On 1 July of each year since the 1997 handover, a march is led by the Civil Human Rights Front. It has become the annual platform for demanding universal suffrage, calling for observance and preservation civil liberties such as free speech, venting dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong Government or the Chief Executive, rallying against actions of the Pro-Beijing camp. However, it was only in 2003 when it drew large public attention by opposing the bill to enact the Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23. Most notably, in 2003, the HKSAR Government proposed to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law. However, fears that by legislating against acts such as treason, subversion, secession and sedition, the legislation would infringe human rights by adopting the mainland's concept of "national security" into the HKSAR. Together with the general dissatisfaction with the Tung administration, about 500,000 people participated in this protest. Article 23 enactment was "temporarily suspended"
Fireworks display
A fireworks display is usually held on the evening of 1 July in Victoria Harbour.
Parades
have taken place on HKSAR Day in 2007, 2012 and 2017. In allowing those instances, they have also celebrated the anniversary of the People's Liberation Army. The 2017 parade held in honor of the 20th anniversary of the assession of Hong Kong was the largest parade in the HKSAR's existence, being held at Shek Kong Airfield in the presence of 20 formations, accounting for over 3,000 troops combined.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed by the Prime Ministers of the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom governments on 19 December 1984 in Beijing. The Declaration entered into force with the exchange of instruments of ratification on 27 May 1985. In the Joint Declaration, the PRC Government stated that it had decided to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong with effect from 1 July 1997, and the UK Government declared that it would restore Hong Kong to the PRC with effect from 1 July 1997. In the document the PRC Government also declared its basic policies regarding Hong Kong. In accordance with the "One country, two systems" principle agreed between the UK and the PRC, Hong Kong would become a special administrative region where the socialist system of PRC would not be practised, and Hong Kong's capitalist system and its way of life would remain unchanged for a period of 50 years from the date of handover.
The day was made into a holiday by the Provisional Legislative Council on 10 May 1997 when it passed the Holidays Bill, its first bill. The Legislative Council under the colonial government adopted the Public Holiday Bill on 17 June 1997 by 27 votes to nine, with the Liberal Party abstaining. The government tabled the bill for first reading in Legco in April 1997, two weeks after the provisional legislature had completed the first and second readings of its own holidays bill. The government was fiercely criticised by provisional legislature members who said it was a political tactic to embarrass the interim body. The bill gave legal existence of 1 and 2 July as public holidays in 1997 in addition to the then current holidays under the Holidays Ordinance. The bill's purpose was to ensure both are paid holidays in the absence of a functioning government during the handover.
