Hong Kong Government - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Country name

conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

conventional short form: Hong Kong

local long form: Heung Kong Takpit Hangching Ku (Eitel/Dyer-Ball)

local short form: Heung Kong (Eitel/Dyer-Ball)

abbreviation: HK

etymology: probably an imprecise phonetic rendering of the Cantonese name meaning "fragrant harbor"

Dependency status

special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

Government type

presidential limited democracy; a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

Administrative divisions

none (special administrative region of the People's Republic of China)

Independence

none (special administrative region of China)

National holiday

National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July (1997) is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day

Constitution

history: several previous (governance documents while under British authority); latest drafted April 1988 to February 1989, approved March 1990, effective 1 July 1997 (Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China serves as the constitution); note - since 1990, China's National People's Congress has interpreted specific articles of the Basic Law

amendments: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the People’s Republic of China State Council, or the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong; submittal of proposals to the NPC requires two-thirds majority vote by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, approval by two thirds of Hong Kong’s deputies to the NPC, and approval by the Hong Kong chief executive; final passage requires approval by the NPC

Legal system

mixed legal system of common law based on the English model and Chinese customary law (in matters of family and land tenure)

Citizenship

see China

Suffrage

18 years of age in direct elections for half of the Legislative Council seats and all of the seats in 18 district councils; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past 7 years; note - in indirect elections, suffrage is limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies for the other half of the legislature and a 1,200-member election committee for the chief executive drawn from broad sectoral groupings, central government bodies, municipal organizations, and elected Hong Kong officials

Executive branch

chief of state: President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013) 

head of government:  Chief Executive Carrie LAM (since 1 July 2017)

cabinet:  Executive Council or ExCo appointed by the chief executive 

elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by National People's Congress for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023); chief executive indirectly elected by the Election Committee and appointed by the PRC Government for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 26 March 2017 (next to be held in 2022)

election results: Carrie LAM elected chief executive; Election Committee vote - Carrie LAM 777, John TSANG 365, WOO Kwok-hing 21, invalid 23

note: the Legislative Council voted in June 2010 to expand the Election Committee to 1,200 members

Legislative branch

description: unicameral Legislative Council or LegCo (70 seats; 35 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; 30 members indirectly elected by the approximately 220,000 members of various functional constituencies based on a variety of methods; 5 at large "super-seat" members directly elected by all of Hong Kong’s eligible voters who do not participate in a functional constituency; members serve 4-year terms)

elections: last held on 4 September 2016; (scheduled for September 2020, but delayed until 19 December 2021); note - byelection held on 11 March and 25 November 2018 to fill 5 seats left vacant after 5 legislators were removed from office

election results: percent of vote by block - pro-democracy 36%; pro-Beijing 40.2%, localist 19%, other 4.8%; seats by block/party - pro-Beijing 40 (DAB 12, BPA 7, FTU 5, Liberal Party 4, NPP 3, other 9); pro-democracy 23 (Democratic Party 7, Civic Party 6, PP-LSD 2, Professional Commons 2, Labor 1, NWSC 1, PTU 1, other democrats 3), localists 6 (ALLinHK 2, CP-PPI-HKRO 1, Demosisto 1, Democracy Groundwork 1, other localist 1), non-aligned independent 1; composition - men 59, women 11, percent of women 15.7%; note - 2 localists were barred from taking office in November 2016 and 4 pro-democracy legislators were removed in July 2017; two pan-democratic, two DAB, and one pro-establishment candidates won the byelections in 2018 to fill the seats vacated by the 5 legislators removed from office; one pro-democracy seat remains unfilled pending a court appeal; percent of vote by block as of March 2019 - pro-Beijing 62% pro-democracy 38%; seats by block/party as of March 2019 - pro-Beijing 43 (DAB 13, BPA 7, FTU 5, Liberal Party 4, NPP 3, other 11); pro-democracy 26 (Democratic Party 7, Civic Party 5, Professional Commons 2, Civic Passion 1, Labor 1 PTU 1, Council Front 6, independent 3); composition as of March 2019 - men 58, women 11; percent of women 15.7%

 

Judicial branch

highest courts: Court of Final Appeal (consists of the chief justice, 3 permanent judges, and 20 non-permanent judges); note - a sitting bench consists of the chief justice, 3 permanent judges, and 1 non-permanent judge

judge selection and term of office: all judges appointed by the Hong Kong Chief Executive upon the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, an independent body consisting of the Secretary for Justice, other judges, and judicial and legal professionals; permanent judges serve until normal retirement at age 65, but term can be extended; non-permanent judges appointed for renewable 3-year terms without age limit

subordinate courts: High Court (consists of the Court of Appeal and Court of First Instance); District Courts (includes Family and Land Courts); magistrates' courts; specialized tribunals

Political parties and leaders

parties:
ALLinHK (alliance of 6 localist groups)
Business and Professional Alliance or BPA [LO Wai-kwok]
Civic Party [Alan LEONG]
Civic Passion or CP [CHENG Chung-tai] (part of Civic Passion-Proletariat Political Institute-Hong Kong Resurgence Order alliance or CP-PPI-HKRO that dissolved after the 2016 election)
Democracy Groundwork [LAU Siu-lai]
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [Starry LEE Wai-king]
Democratic Party [LO Kin-hei]
Demosisto [Ivan LAM] (announced cessation of all operations, 30 June 2020)
Federation of Trade Unions or FTU [Stanley NG Chau-pei]
Labor Party [Steven KWOK Wing-kin]
League of Social Democrats or LSD [Raphael WONG Ho-ming]
Liberal Party [Felix CHUNG Kwok-pan]
Neighborhood and Workers Service Center or NWSC [LEUNG Yui-chung]
New People's Party or NPP [Regina IP Lau Su-yee]
People Power or PP [TAM Tak-chi]
Youngspiration [Sixtus "Baggio" LEUNG Chung-hang]
other:
Professional Commons [Charles Peter MOK] (think tank)
Professional Teachers Union or PTU

note: political blocks include: pro-democracy - Civic Party, Democratic Party, Labor Party, LSD, NWSC, PP, Professional Commons, PTU; pro-Beijing - DAB, FTU, Liberal Party, NPP, BPA; localist - ALLinHK, CP, Democracy Groundwork, Demosisto; there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies

International organization participation

ADB, APEC, BIS, FATF, ICC (national committees), IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC (NGOs), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: none (Special Administrative Region of China); Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) carries out normal liaison activities and communication with the US Government and other US entities; Eddie MAK, JP (since 3 July 2018) is the Hong Kong Commissioner to the US Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; address: 1520 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; telephone: [1] 202 331-8947; FAX: [1] 202 331-8958

HKETO offices: New York, San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Consul General Hanscom SMITH (since July 2019); note - also accredited to Macau

telephone: [852] 2523-9011

embassy: U. S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau
26 Garden Road
Central Hong Kong

mailing address: Unit 8000, Box 1, DPO AP 96521-0006

FAX: [852] 2845-1598

consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong

Flag description

red with a stylized, white, five-petal Bauhinia flower in the center; each petal contains a small, red, five-pointed star in its middle; the red color is the same as that on the Chinese flag and represents the motherland; the fragrant Bauhinia - developed in Hong Kong the late 19th century - has come to symbolize the region; the five stars echo those on the flag of China

National symbol(s)

orchid tree flower; national colors: red, white

National anthem

note: as a Special Administrative Region of China, "Yiyongjun Jinxingqu" is the official anthem (see China)

NOTE: The information regarding Hong Kong on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Hong Kong 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Hong Kong 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.