奧運閉幕，北京市長將會旗交于倫敦市長手，倫敦雙層紅巴進場，載歌載舞，熱鬧八分鐘。比起競賽場拼得你死我活，往往爭的只是0.01秒，這八分鐘倒算寬裕。

八分鐘令我想起中英之間的另外幾個數字：

倫敦已經辦過兩次奧運，分別是1908，1948年。1908那年正是大英帝國的鼎盛期，那時英國的外交部有大約600個幹部，這600人卻管了日不落帝國下所轄3億人口，面積是歐洲的4.5倍（加拿大，澳洲，南北非，中東，和印巴），那時英國外交部門的一個低階辦事員曾經帶著淺笑低聲地說：（外交部）600人，每人管得不多，no more no less than 2.4 minutes. 蓋該衙門管得其實是<日不落帝國的日照>，太陽照地球每天24小時，剛好把英領各殖民地3億人口普照一輪，這就是大英帝國外交部殖民司的<工作範圍>。24小時除以600人，所以不多不少，每人分到2.4 minutes。......

他講話淺笑低聲，卻如雷貫耳，因為約翰牛財大氣粗，安坐泰晤士河畔，卻已經欺到我們家門口。他說的2.4分鐘，卻每一秒都滴答在我們的鼓膜上，每一下都踩在我們的鼻梁上。 

閉幕式中英唱國歌換旗，透過鏡頭特寫，也是似曾相識，1997年歸還香港，特寫鏡頭也是這個過場…。

香港的歸還，是英國這個破落貴族，在東方車馬衣裘脫光了的最后一件。事先也是死不甘心，機關算盡，所有能典當質押的全上了桌，通殺通賠，一拍，啪！全押上去了。

最后柴契爾去到北京，鄧小平在人民大會堂親自接見，她喋喋不休還在吵香港，還是不放棄最后希望，鄧拒絕了她。拒絕的版本有官民兩版，官方正式公布的是:鄧打斷她的夾纏，說<國家主權，不容討論！>，柴契爾停了，她憋了多大勁才忍住怒氣，城府丘豁，看不出來，可是在出大廳下臺階時泄了底---她從臺階上一腳踩塌，幾乎等於滾了下來！

來自港大的同學，告訴我另一個版本，這個民間版本盛傳于港大：鄧的四川口音讓英方自備的翻譯極吃力，老鄧回頭對中方自己的翻譯說:告訴這個蠢女人，香港是我們中國人的，不用再說了！-------她能不氣得跌跤么？

中英交接的典禮，也跟奧運閉幕一樣，彩排再三，希望一切順利。彩排畢，中方提備忘錄：英國降旗奏國歌后中國升旗奏國歌是連續動作，時間訂在準準的午夜12點，過了12點，就主客易位，香港就歸我們了，問題是我們用碼表計時，你們國歌演奏完已經超過午夜16秒，"你們占用了我們的時間"，然后雙方又有許多你來我往的折衝，反正英國搞外交是千年老狐貍，但中方這次很堅持:

《99年是到午夜為止，一秒鐘都不准越界！》你們的國歌你們自己不砍，我們會幫你們剁掉！12點準時開始演奏我們國歌，升旗，你們完不完是你們的事！

英國代表說:99年都等過來了，差這16秒？香港已經是你們的了，干嘛弄得這么難看？....。

不然，丟了99年，是祖宗缺德家門不幸，我認了，如果我們還是99年前那個孬樣，你會認賬交還？不要嬉皮笑臉，過了12點，你占用的，就是中國的主權，一秒都不行！

八分鐘，遠來是客，鼓掌歡迎；

十六秒，事關主權，給我剁掉！

附:
1. 中國失去香港不止99年,而是155年,99年指的是1898年擴大租借,是指九龍半島,回歸選中七月一也不是因為中共的黨慶,而真是1898年七月一號那天英國依約進駐九龍城寨.香港的割英,前后牽涉好幾次換約加碼,香港的本島是1842的江寧(南京)條約.這也是眾所周知的第一個不平等條約(*尼布楚條約遠早于此,但是否不平等,另有討論),百年屈辱的起點.

2. 就法論法，不平等條約也是約，所謂《惡法亦法》，孫中山的共和政府也概括承受了滿清簽下的國際條約。按條約內容，香港的各區，依歷史原因，而有不同的位階，九龍是租借，香港本島卻已永久割讓。英國最后放棄的真正理由是因為香港本島的供水及農產日用，全部來自九龍半島以北的新界，如果中英真的撕破臉，中方可以斷水斷糧，英國要喝水僅管從倫敦運水過來！

3. 通常近代史講<袪百年民族枷鎖>雖然也可以是概括性的泛指,但也可以精確的指1842南京條約到1942的廢除不平等條約.

4. 鄧小平曾兩次經過香港(赴法勤工儉學來回),鄧楠敘述她的父親最最渴望的一事就是歸還中國后能重踏上香港的土地一次,壯志未酬身先死,空留遺憾.鄧實在最有資格主持中國作主人的這場奧運.

5. 黃仁宇說:透過北伐和抗戰,蔣介石所領導的國民黨建立了一個上層結構(省和中央);透過內戰和土地改革,毛澤東所領導的共產黨建立了一個下層結構(鄉鎮到村里),這兩個結構疊在一起,使得中國具備了用數目字管理的基礎。在這個基礎之上,鄧小平和蔣經國分別進行了中國的現代化建設.1943年全國鋼鐵產量約等于1989時全國鋼產量的萬分之一，亦即1943年的全國所產鋼鐵總量，可以在1989的一個小時內完成。這個成績卻是由意識形態彼此水火不容的兩個團體，接力完成！（黃仁宇,蔣介石的歷史地位---按:文字依記憶所及，與原文容有出入），我請所有讀到他這段話的朋友們牢牢記住: 今天奧運會所展示的是中國兵不血刃的軟實力，這也是幾代人（水火不容？南轅北徹？你死我活）接力完成的。

http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-interesting-facts-about-the-handover-of-Hong-Kong-to-China-on-July-1-1997
What are some interesting facts about the handover of Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997?
4 Answers
Quora User, Have lived in China, Taiwan or Hong K... (more)
165 upvotes by Quora User, Edwin Li, Marc Bodnick, (more)
 
(Photo from WWW.SINA.COM)
•    The official handover ceremony was held at 11:30PM at the Convention Centre in Wanchai. At the time of the ceremony, the Convention Centre had not yet been completed. (It was completed in 2000.)
•    Officially, Beijing never recognized British control of HK, although it recognized all treaties which were made. So, for the British, the challenge was "How do you arrange protocol when the Chinese refuse to recognize the handover?" The official Chinese term for the handover was 中國政府對香港地區恢復行使權 The translation of this is "The Chinese government recovers sovereignty over Hong Kong and its regions" Notice that there is no mention of any handover in the Chinese or mention of British sovereignty over Hong Kong.
•    Because there was no recognition of British sovereignty over Hong Kong, the Chinese and British officials did not talk to each other, shake hands or acknowledge each other after the ceremony began.
•    The ceremony had to follow a strict schedule: the British Union Jack HAD TO come down before 12 midnight on June 30, and the PRC and HKSAR flags had to run up immediately after 12 midnight on July 1.
•    Because the ceremony was indoors, there was no wind to make the flags wave. So the Chinese punched holes in the back of the flag poles, and put powerful fans at the base to blow air up through the flag poles and out through vents so that the flags would wave.
•    After Prince Charles and Governor Patten spoke, Governor Patten and his family immediately took the Union Jack and boarded the Queen's yacht HMS Britannia, which was right outside the Convention Centre. The Chinese president and government officials then proceeded with the second Chinese half of the ceremony. The Chinese officials did not acknowledge the British officials departure from Convention Centre, and the ceremony continued without interruption.
•    By the time the Chinese half of the ceremony ended, the HMS Britannia had already left dockside.
•    At exactly 12 midnight, just as the Chinese flag was rising in the Convention Centre ceremony, 12 Chinese military trucks full of Chinese military personnel drove across the Hong Kong border without stopping at Chinese and HK customs. These were the first Chinese military personnel to be stationed in what was formerly the Prince of Wales Building in Central, and would become the garrison for the PLA in Hong Kong.
•    All the troops on the trucks were chosen from their units two years previously in 1995, and since then had practiced for this moment. All were EXACTLY 190 centimeters tall. All were ordered to stand at attention while the trucks drove at 60MPH to their destination without stopping. They were ordered to keep their eyes looking straight ahead even if HK residents waved at them as their trucks drove through HK.
•    Although the PLA soldiers carried guns, they were all unloaded.
•    The next day's papers in China all had the same photo of the Chinese flag waving in the Convention Centre ceremony. No photos of the British flag waving, taken before 12PM midnight, were shown in any Chinese papers.
•    By July 1, China had recovered sovereignty over Hong Kong after 157 years of British administration. Not a single life was lost in the process.
 
Written 24 Feb, 2013. 8,685 views.
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Quora User, half-local in Luoyang, Shanghai and Xi'an
18 upvotes by Marc Bodnick, Gwydion Madawc Williams, Erik Fair, (more)
Plus to Quora User's list, I want to add one interesting thing.

You all know that there was a negotiation about Hong Kong's laws, governments, etc after 1 July. There was a another special negotiation on how to conduct this ceremony around midnight of 1 July. I forgot the names of the officers in charge of this ceremony in this negotiation from both sides.

The British first said, according to the Joint Declaration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin...,
2. The Government of the United Kingdom declares that it will restore Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China with effect from 1 July 1997.
But there is no specific agreement on when shall this start on that day. It could be in the morning or afternoon or any time. So, let's first discuss when shall the ceremony begin on 1 July. The Chinese side clearly refused to discuss this because a single second more is unacceptable after the 157 years of waiting. Then, first round of 'fights'.

Soon, the British agree to start the ceremony around the midnight on 30 June. Then they propose that China can start to raise the flag at 00:00:00, 1st July. This means, when the midnight comes, China's flag is still on the ground. So, the Chinese side didn't accept.

Then, after several rounds of 'fights'. The British say, fine, you can start to raise your flag at 23:59:59 on 30 June before the midnight. The Chinese officer still didn't accept because, based on his counting, the soldiers need at least 2 seconds to start after they received the signal from the director of the military band who will play the national anthem.

Then, another round of 'fights'. And, finally, the British agree to let China start to raise flag at 23:59:58, 30 June.

However, this is not the end of the story. Although the process goes well in rehearsals, Prince Charles spoke too much and consumed more time than scheduled. This means, the British flag may not be on the ground at 23:59:58. Thus, the Chinese side decided that no matter what is going on at 23:59:58, they shall proceed to play the national anthem and raise the flag as planned. If the British are still lowering their flag at that time, they will be simply ignored. But, it is quite strange that the British use less time to lower their flag. They finished their part at 23:59:53 which is earlier than the original plan.

Then, the 5 seconds after 23:59:53 are totally silence.