My People, My Country
The Chinese film “My People, My Country” was released on 1st October 2019, the eve of China’s National Day, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This was a time when the Chinese people were about to celebrate not only the birthday of their motherland but also the patriotism they have had to their country. The film mainly appears to be a reminder to the Chinese people of their achievements. It is a seven-part story that gives insight into the lives of ordinary people in their contributions and loyalty to their country and why they are patriotic. It also chronicles seven memorial cultural and technological achievements since PRC was founded. The trailer, however, focuses only on one of the several historical moments, the handing over of Hong Kong to China by Britain. This took place in 1997, and the film documents the transition of Hong Kong from the British rule, and how the ordinary people witnessed this monumental stride of the Chinese people.
The opening scene of the trailer shows a glimpse of people on a bus then changes to the meeting between the British and Chinese officials. Although the handover was peaceful, a discord is evident between the two parties as the British officials demand the flag of Britain to be lowered at the stroke of midnight on 1st July, to mark the end of their dominion over China. The Chinese executive delegation, however, remains adamant that the Chinese flag would be raised at that time. The somber background music magnifies the tension that is felt at the beginning of the trailer. The tension is felt between the government officials, a married couple, and between the three soldiers who are to raise the flag and their supervisors. The police officer urges her husband, a watchmaker, to ensure that the timing on the watch is accurate as no mistakes are to be made on that crucial night. The husband assures her that the watch would not be behind for even a second, for they had been waiting for this moment for 154 years. The film is not accurate in this part as Hong Kong’s reverting to Chinese sovereignty was after a British rule of 156 years.
Britain invaded China in 1839 to alleviate their opposition to Britain’s social, economic, and political affairs. During the nineteenth century, Chinese tea was a highly prized commodity in Britain. Since the Qing Dynasty, as well as its subjects, did not want to buy anything produced by the British, they required their tea to be paid for by silver or gold. However, Queen Victoria’s government did not want to exhaust their gold or silver reserves to buy the tea but still needed the tea importation business to continue as the tax revenue generated from it was a boost to their economy. The British government thus forcefully decided to import opium into China from India, one of its colonies. The drug was then exchanged for tea, a trade that was highly opposed by the Chinese government.
The opposition was based on the opium crisis that China began to experience. Its military force, consumers of the opium, became highly addicted to it. The Qing government, at first, banned the importation of opium, which did now alleviate the problem as the British merchants smuggled the drug. In 1839, the Chinese government, in an attempt to put a stop to the illegal trade, seized and destroyed twenty thousand bales of opium owned by the British. This move worked against the Chinese as the British cabinet used this as the reason to protect the sale of opium and have the Chinese government give up its protective tariffs. To protect the lucrative but illegal drug operations of British merchants, Britain waged war against China.
The First Opium War began in 1839, and on 25th January 1841, Britain invaded and occupied Hong Kong, an island sparsely populated, that was located off the coast of southeast China. China lost the war and, through the treaty of Nanking, ceded Hong Kong to Britain. This commenced what the Chinese referred to as the “Century of Humiliation,” where a foreign country defeated their weak government and forced them to surrender their territory and to sign treaties forced upon them. It is no wonder the characters in the trailer were more than eager to have the Chinese flag raised, signifying Hong Kong’s return to their motherland, as soon as possible. Moreover, the Chinese officials wanted their national flag to be raised at midnight to signify them taking back what was once theirs and not the lowering of the Britain Flag, which would have meant Britain was the one allowing China to have Hong Kong back.
The Nanking treaty did not, however, solve the illegal trading, and in 1856, Britain and France waged a second Opium War against China. To end the war, China and Britain signed a legally binding lease that granted Britain 99 years to rule over Hong Kong. What precedes the handing over of Hong Kong was the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration by Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, and Zhao Ziyang, the Chinese Premier, on 19th December 1984. The declaration required Britain to give back British Hong Kong and other acquired territories on the expiry of the lease term.
The film’s depiction of this historical moment through the perspective of ordinary people creates a picture of patriotic people. It was not just the government who wanted back their territories, but the people too had waited long enough to have control of the country given back to its rightful owners. The trailer, however, only focuses on the people who were for the handing over and not those who protested against it. The look of pride on the face of the man standing on the rooftop provokes the viewers’ emotion of satisfaction that is felt after achieving something that had been long-awaited. The Chinese people, through the film, can encounter historical achievements in a way that they could relate to or even as a reminder of how they personally experienced it, further solidifying their patriotism.