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1997
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7.1.1997
The People's Republic of China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. |
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11.16.1997
After nearly 18 years of incarceration, the People's Republic of China releases Wei Jingsheng, a pro- democracy dissident, from jail for medical reasons. |
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12.3.1997
In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign The Ottawa treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty, however. |
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1999
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2.24.1999
A China Southern Airlines Tupolev TU-154 airliner crashes on approach to Wenzhou airport in eastern the People's Republic of China, killing 61. |
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5.7.1999
Kosovo War: In Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
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5.25.1999
The United States House of Representatives releases the ''Cox Report'' which details the People's Republic of China's nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades. |
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7.20.1999
Falun Gong is banned in the People's Republic of China, and a large scale crackdown of the practice is launched.
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11.19.1999
Shenzhou 1: The People's Republic of China launches its first Shenzhou spacecraft.
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12.20.1999
Macau is handed over to the People's Republic of China by Portugal.
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2001
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4.11.2001
The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, People's Republic of China after a collision with an J-8 fighter is released.
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12.27.2001
The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States. |
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2003
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6.1.2003
The People's Republic of China begins filling the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam.
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10.15.2003
China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission.
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12.23.2003
PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, killing at least 234. |
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2004
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2.5.2004
Twenty-three Chinese people drown when a group of 35 cockle-pickers are trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay, England. Twenty-one bodies are recovered. |
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11.26.2004
Ruzhou School massacre: a man stabs and kills eight people and seriously wounds another four in a school dormitory in Ruzhou, China.
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2005
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3.12.2005
Tung Chee Hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, steps down from his post after his resignation is approved by the Chinese central government. |
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8.19.2005
The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins. |
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10.12.2005
The second Chinese human spaceflight ''Shenzhou 6'' launched carrying Fèi Jùnlóng and Niè Hǎishèng for five days in orbit. |
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12.6.2005
Several villagers are shot dead during protests in Dongzhou, China.
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2006
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7.1.2006
The first operation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway in the People's Republic of China.
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7.6.2006
The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
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2007
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11.5.2007
China's first lunar satellite, Chang'e 1 goes into orbit around the Moon.
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2008
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5.12.2008
An earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people. |
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9.27.2008
CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk while flying on ''Shenzhou 7''.
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2009
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7.5.2009
A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. |
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2010
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4.30.2010
Hailed as the largest World's Fair in history, Expo 2010 opens in Shangai, China.
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