Tina Marie Allen, age 11, of Pocatello, Idaho, for her question:
WHO OWNS HONG KONG?
Wong Kong is on the south coast of China about 100 miles southeast of Canton. It lies near the mouth of the Pearl River and has a population of about 4.5 million.
Hong Kong is a British dependency. China claims Hong Kong as part of its territory but it has not actively opposed British rule.
Hong Kong covers a total of 1,126 square miles, of which only 403 square miles are land. There are more than 200 islands and a number of spectacular harbors. The words Hong Kong mean "fragrant harbor."
Victoria is the capital city. It is on the north side of hilly Hong Kong island. Kowloon, the largest urban area, lies across the harbor on the Kowloon peninsula. Hong Kong's largest region, called New Territories, lies behind Kowloon on mainland China.
China maintains banks, trading companies, a travel agency and a news agency in Hong Kong. The British hold New Territories on a lease from China that doesn't expire until 1997. All of Hong Kong's farmland and most of its factories are in New Territories.
A governor appointed by Great Britain governs Hong Kong with the aid of appointed executive and legislative councils.
Hong Kong buys about half of its food from China. A large part of China's trade, both imports and exports, moves through the port of Hong Kong. People cross the border to work every day.
About 98 percent of Hong Kong's people are Chinese. Most of them come from neighboring Kwangtung province in China and they speak the Cantonese dialect of Chinese. Others come from Swatow, Foochow or Shanghai. The rest of the people are Americans, Australians, Eurasians, Europeans, Indians, Japanese or descendants of the Portuguese who settled in Macao more than 300 years ago. More than half of the people were born in Hong Kong.
Textiles and garment manufacturing are Hong Kong's biggest industries. Textile mills employ about 40 percent of all Hong Kong workers. About 60,000 persons work in garment factories.
About 80 percent of Hong Kong's people live in the Victoria and Kowloon areas. The British founded Victoria in 1841. Later, Kowloon grew up on the other side of the harbor.
Kowloon is larger than Victoria now, and much of Hong Kong's growth has occurred there. Many factories have been built on the outskirts of Kowloon and in industrial areas such as Tsuen Wan, Kwi, Chung and Kwun Tong.
Most of Hong Kong's tourist hotels are in Victoria, and most of the shops are now in Kowloon. More than half a million tourists come to Hong Kong each year. About 160,000 of them come from the United States.
Hong Kong is a free port. That is, it collects no import duties. Because of this, goods can be bought more cheaply there than in many other parts of the world.