June 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong marks ten years since its return to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 2007.

Here are some key moments since the handover.

-- July 1, 1997: Pro-Beijing Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, and Provisional Legislative Council sworn in as Hong Kong returns to Chinese sovereignty after 156 years of British rule.

-- Dec 1997-Jan 1998: "Bird flu" hits. All 1.4 million poultry in Hong Kong are killed, and the virus kills six people.

-- May 24, 1998: First multi-party vote. The democratic party sweeps elections for the new 60-member Legislative Council; taking 13 seats, versus the pro-Beijing DAB party's 10 seats.

-- Oct. 6, 1998: Restrictions on mainland residents visiting relatives in Hong Kong are relaxed.

-- May 18, 1999: Legislative Council of Hong Kong ("LegCo") votes to seek Beijing's help in restricting the influx of mainland immigrants to no more than 200,000.

-- June 26: China's parliament overturns Hong Kong's highest court on right-of-abode provisions in the Basic Law, sparking a constitutional crisis over judicial independence.

-- Aug. 9: China refuses to permit the Pope to visit Hong Kong, because of the Holy See's close links with Taiwan.

-- Sept 11, 2000: Second legislative elections: Democratic Party returns as single largest group, but with strength eroded.

-- Jan. 12, 2001: Ex-civil service head Anson Chan resigns as Chief Secretary a year early. Donald Tsang appointed on Feb. 15.

-- May 8: President Jiang Zemin's speech at the Global Fortune Forum disrupted by Falun Gong and democracy protesters.

-- Feb. 19, 2002: Chief Executive Tung's five-year term ends. Standing unopposed, Tung secures a second five-year term.

-- June 17: Sixteen Falun Gong members go on trial for public obstruction. The spiritual movement, banned in China, loses the case, but eight are later cleared by a Hong Kong court in 2005.

-- June 24: Tung names 14 "cabinet ministers" to run the 180,000-strong civil service, and appoints five advisers.

-- Sept. 24: Tung announces anti-subversion law called Article 23, after pressure from Beijing. Rights groups protest.

-- March-April, 2003: Flu-like SARS virus hits. Some 299 people die before Hong Kong is declared SARS-free in June 2003.

-- July 1: About 500,000 people march against Article 23. Two ministers later resign and the bill is indefinitely shelved.

-- April 2, 2004: Two days after Beijing rules it can veto any changes to Hong Kong election laws, China's Wen Jiabao pledges the territory will ultimately have direct elections.

-- Sept. 12: Legislative council election draws a record 55 percent turnout, with half the 60 seats directly elected.

-- Dec. 21: Chinese President Hu Jintao publicly rebukes Tung Chee-hwa in Macau over his administration's performance.

-- March 11, 2005: Tung Chee-hwa resigns after weeks of speculation, citing ill health. Donald Tsang takes over in June.

-- Sept. 12: Hong Kong Disneyland opens, the first in China.

-- Feb. 22, 2006: Pope Benedict XVI elevates the leader of Hong Kong's 300,000 Catholics, Bishop Joseph Zen, to cardinal.

-- July 1: Tens of thousands of people take to the streets to call for full democracy, nine years into Chinese rule.

-- Jan. 16, 2007: New rules restrict numbers of pregnant women coming from mainland China to Hong Kong to give birth.

-- March 25: Chief Executive Donald Tsang wins a new five-year term, defeating pro-democracy lawmaker Alan Leong in Hong Kong's first contested leadership election.

Sources: Reuters

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