CIIC:Selected anniversaries/December 16

HKSAR Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa (L) was sworn in at a ceremony in Hong Kong on July 1, 1997.

705: Wu Zetian, the only Empress in Chinese history, died.

1920: The Ningxia Haiyuan Earthquake claimed 230,000 lives.

1945: The China Democratic National Construction Association was founded.

1963: Chinese Communist military leader, General Luo Ronghuan passed away.

1996: The State Council appointed Tung Chee Hwa as first chief executive of Hong Kong SAR.