News of the World | After UK handover, Hong Kong in uneasy transition

Tens of thousands of people attend a candlelight vigil in Victoria Park in Hong Kong for victims of the Chinese government’s military crackdown nearly three decades ago on protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square

Statue of Britain’s Queen Victoria is seen at Victoria Park

With a new “Basic Law” constitution and a framework known as “one country, two systems,” Hong Kongers were promised that they could keep their capitalist way of life, including western-style civil liberties and considerable autonomy, for 50 years.

However, many residents are increasingly concerned about mainland China’s rising influence in Hong Kong. They worry that Beijing is backtracking on its promises, putting their way of life under threat.

Mainland China’s growing profile amid lingering signs of the British colonial era are seen in these photos by Associated Press photographer Vincent Yu, who used a “tilt- shift” lens to accentuate certain elements of the image and provide a new perspective.

Chinese symbols like national flags or a giant ad for mainland liquor loom over the city in some photos. Some British-era icons haven’t faded over time, like a justice statue over the law courts, while others show what has disappeared, like the spot on the wall of the City Hall building where colonial insignia used to hang.

Chinese soldier stands guard at the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Forces building

Chinese national flag flies at the Convention and Exhibition Center

Statue of the Goddess of Democracy is displayed at Hong Kong’s Victoria Park

Protesters in Hong Kong carry placards with Chinese words that read: “Exonerate the June 4 Protest”

A general view from Victoria Peak

Photos by Vincent Yu and Kin Cheung, AP