The site is expected to draw as many as 3 million visitors between now and the end of October 1997, among them international journalists reporting on the Handover, as well as overseas Chinese interested to keep up with events at home and the international business community anxious for reliable news on how the return to Chinese sovereignty is progressing. The homepage of the site displays the latest news live from Reuters as it breaks in a scrolling ticker. Users can click on these headlines to read the news items in full. Main news reports, pictures and videos are updated by Reuters offices in Hong Kong and London. Important reports are archived chronologically to allow users to follow stories as they develop. The interactive guide also compiles a wide range of detailed background information on the major events and characters that have shaped Hong Kong's history since 1841. Users can click on a date in the "Timelines" section and see information, pictures and video clips. This section also provides background on the key players; detailed enough for journalists, but still colourful enough to attract interested visitors. The site will be updated with pictures of the celebrations and reactions to events before and after June 30. Virtual tours will allow visitors to see panoramic views of the city taken from The Peak, the Star Ferry and the Harbour, amongst others. "Morphing" software will also be used to blend old and new photographs of people and places to take the viewer from the 1880s to the 1990s. The aim of the site is to provide an impartial and comprehensive guide to the historic event as well as to offer a chance to participate in the event for the millions of people who will be unable to visit Hong Kong to witness the Handover in person. For further information contact: Camilla Sugden, Media Manager, Reuters AsiaMedia Products, Reuters Tel: 65 870 3028 or Peter Houston, The Web Connection Ltd Tel: 852 2865 5880 Dateline Hong Kong Alan Knight wrote: " My research on foreign correspondents tells me that they often neglect to report on important specialist issues in our region. However, work on the internet shows there is now an easy way around this bottleneck. To this end, I have been seeking to place Hong Kong media material on a small but infinitely expandable internet archive. In Hong Kong, I have been arranging interviews, making transcripts, converting them to HTML and emailing them to UTS in Sydney. Unfortunately, Department staff have many other priorities and were unable to transfer the backlog of material which built up on their computers. Therefore I internet searched and found a free server in the United States, registered myself and constructed and entered a home page. You may wish to visit me here." Hong Kong's convergence with China could result in a head on collision over freedom of speech. Since Hong Kong plays a critical and central role in Asian Pacific media and remains the most important window on greater China, any such collision can be expected to have global repercussions. Dateline Hong Kong will seek to reflect the views of local and international journalists in Hong Kong in the run up to convergence on July 1. It will include original interviews and articles, transcripts, excerpts from speeches and documents, with particular reference to questions of freedom of speech. The new address will allow it to be updated regularly as events unfold. Alan Knight, Research Fellow Centre of Asian Studies, Hong Kong University Phone: 852 28592111 (Work) 852 29152546 (Home) Fax: 852 25595884  Hong Kong Handover Live on the NetWhen Britain hands over control of Hong Kong to China on June 30, you can be there. Radio Television Hong Kong, the service covering the official handover ceremonies will cybercast live on the net 48 hours of webcam coverage. RTHK is preparing for increased site traffic and expects this historic occasion will surpass the recent Kasparov/Deep Blue chess matches. Hong Kong's Chinese University will co-sponsor the netcast. Hong Kong Voice Of DemocracyAn electronic weekly founded on the premise that accurate information is absolutely critical to monitoring the way of life and the rights of the Hong Kong people after the transition to Chinese rule. The organization hopes to create a space which chronicles the activities of the grass-roots democracy movement of Hong Kong and the political climate in which it operates through the period of transition and beyond. Its site features a glossary, chronology, interviews, profiles, news and related links. TIME Online's live interactive coverageAt midnight on June 30, as Hong Kong officially reverts from British to Chinese rule, TIME brings you the opportunity to participate in history as it happens. British prime minister Tony Blair, Chinese president Jiang Zemin, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and foreign ministers from around the globe will gather for the official ceremonies in Hong Kong's newly constructed convention center. But protest promises to accompany the pomp and circumstance. With the Beijing-appointed provisional legislature poised to restrict Hong Kong's civil rights soon after taking office, Hong Kong's democratic opposition has pledged vigorous action in the streets. Beginning at 11:00 a.m. EDT, Monday, June 30 (11:00 p.m. Hong Kong time), join TIME Online as we talk live with TIME's Hong Kong bureau chief Sandra Burton and TIME correspondents covering the handover in Hong Kong, as well as with a stellar group of journalists who have covered Asia, including TIME's Bill Dowell and Oscar Chiang, Bill Holstein of US News & World Report, Peter Engardio of Business Week, and Fortune's Roy Rowan, all gathered at TIME Inc.'s New York headquarters. And join us again a day and a half later, at 9:00 p.m. EDT on July 1, as we examine the prospects of the two factions battling for Hong Kong's heart. We'll talk live to Democratic Party activist Emily Lau, one of the elected legislators who will lose their seats to the Beijing-appointed provisional legislature, and to Tsang Yok Sing, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong and supporter of the mainland's incoming government. To plug in to these history-making events, point your web browser to ![[PATHFINDER]](pathfind.gif){kind=small} or Pathfinder Newsforum and follow the instructions for using iChat on Pathfinder's chat server.Flora J. Garcia, Production Manager , TIME Online vox: 212.522.9149, fax: 212.467.4388 Chicago Tribune Hong Kong siteAnother Hong Kong handover site to visit and compare to the many out there. We've employed some new scripting and design elements that are new to the Chicago Tribune's site. Feedback would be most welcome! Malia Zoghlin, Internet Producer, Chicago Tribune Fox News' Hong Kong Package
Fox News has released its online Hong Kong package
which is now available for perusal using the above-URL.
The site will be continually updated with the latest news
through July 1 and beyond. Also included will be a
live video feed from Hong Kong during the handover.
(Jon Bonne, Senior Producer, Fox News Internet) Newsbytes Hong Kong Transition LinksMartyn Williams of Newsbytes News Network has created a thoroughly well-rounded set of links (complete with reviews) of sites covering Hong Kong's July 1st handover. I encourage everyone to visit the site (above), which includes: 'The Hong Kong Transition Official Site' (1), 'The Hong Kong Transition Official Site' (2), Video Webcasts Of The Event : RTHK TV - Video Webcasts Of The Event, The South China Morning Post, ITN, BBC. |
China News China News Digest (China edition) China News Digest (Global ition) China News Digest (US edition) China News Digest (Canada edition) China News Digest (Europe/Pacific edition)World Wide News Network Asia wide news source in Chinese only (Chinese Characters software required)  The Hong Kong Standard Currently beta testing (9/95) and publishing the electronic version of the newspaper five days a week (Monday-Friday). |
 The Xinhua News Agency's business news The People's Republic of China's official English language news agency Home Page has China's business news directly from Beijing Xinhua News Agency, the People's Republic of China. Private discussion forum, archives, full text search. Offers also some commercial services. including: China Trade Forum, China Business Statistics, China/Hong Kong Business Directory, Trade/Investment Opportunities in China, China Business Intelligence Reports, Shanghai Stock Exchange Closing Statistics, Shenzhen Stock Exchange Closing Statistics and China Top 500 Foreign Trade Firms '94-95' |
| Ming Pao Daily News Ming Pao Weekly (chinese big5) CUHK(Chinese big5 Only)  Singtao Ripao (chinese big5 only)
Nineties(chinese) | Yazhou Zhoukan (chinese big5)
China's Tourism Digest(chinese big5)
Next Magazine(chinese big5)
Networld Asiaweek Online Sing Tao Limited The Nineties Monthly |
 Chinese Television Network | Chinese Television Network Home Page RTHKHong Kong TV and Radio
Radio Television Hong Kong Commercial Radio |
 Legislative Council Election 1995 University of Hong Kong Library The Hong Kong Page Hong
Kong 1997 Countdown
Hong Kong Sites and Pages
Chinese Commercial Law Web PagePage about Commercial Law of the People's Republic of China Includes the following areas of interest: Wuhan University, City of Wuhan, Changes in Chinese Law, Files in Chinese Language, School of Law, China Law Books, China Law & Regulation, Intellectual Property Law of China and Hong Kong ComStar Homepage  Multilingual SoftwareDigest Chinese Computer Digest Chinese CD-ROM Chinese Software Digest Multilingual Software DigestFor further information send e-mail to: ComStar Company(chinabus@gy.com) Hong Kong Trade Development Council Doing Business in Hong ong The Hong Kong Trade DevelopmentTrade-Related Information About Hong Kong Available On Web The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (http://www.tdc.org.hk/) is providing access to traders' and manufacturers' information via the Web. Hong Kong's largest container operator, O.O.C.L., has also put its Interactive sailing schedule online on the Web.(Hong Kong Standard; March 14, 1996) |
OTHER ASIA RELATED INTERNET RESOURCES
( Liz Tompkins' List )
Asian American Journalists Association