this is all very interesting. like to illustrate the "asian" concept of sovereignty with two examples.
hong kong. hong kong is never a sovereign entity even though it has its own goverment, people, borders, laws, after the british handover in 1997. the prc moved right in after midnight of the handover ceremony to secure british colonial offices. not one second wasted for hk to "live" in nanosecond independence. the pla took over military and defence responsibilities and prc state apparatus took over foreign affairs while leaving almost all of police, customs, immigration, courts, emergency services (internal or home departments) which were run by hongkies intact. "almost all" as the public security bureau of the prc (secret police) inserted some of their elements in the hk system. they also started behind the scenes work at the legco and the head office of the sar. although it's "one cuntry two systems", hk is essentially now an integral part of the prc with its sovereignty hopes bashed for as long as the commies are in power.
okinawa. before this "u.s. territory" was handed over or back to japan, all road signs were american and the driver drove on the right side of the road. measurements were in imperial except for u.s. military units of measure. when the handover happened, the japs were ready to take over at midnight with no seconds lost, and they changed all the road signs, repainted the roads, converted all units of measure and signs in gov offices, literally overnight, from midnight to 5am in the morning. when the first resident driver woke up in the morning, he found everything on the road changed, as though he woke up in japan.
