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Hong Kong and mainland China both benefited economically when the British returned the colony to the Chinese government in July 1997 after nearly a century of colonial rule. However, a sense of separate identity and desire for autonomy persisted in Hong Kong; this, combined with fears of government overreach by China's ruling communist party, flaring up in pro-democracy protests by the Occupy Central movement.

Hong Kong experienced a flood of immigration during the late twentieth century. Its population was due, in large part, to refugee movements. Beginning in the late 1950’s and continuing through the 1960’s, mainland China implemented various campaigns of social control, such as the Hundred Flowers Campaign, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. These campaigns caused hundreds of thousands of refugees to immigrate to Hong Kong. The emigration from mainland China represented an escape from economic hardship and an arrival to greater freedom and safety.