THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 1,098 sq km (424 sq mi)
Population: 6.815m (mid-2002)
People: Chinese 99%, 1% other
Languages: Chinese (Cantonese),
English
Religion: Buddhism and Taoism
(majority), Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism
Currency: The Hong Kong Dollar, which
is pegged to the US Dollar.
Major Political Parties:Democratic
Party, Hong Kong Democratic Alliance
for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Hong
Kong Progressive Alliance and The
Frontier
Government: The head of the Hong
Kong (SAR) Government is the Chief
Executive.
GEOGRAPHY
The Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of China covers an area of
1,098 square kilometres (424 square
miles) on the southern coast of China.
It comprises Hong Kong Island, Kowloon
and the New Territories, and about 235
outlying islands. It has a subtropical
climate with hot, wet summers and
cool, dry winters. Hong Kong's
harbour, strategically located on the
primary Far Eastern trade routes,
facilitated Hong Kong's development as
one of the greatest trading ports in the
Asia-Pacific Region. Hong Kong has a
population of around 815m, 99% of
whom are ethnic Chinese.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
Historical Chronology of Hong Kong
1841: Hong Kong occupied by the British.
1842: Hong Kong Island ceded by China
to Britain under the Treaty of Nanking
(Nanjing).
1860: Kowloon and Stonecutters Island
ceded to Britain under the First
Convention of Peking (Beijing).
1898: New Territories leased from
China for 99 years under the Second
Convention of Peking (Beijing).
1941: Japanese occupy Hong Kong.
1945: Hong Kong liberated from
Japanese occupation.
1982: Negotiations open between Britain
and China on the future of Hong Kong.
1983: Hong Kong Dollar pegged to US
Dollar
1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on
Hong Kong.
1985: Joint Declaration enters into
force and registered with the UN.
First meeting of Sino-British Joint
Liaison Group.
1986: Visit by Her Majesty the Queen
and His Royal Highness Prince Philip.
1990: The Basic Law laid down.
1997: Handover of Hong Kong from
Britain to China. Hong Kong becomes a
Special Administrative Region of China
(midnight 30 June).
1998: Chek Lap Kok airport opened.
2002 Chief Executive CH Tung
reappointed for a second 5 year term.
CONSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND
The Handover
On 1 July 1997, in accordance with the
Sino-British Joint Declaration on the
Question of Hong Kong (Joint
Declaration) signed on 19 December
1984, Hong Kong returned to Chinese
sovereignty. Hong Kong then became
the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (SAR) of the People's Republic
of China (PRC). The Joint Declaration
and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong
SAR (Basic Law) provide that Hong
Kong's capitalist system and way of life
will remain unchanged for 50 years;
and that Hong Kong will have a high
degree of autonomy, except in foreign
affairs and defence, which are the
responsibility of the Chinese
Government. Fundamental rights and
freedoms of the people of Hong Kong
are guaranteed by the Joint
Declaration and the Basic Law. The
Basic Law serves as a
mini-constitution for Hong Kong. It was
promulgated by the National People's
Congress of the PRC in 1990. It
prescribes, among other matters, the
relationship between the Chinese
Government and the Hong Kong SAR
Government, the fundamental rights
and duties of the Hong Kong people and
the SAR's political structure, and
contains provisions on the
interpretation and amendment of its
Articles.
The Chief Executive and Executive
Council
The head of the Hong Kong SAR
Government is the Chief Executive.
The current Chief Executive is Mr
Tung Chee Hwa. He was reappointed by
the Central People's Government in
Beijing for a second five year term
starting on 1 July 2002, after being
nominated unopposed for this position
by an election committee. Under the
Basic Law, the Chief Executive must be
a Chinese citizen and a permanent
resident of the region who has lived in
Hong Kong for a continuous period of
not less than 20 years. His powers are
described in the Basic Law. He is
assisted by the Executive Council
(ExCo), which is currently comprised
of 14 official members and four
non-official members, in making
important policy decisions and
subsidiary legislation.
The Legislature
The Legislative Council (LegCo)
comprises 60 members, with 24
members returned by geographical
constituencies through direct elections,
30 members returned by functional
constituencies representing different
sectors of the community, and 6
members returned by an Election
Committee comprising 800
representatives of the community
appointed by the Central People's
Government. In the next elections due
to be held in 2004 there will be further
changes to the composition of LegCo
with 30 members returned by
geographical constituencies through
direct elections and 30 returned by
functional constituencies. LegCo's main
functions are enacting laws; examining
and approving Government budgets,
taxation and public expenditure;
monitoring Government; endorsing the
appointment and removal of judges of
the Court of Final Appeal and the Chief
Judge of the High Court and debating
issues of public interest. Under the
Joint Declaration and the Basic Law,
LegCo is to be composed of local
people and constituted by election with
the ultimate goal of a Legislative
Council elected entirely on the basis of
universal suffrage. The method for the
formation of the Legislative Council
subsequent to the year 2007 is detailed
in Annex II of the Basic Law. The most
recent LegCo elections were held on 10
September 2000.
The Judiciary
Hong Kong's judicial system, based on
the English Common Law, has remained
largely unchanged since the handover.
The most significant change then was
the establishment of the Court of Final
Appeal (which replaced the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council in
London as the highest appellate court in
Hong Kong). The Joint Declaration and
Basic Law provide that the courts will
exercise judicial power independently
and free from interference.
The Executive
Continuity of the public service and
preservation of its political impartiality
and professionalism are key factors in
Hong Kong's continuing stability. The
Basic Law provides that the key posts
in the Civil Service must be occupied
by Chinese nationals who have resided
in Hong Kong for not less than 15 years.
However, the Hong Kong Government
may continue to employ and recruit
foreign nationals. The current Financial
Secretary is MrHenry Tang, who until
4 August 2003 was the Secretary for
Commerce, Industry and Technology.
In Hong Kong's 'executive led' Special
Administrative Region (SAR)
government, the top echelon had
traditionally been drawn from the civil
service and had responsibility for both
policy formulation and implementation.
This had led to criticisms that senior
officials were not being held
accountable for policy mistakes. In his
policy address in 2001 the Chief
Executive proposed a new system for
appointing top officials, which he
introduced on 1 July 2002, termed the
'accountability system'. The new top
officials are political appointees on
fixed term contracts who form the
Chief Executive's cabinet and are
responsible for policy making. They are
'accountable' to the Chief Executive
who can sack them for serious
mistakes; and they serve for a period
no longer than that of the Chief
Executive who appointed them. The
first set of principal officials included
five people from outside the
Government, from various walks of
life û bringing the number of
non-career civil servants to eight. The
remainder were drawn from the
incumbent principal officials. Beneath
the political appointees are permanent
secretaries drawn from the civil
service who are responsible for the
implementation of policy.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
GDP: US$173bn (2002)
GDP Growth: 2.3% (2002)
GDP per capita: US$25,003 (2002)
Unemployment: 8.6% (April-June 2003)
Currency: The Hong Kong Dollar is
pegged to the US Dollar. HK$7.8 = $1.
British exports to Hong Kong (2002
figures): HK$2.43bn
British imports from Hong Kong (2001):
ú5.77bn
Total British investment in Hong Kong:
ú4bn
Trade Partners UK Country Profile:
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is the tenth largest trading
economy in the world, with total trade,
including re-exports from Mainland
China, amounting to some 293% of GDP.
Since the 1980s, many Hong Kong
companies have moved their factories
to cheaper locations in the Pearl River
Delta (PRD), and manufacturing now
makes up only 4.5% of Hong Kong's
GDP. Services account for over 85% of
GDP and although some lower-end
operations have begun to follow their
manufacturing counterparts across the
border into Mainland China, financial
services, tourism, logistics, retail and
trade-related services continue to
make up the key elements of the Hong
Kong economy. Although historically
important the property bubble burst
during the Asian Financial Crisis and the
property market is now valued at 35%
of its pre-crisis high. Foreign
exchange reserves are the fifth
largest in the world after Japan, China,
Taiwan and Korea. Although fiscal
reserves are falling as a result of a
growing budget deficit, no external
debt exists. The Hong dollar is linked to
the US dollar through a currency
board.
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