In 1974, English was the only language recognized by the government of Hong Kong as an official language. On the other hand, non-immigrants from mainland China staged demonstrations and submitted petitions in favor of Chinese being recognized as the official language. This was as a result of the fact that people of Chinese ancestry made up the vast majority of the population in Hong Kong.
As a direct response to the protests, the government decided to recognize Chinese alongside English as one of the official languages of the country. This made it possible for the administration of Hong Kong to communicate more effectively with the inhabitants of that city.