evidence: After the Qing conquest, maritime trade was banned under the Haijin policies. From 1661 to 1683, the population of most of the area forming present day Hong Kong was cleared under the Great Clearance, turning the region into a wasteland.[43] The Kangxi Emperor lifted the maritime trade prohibition, allowing foreigners to enter Chinese ports in 1684.[44] Qing authorities established the Canton System in 1757 to regulate trade more strictly, restricting non-Russian ships to the port of Canton.[45] Although European demand for Chinese commodities like tea, silk, and porcelain was high, Chinese interest in European manufactured goods was insignificant, so that Chinese goods could only be bought with precious metals. To reduce the trade imbalance, the British sold large amounts of Indian opium to China. Faced with a drug crisis, Qing officials pursued ever more aggressive actions to halt the opium trade.[46] [...] Broadband Internet access is widely available, with 92.6% of households connected. Connections over fibre-optic infrastructure are increasingly prevalent,[313] contributing to the high regional average connection speed of 21.9 Mbit/s (the world's fourth-fastest).[314] Mobile-phone use is ubiquitous;[315] there are more than 18 million mobile-phone accounts,[316] more than double the territory's population.