Ten years ago, among the dignitaries who viewed the 50th National Day celebrations from the Tian'anmen Rostrum was Tung Chee-hwa, the first chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Two years before, China had resumed the exercise sovereignty over Hong Kong, a British colony for 155 years. Neighboring Macao, a colony of Portugal, returned to China in December 1999.

On Oct. 1, 2009, both Hong Kong and Macao joined celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Ten months earlier, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan resumed direct air, shipping and mail services after 59 years of stalemate.

China is making significant steps towards reunification, for which it struggled for over the past century.

One country, two systems

July 1, 1997 was considered the day that China shed the disgrace of 1842 when the government of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) signed the treaty that resulted in Hong Kong becoming a British colony.

When the PRC was founded in 1949, the leadership, headed by Mao Zedong, understood the return of Hong Kong and Macao would signal China's status as an independent country no longer under the influence of major powers.

Mao and his colleagues made clear that the issue of Hong Kong and Macao must be solved, but in a peaceful way.

In the 1960s, the PRC government announced that it planned to resolve the Hong Kong and Macao issues through negotiations when circumstances allowed. Until then, it would maintain the status quo.

Domestic and international situations changed rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s. Deng Xiaoping, the "general architect" of China's reform and opening up, put forward a creative and pragmatic solution to the country's reunification, the policy of "one country, two systems."

Deng intended it to resolve the Taiwan issue, but it was first implemented with Hong Kong.

After tough talks, China and the United Kingdom signed a joint statement setting the date for the return of Hong Kong in December 1984.

Two and half years later, China and Portugal reached an agreement on Macao's return in 1999.

The implementation of "one country, two systems" was an unprecendented challenge.

In 1995, the U.S.-based Fortune Magazine carried a cover story, "The Death of Hong Kong," predicting the handover would end Hong Kong's role as an international commercial and financial hub.

Events seemed to support the prediction in 1997. During the handover, Asia, including Hong Kong, was hit by a financial crisis.

However, the city pulled through. In 2007, a decade later, Hong Kong reported economic growth of 6.3 percent and unemployment down to 3.3 percent.

It remains a vigorous international financial center and gateway to the mainland.

In June 2007, TIME Magazine commented that Hong Kong was more vigorous than ever.

Chan Fung Fu-chun, former director of health of the Hong Kong SAR government, was elected director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2006, the first Chinese to head a United Nations organization.

The city shared Beijing's honor as an Olympic host by organizing the Olympic equestrian competition in August 2008.

Macao also prospered. It stopped the four-year decline in gross domestic product (GDP) before the handover in 1999. In the first six years after the handover, GDP growth averaged 11 percent. Its GDP per capita stands at 36,000 U.S. dollars.

Hong Kong and Macao residents have been able to administer their own cities with support from the central government.

The policy of "one country, two systems" has shown a new peaceful way to resolve historical disputes.