Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It located on the southeastern coast of China. As a former British colony, Hong Kong has one of the world's most free economies and is a major international center of finance and trade. Though administered by the PRC under the policy of "one country, two systems," Hong Kong is legally entitled to a high degree of legal and cultural autonomy, retaining its own legal system, currency, and immigration laws. Hong Kong even maintains its own rules of the road, with traffic continuing to drive on the left. Only national defense and diplomatic relations are responsibilities of the government in Beijing. Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1191: : Ayyubid forces under Saladin were defeated in the Battle of Arsuf during the Third Crusade. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arsuf) 1812: : Napoleonic Wars: The French Grande Armée under Napoleon I forced the Russian army of Alexander I to withdraw in the Battle of Borodino. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Borodino) 1818: : Carl III of Sweden was crowned king of Norway. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_XIV_of_Sweden) 1940: : The Blitz began when Nazi Germany's bombs landed on London, the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz) 1986: : Desmond Tutu became the first black to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu) _____________________ Wikiquote of the day: "I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it." -- Edith Sitwell (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Sitwell)