General overview

Even earlier, French have paid a particular attention to Hong Kong and believed in its destiny, as proven by the paintings realized in Hong Kong in August 1838 by Auguste Borget, and kept in the Hong Kong History Museum. Or when Father Napoléon Libois, Head of the Missions étrangères de Paris, decided in 1846 to leave Macau and to establish the Missions in Hong Kong. He wrote "Hong Kong would be the ideal logistical and financial centre for the Missions operations all over Asia”.

These dynamic priests where soon followed in 1848 by the consuls and by the St. Paul Sisters, who created the first dispensaries and schools for the needy. Bankers arrived soon after (1862) as well as jewellers, sailors, merchants, artists and scientists. Some even played a prominent role in the history.

Particularly moving is the major scientific discovery made in Hong Kong, in 1894, by the French researcher Alexandre YERSIN, from Pasteur Institute, of the bubonic plague bacilli, opening, for the first time, a way to cure the disease.

Many major contributions followed : the first movie ever projected from the Brothers Lumière in 1897, the first flight of an aircraft, a Farman, in 1911, with a French Belgian pilot.

Sometimes the circumstances were more tragic. In December 1941, many French citizens voluntarily joined the Hong Kong Defence Corps and several died in the battle. They are today buried and honoured in Stanley Cemetery.

These are some examples of a long, uninterrupted history, during which the French community always felt deeply involved with Hong Kong and its inhabitants. French brought energeticaly their passion to the service of the Hong Kong Community.

For that reason, the Consulate, together with the French Community in Hong Kong, celebrates 160 years of this special relationship between Hong Kong and French people.

Several events occur to celebrate the anniversary in 2008-2009 (please see the annex attached: “Hong Kong- France : 160 years together”).

1- A series of exhibitions presenting the various aspects of the common history between Hong Kong and France during these 160 years in 2008-2009:

 Architecture and French architectural legacy in Hong Kong was exhibited, from September 12th till January 1st 2008 at the occasion of the exhibition "Building Together", at the " Hong Kong Discovery Heritage Center ".

 Sea, France and Hong Kong were the topics of the exhibition" French Ships, Friendship ", organized from mid-October till the end of December 2008 in Stanley’s " Hong Kong Maritime Museum ".

 Science was presented on the occasion of the exhibition, organized from May 28th to the July 14th 2008 in the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences, dedicated to Alexandre Yersin, the young Pasteur researcher who discovered the plague bacillus in 1894 in Hong Kong. A statue of Alexandre Yersin will be showcased from the 15th of July at the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences.

 Political history was illustrated on the occasion of the exhibition " French Revolutions", organized from the 17th December 2008 to the 16th March 2009 in the Hong Kong History Museum, which introduced the revolutions of France in the 18th and 19th century

2 - A blog, animated by a history teacher of the French International School in Hong Kong and completed by history researchers, will make everyone discover and know better the rich history shared by Hong Kong and France. This blog aims at inviting people who would like to contribute to this History recollection to send testimonies, documents, photos which will enrich the numerous sources already exploited. http://francehongkong.blogspot.com