The politics of Hong Kong takes place in a framework of a political system dominated by its constitutional document, the
Hong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ...
, its
own legislature, the
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
as the
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
and of the
Special Administrative Region and of a politically constrained
multi-party
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in c ...
presidential system
A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...
. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is led by the
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, the
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
.
On 1 July 1997,
sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(PRC), ending over one and a half centuries of
British rule
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
became a
Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC with a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign affairs and defence, which are responsibilities of the PRC government. According to the
Sino-British Joint Declaration
The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...
(1984) and the Basic Law, Hong Kong will retain its political, economic and judicial systems and unique way of life and continue to participate in international agreements and organisations as a dependent territory for at least 50 years after
retrocession
The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdictio ...
. For instance, the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
recognises Hong Kong as a participating nation under the name, "Hong Kong, China", separate from the delegation from the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
In accordance with Article 31 of the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the supreme law of the People's Republic of China. It was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982, with further revisions about every five years. It is the fo ...
, Hong Kong has
Special Administrative Region status which provides constitutional guarantees for implementing the policy of "
one country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The constitutional principle was formulated in the early ...
". The
Basic Law, Hong Kong's constitutional document, was approved in March 1990 by
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2, ...
of China, and entered into force upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July 1997.
The Hong Kong government is
economically liberal
Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism, ...
, but currently
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
is only granted in
District Council elections, and in elections for 20 out of 90 seats of the Legislative Council. The head of the government (
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...
) is elected through an
electoral college with the majority of its members elected by a limited number of voters mainly within business and professional sectors.
Branches
Executive branch
The
Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CE) is the head of the special administrative region, and is also the highest-ranking official in the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and is the head of the executive branch.
The Chief Executive is elected by a 1200-member Election Committee drawn mostly from the voters in the
functional constituencies
A functional constituency is an electoral device (a non-geographical constituency) used within the political systems of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China:
* Functional constituency (Hong Kong)
* Functional cons ...
but also from religious organisations and municipal and central government bodies. The CE is legally appointed by the
Premier of the People's Republic of China
The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...
. The
Executive Council, the top policy organ of the executive government that advises on policy matters, is entirely appointed by the Chief Executive.
Legislative branch
In accordance with Article 26 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, permanent residents of Hong Kong are eligible to vote in direct elections for the 20 seats representing geographical constituencies. Some of the permanent residents who have specific occupational backgrounds are eligible to vote in the 30 seats from
functional constituencies
A functional constituency is an electoral device (a non-geographical constituency) used within the political systems of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China:
* Functional constituency (Hong Kong)
* Functional cons ...
in the 90-seat, unicameral
Legislative Council (LegCo).
Within functional constituencies, 5 seats attribute to
District Council (Second)
The District Council (Second) functional constituency () was a functional constituency in the elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong which was created in the 2012 constitutional reform package. It was the largest functional constituen ...
which virtually regards the entire city as a single electoral constituency. The franchise for the other 30 seats is limited to about 230,000 voters in the other functional constituencies (mainly composed of business and professional sectors).
The 1500-member election committee of Hong Kong will vote for the remaining 40 seats to enter the Legislative Council as the sector of Election Committee.
Judicial branch
The Judiciary consists of a series of courts, of which the
court of final adjudication is the
Court of Final Appeal.
While Hong Kong retains the
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
system, the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
has the power of final interpretation of national laws affecting Hong Kong, including the Basic Law, and its opinions are therefore binding on Hong Kong courts on a prospective and often retrospective basis and may not be in line with common law principles.
Major political issues since 1997
Right of abode
On 29 January 1999, the Court of Final Appeal, the highest judicial authority in Hong Kong interpreted several Articles of the
Basic Law, in such a way that the Government estimated would allow 1.6 million
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
immigrants to enter Hong Kong within ten years. This caused widespread concerns among the public on the social and economic consequences.
While some in the legal sector advocated that the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2, ...
(NPC) should be asked to amend the part of the Basic Law to redress the problem, the
Government of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-Br ...
(HKSAR) decided to seek an interpretation to, rather than an amendment of, the relevant Basic Law provisions from the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
(NPCSC). The NPCSC issued an interpretation in favour of the Hong Kong Government in June 1999, thereby overturning parts of the court decision. While the full powers of NPCSC to interpret the Basic Law is provided for in the Basic Law itself, some critics argue this undermines
judicial independence Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...
.
1 July marches and Article 23
The Hong Kong 1 July March is an annual protest rally led by the
Civil Human Rights Front
The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) was an organisation that focused on the issues of Hong Kong politics and livelihood, affiliated with almost all pan-democratic camps in Hong Kong. It was founded on 13 September 2002 and disbanded on 15 Aug ...
since the 1997 handover on the
HKSAR establishment day. However, it was only in 2003 when it drew large public attention by opposing the bill of Article 23. It has become the annual platform for demanding universal suffrage, calling for observance and preservation of
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
such as
free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...
, venting dissatisfaction with the
Hong Kong Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...
or the Chief Executive, rallying against actions of the Pro-Beijing camp.
In 2003, the HKSAR Government proposed to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law by enacting
national security bill against acts such as
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
,
subversion
Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to transform the established social order and its structures of power, authority, hierarchy, and social norms. Sub ...
,
secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
and
sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
.
[Executive Council of HKSAR]
"Executive Council
" ''.'' Retrieved on 26 August 2013. However, there were concerns that the legislation would infringe human rights by introducing the mainland's concept of "national security" into the HKSAR. Together with the general dissatisfaction with the Tung administration, about 500,000 people participated in this protest. Article 23 enactment was "temporarily suspended".
[Wong, Yiu-Chung. One Country, Two Systems in Crisis: Hong Kong's Transformation Since the Handover. Lexington books. .]
Universal suffrage
Towards the end of 2003, the focus of political controversy shifted to the dispute of how subsequent Chief Executives get elected. The
Basic Law's Article 45 stipulates that the ultimate goal is
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
; when and how to achieve that goal, however, remains open but controversial. Under the Basic Law, electoral law could be amended to allow for this as soon as
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
(Hong Kong Basic Law Annex .1, Sect.7). Arguments over this issue seemed to be responsible for a series of Mainland Chinese newspapers commentaries in February 2004 which stated that power over Hong Kong was only fit for "patriots."
The interpretation of the NPCSC to Annex I and II of the Basic Law, promulgated on 6 April 2004, made it clear that the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2, ...
' support is required over proposals to amend the electoral system under Basic Law. On 26 April 2004, the Standing Committee of National People's Congress denied the possibility of universal suffrage in 2007 (for the Chief Executive) and 2008 (for LegCo).
The NPCSC interpretation and decision were regarded as obstacles to the democratic development of Hong Kong by the democratic camp, and were criticised for lack of consultation with Hong Kong residents. On the other hand, the pro-government camp considered them to be in compliance with the legislative intent of the Basic Law and in line with the '
One country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The constitutional principle was formulated in the early ...
' principle, and hoped that this would put an end to the controversies on development of political structure in Hong Kong.
In 2007 Chief Executive Sir Donald Tsang requested for Beijing to allow direct elections for the Chief Executive. He referred to a survey which said more than half of the citizens of Hong Kong wanted direct elections by 2012. However, he said waiting for 2017 may be the best way to get two-thirds of the support of Legislative Council. Donald Tsang announced that the NPC said it planned to allow the 2017 Chief Executive elections and the 2020 Legislative Council elections to take place by universal suffrage.
In 2013, public concern was sparked that the election process for the Chief Executive would involve a screening process that swipes out candidates deemed suitable for the position by Beijing, incited by a comment made by a Deputy of the National People's Congress at an off-the-recorded gathering.
Resignation of Tung Chee-hwa and interpretation of Basic Law
On 12 March 2005, the Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, resigned. Immediately after Tung's resignation, there was dispute over the length of the term of the Chief Executive. To most local legal professionals, the length is obviously five years, under whatever circumstances. It should also be noted that the wording of the Basic Law on the term of the Chief Executive is substantially different from the articles in the PRC constitution concerning the length of term of the president, premier, etc. Nonetheless, legal experts from the mainland said it is a convention a successor will only serve the remainder of the term if the position is vacant because the predecessor resigned.
The
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
exercised its right to interpret the Basic Law, and affirmed that the successor would only serve the remainder of the term. Many in Hong Kong saw this as having an adverse impact on one country, two systems, as the
Central People's Government
The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...
interpret the Basic Law to serve its need, that is, a two-year probation for Tsang, instead of a five-year term.
Political reform package
![Hong kong protest 2005 0001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Hong_kong_protest_2005_0001.jpg)
On 4 December 2005, people in Hong Kong demonstrated against Sir
Donald Tsang
Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012.
Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyi ...
's proposed reform package, before a vote on 21 December. According to the organisers,
[LegCo Today]
" ''Legislative Council of the HKSAR.'' Retrieved on 26 August 2013 an estimated 250,000 turned out into the streets. The police supplied a figure of 63,000, and Michael de Golyer of Baptist University estimated between 70,000 and 100,000.
The march has sent a strong message to hesitant pro-democracy legislators to follow public opinion. The pro-government camp claims to have collected 700,000 signatures on a petition backing Mr. Tsang's reform package. This number, however, is widely seen as too small to influence pro-democracy lawmakers. The Reform Package debate has seen the return of key political figure and former Chief Secretary
Anson Chan
Anson Maria Elizabeth Chan Fang On-sang, (; ''née'' Fang; born 17 January 1940) is a retired Hong Kong politician and civil servant who was the first ethnic Chinese and woman to serve as Chief Secretary, the second-highest position in both ...
, raising speculations of a possible run up for the 2007 Chief Executive election, though she dismissed having a personal interest in standing for the next election.
In an attempt to win last minute votes from moderate pro-democracy lawmakers, the government amended its reform package on 19 December by proposing a gradual cut in the number of
district council members appointed by the Chief Executive. Their number would be reduced from 102 to 68 by 2008. It would then be decided in 2011 whether to scrap the remaining seats in 2012 or in 2016.
The amendment has been seen as a reluctant response by Sir Donald Tsang to give satisfaction to the democratic demands made by demonstrators on 4 December. The move has been qualified "Too little, too late" by pan-democrats in general.
On 21 December 2005, the reform political reform package was vetoed by the pro-democracy lawmakers. Chief Secretary
Rafael Hui
Rafael Hui Si-yan (born 8 February 1948) is a former Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong and career civil servant. Hui has been dubbed "Old Master Hui" () and "Fat Dragon" (). Hui was appointed as a Justice of the Peace on 1986 and ...
openly criticised pro-democracy
Martin Lee
Martin Lee Chu-ming, SC, JP (; born 8 June 1938) is a Hong Kong politician and barrister. He is the founding chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and its successor, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's flagship pro-democracy party. He ...
and
Bishop Zen
Joseph Zen Ze-kiun SDB (, born 13 January 1932) is a cardinal of the Catholic Church from Hong Kong, who served as the sixth Bishop of Hong Kong. He was appointed cardinal in 2006, and has been outspoken on issues regarding human rights ...
for blocking the proposed changes.
Political Appointments System
The 24 non-civil service positions under the political appointment system comprise 11 undersecretaries and 13 political assistants.
[Bonnie Chen]
"No hurry to present new deputy ministers"
, '' The Standard'', 4 March 2008
The government named eight newly appointed
Undersecretaries on 20 May, and nine Political Assistants on 22 May 2008. The posts were newly created, ostensibly to work closely with bureau secretaries and top civil servants in implementing the Chief Executive's policy blueprint and agenda in an executive-led government. Donald Tsang described the appointments as a milestone in the development of Hong Kong's political appointment system.
[Diana Lee]
"High hopes for appointees"
, ''The Standard'', 21 May 2008 Controversies arose with the disclosure of foreign passports and salaries. Pressure for disclosure continued to mount despite government insistence on the right of the individuals to privacy: on 10 June 2008, newly appointed Undersecretaries and political assistants, who had previously argued were contractually forbidden from disclosing their remuneration, revealed their salaries. The Government news release stated that the appointees had "voluntarily disclosed their salaries, given the sustained public interest in the issue."
, Hong Kong Government, 10 June 2008, retrieved 12 June 2008
Inflation relief measures
On 16 July 2008,
Donald Tsang
Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012.
Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyi ...
announced some "extraordinary measures for extraordinary times",
[ giving a total of HK$11 billion in inflation relief to help families' finances. Of which, the Employee Retraining levy on the employment of Foreign domestic helpers would be temporarily waived, at an estimated cost of $HK2 billion.][ It was intended that the levy would be waived for a two-year period on all helpers' employment contracts signed on or after 1 September 2008, but would not apply to ongoing contracts. The Immigration Department said it would not reimburse levies, which are prepaid half-yearly or yearly in advance. The announcement resulted in chaos and confusion, and uncertainty for the helpers as some employers deferred contracts or had dismissed helpers pending confirmation of the effective date, leaving helpers in limbo.
On 20 July, ]Secretary for Labour and Welfare
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare () of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for labour and social welfare policy in Hong Kong. The position was created in 2007 to replace portions of the previous portfolio of Secretary for Economic Develo ...
Matthew Cheung
Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, (; born 20 November 1950) is a former Hong Kong politician who served as Chief Secretary for Administration from 2017 to 2021. Cheung previously served as the Secretary for Labour and Welfare for ten years. He was award ...
announced the waiver commencement date would be brought forward by one month. The Immigration Department would relax its 14-day re-employment requirement for helpers whose contracts expired. On 30 July, the Executive Council approved the measures. After widespread criticism of the situation, the government also conceded that maids having advanced renewal of contract would not be required to leave Hong Kong through the discretion exercised by the Director of Immigration
The Director of Immigration is the head of the Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Government, which is responsible for immigration issues and controlling entry ports into Hong Kong. Decisions to reject people from entering are made by fron ...
, and employers would benefit from the waiver simply by renewing the contract within the two-year period, admitting that some employers could benefit from the waiver for up to 4 years. The administration's poor handling of the matter came in for heavy criticism. The administrative credibility and competence were called into question by journals from all sides of the political spectrum, and by helpers and employers alike.
Leung Chin-man appointment
In August 2008, the appointment of Leung Chin-man
Leung Chin-man JP (, born 22 November 1945) is a retired senior civil servant in the Government of Hong Kong the former Permanent Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands.
Government career
Leung first joined the Immigration Department in Oct ...
as deputy managing director and executive director of New World China Land
New World China Land Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate New World Development, itself part of Chow Tai Fook group. New World China Land was spin off from New World Development in 1999 as a separate listed compan ...
, subsidiary of New World Development
New World Development Company Limited (NWD), is a Hong Kong-based company focused on property developer in Hong Kong, property, hotels, infrastructure and services and department stores. It was established on 29 May 1970 by Cheng Yu-tung. The ...
(NWD), was greeted with uproar amidst widespread public suspicion that job offer was a ''quid pro quo
Quid pro quo ('what for what' in Latin) is a Latin phrase used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; "a favor for a favor". Phrases with similar meanings include: "give and take", ...
'' for the favours he allegedly granted to NWD. Leung was seen to have been involved with the sale of the Hung Hom Peninsula Home Ownership Scheme
The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is a subsidised-sale public housing programme managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. It was instituted in the late 1970s as part of the government policy for public housing with two aims – to encourage b ...
(HOS) public housing estate
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
to NWD at under-value in 2004.
After a 12-month 'sterilisation period' after retirement, Leung submitted an application to the government on 9 May for approval to take up employment with New World China Land. The Secretary for the Civil Service
The Secretary for the Civil Service is the head of the Civil Service Bureau in Hong Kong. Unlike other secretaries for bureaux, the Secretary for the Civil Service is filled by an administrative officer from the civil service, who may choose to ...
, Denise Yue Chung-yee
Denise Yue Chung-yee () GBS JP (born 1952) was a Hong Kong politician and Secretary for the Civil Service.
Yue graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 1974 and she attended Harvard University in 1988 obtaining an MPA during her civil se ...
, signed off on the approval for him to take up the job after his request passed through the vetting committee.
Controversies surrounded not only the suspicions of Leung's own conflict of interest, but also of the insensitivity of the committee which recommended the approval for him to take up his lucrative new job less than two years after his official retirement.[ New World argued that they hired Leung in good faith after government clearance.
On 15 August, the ]Civil Service Bureau
The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) is one of the 15 policy bureaux under the Government Secretariat of the Government of Hong Kong and is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies on the management of the Hong Kong Civil Serv ...
issued the report requested by Donald Tsang, where they admitted that they had neglected to consider Leung's role in the Hung Hom Peninsula affair. Donald Tsang asked the SCS to reassess the approval, and submit a report to him. New World Development announced in the early hours of 16 August that Leung had resigned from his post, without any compensation from either side or from the government, for the termination.
The next day, Donald Tsang confirmed that Denise Yue would not have to resign. He was satisfied with her apology and with the explanations offered by her. Tsang ordered a committee, of which Yue was to be a member, to be set up to perform a sweeping review of the system to process applications for former civil servants.
May 2010 by-election
In January 2010, five pan-democrats resigned from the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...
to trigger a by-election in response to the lack of progress in the move towards universal suffrage.
They wanted to use the by-election as a de facto referendum for universal suffrage and the abolition of the functional constituencies
A functional constituency is an electoral device (a non-geographical constituency) used within the political systems of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China:
* Functional constituency (Hong Kong)
* Functional cons ...
.
Umbrella Revolution
The Umbrella Revolution
A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014.
The protests began after th ...
erupted spontaneously in September 2014 in protest of a decision by China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
(NPCSC) on proposed electoral reform.
The austere package provoked mobilisation by students, and the effects became amplified into a political movement involving hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens by heavy-handed policing and government tactics.
Hong Kong Extradition bill
In February 2019, the Legislative Council proposed a bill to amend extradition rights between Hong Kong and other countries. This bill was proposed because of an incident in which a Hong Kong citizen killed his pregnant girlfriend on vacation in Taiwan. However, there is no agreement to extradite to Taiwan, so he was unable to be charged in Taiwan. The bill proposes a mechanism for transfers of fugitives not only for Taiwan, but also for Mainland China and Macau, which are not covered in the existing laws. There have been a series of protests against the bill, such as on 9 June and 16 June, which were estimated to number one million and two million protesters, respectively. Police brutality and subsequent further oppression to the protesters by the government have led to even more demonstrations, including the anniversary of the handover on 1 July 2019 saw the storming of the Legislative Council Complex
On 1 July 2019, anti-government activists in Hong Kong sieged, broke into, and subsequently occupied the Legislative Council Complex during the campaign to halt the enactment of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill. Hundreds of protesters br ...
, and subsequent protests throughout the summer spread to different districts.
On 15 June 2019, Chief Executive Carrie Lam decided to indefinitely suspend the bill in light of the protest, but also made it clear in her remarks that the bill was not withdrawn. On 4 September 2019, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that the government would "formally withdraw" the Fugitive Offenders Bill, as well as enacting a number of other reforms.
The 2019 Hong Kong District Council election was held on 24 November, the first poll since the beginning of the protests, and one that had been billed as a "referendum" on the government. More than 2.94 million votes were cast for a turnout rate of 71.2%, up from 1.45 million and 47% from the previous election. This was the highest turnout in Hong Kong's history, both in absolute numbers and in turnout rates. The results
A result is the outcome of an event.
Result or Results may also refer to: Music
* ''Results'' (album), a 1989 album by Liza Minnelli
* ''Results'', a 2012 album by Murder Construct
* "The Result", a single by The Upsetters
* "The Result", a song ...
were a resounding landslide victory
A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...
for the pro-democracy bloc, as they saw their seat share increased from 30% to almost 88%, with a jump in vote share from 40% to 57%. The largest party before the election, DAB, fell to third place, with its leader's vote share cut from a consistent 80% to 55%, and their three vice-chairs losing. Among those who were also legislators, the overwhelming majority of the losing candidates were from the pro-Beijing bloc. Commenting on the election results, ''New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' declared it "the day Hong Kong's true "silent majority" spoke.
After the election, the protests slowly became quiet due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
and government crackdown.
Other political issues since 1997
Nationality and citizenship
Chinese nationality
All people of Chinese descent, who were born in Hong Kong on or before 30 June 1997, had access to only British nationality. They are therefore British nationals by birth, with the designation of "second class citizen" with no rights of abode in the U.K. The Chinese nationality of such British nationals was enforced involuntarily after 1 July 1997.
Before and after the handover
In cellular telecommunications, handover, or handoff, is the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another channel. In satellite communications it is the process of transfe ...
, the People's Republic of China has recognised ethnic Chinese people in Hong Kong as its citizens
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
. The PRC issues Home Return Permit
The Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, also colloquially referred to as a Home Return Permit or Home Visit Permit , is issued to Chinese nationals who are permanent residents of or settled in Hong Kong and Macau as the ...
s for them to enter mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
. Hong Kong issues the HKSAR passport
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport is a passport issued only to permanent residents of Hong Kong who also hold Chinese citizenship. Note that: The passport is referred to both as the HKSAR Passport and the Hong Kong Specia ...
through its Immigration Department[GovHK.]
GovHK
." ''HK SAR passport.'' Retrieved on 28 December 2007. to all PRC citizens who are permanent residents of Hong Kong fitting the right of abode
The right of abode is an individual's freedom from immigration control in a particular country. A person who has the right of abode in a country does not need permission from the government to enter the country and can live and work there withou ...
rule.
The HKSAR passport is not the same as the ordinary PRC passport, which is issued to residents of mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
. Only permanent residents of Hong Kong who are PRC nationals are eligible to apply. To acquire the status of permanent resident one has to have "ordinarily resided" in Hong Kong for a period of seven years and adopted Hong Kong as their permanent home. Therefore, citizenships rights enjoyed by residents of mainland China and residents Hong Kong are differentiated even though both hold the same citizenship.
New immigrants from mainland China (still possess Chinese Citizenship) to Hong Kong are denied from getting PRC passport from the mainland authorities, and are not eligible to apply for an HKSAR passport. They usually hold the Document of Identity (DI) as the travel document, until the permanent resident status is obtained after seven years of residence.
Naturalisation
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
as a PRC Citizen is common among ethnic Chinese people in Hong Kong who are not PRC Citizens. Some who have surrendered their PRC citizenship, usually those who have emigrated to foreign countries and have retained the permanent resident status, can apply for PRC citizenship at the Immigration Department, though they must renounce their original nationality in order to acquire the PRC citizenship.
Naturalisation of persons of non-Chinese ethnicity is rare because China does not allow dual citizenship and becoming a Chinese citizen requires the renouncement of other passports. A notable example is Michael Rowse
Michael "Mike" John Treloar Rowse (, born ) is a Hong Kong public figure. A naturalised citizen of the People's Republic of China, Rowse was the Director-General of InvestHK, a government departments and agencies in Hong Kong, department of the ...
, a permanent resident of Hong Kong and the current Director-General of Investment Promotion of Hong Kong Government, naturalised and became a PRC citizen, for the offices of secretaries of the policy bureaux
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
are only open to PRC citizens.
In 2008, a row erupted over political appointees. Five newly appointed Undersecretaries declared that they were in the process of renouncing foreign citizenship as at 4 June 2008, citing public opinion
Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them.
Etymology
The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...
as an overriding factor, and one Assistant had initiated the renunciation process. This was done despite there being no legal or constitutional barrier for officials at this level of government to have foreign nationality.
British nationality
Hong Kong residents who were born in Hong Kong in the British-administered era could acquire the British Dependent Territories citizenship. Hong Kong residents who were not born in Hong Kong could also naturalise as a British Dependent Territories Citizen
A British Overseas Territories citizen (BOTC), formerly called British Dependent Territories citizen (BDTC), is a member of a class of British nationality granted to people connected with one or more of the British Overseas Territories (previ ...
(BDTC) before the handover. To allow them to retain the status of British national while preventing a possible flood of immigrants from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom created a new nationality status, British National (Overseas)
British National (Overseas), abbreviated BN(O), is a class of British nationality law, British nationality associated with the British Hong Kong, former colony of Hong Kong. The status was acquired through voluntary registration by individual ...
that Hong Kong British Dependent Territories citizens could apply for. Holders of the British National (Overseas) passport
The British National (Overseas) passport, commonly referred to as the BN(O) passport, is a British passport for persons with British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) citizenship. BN(O) citizenship was created in 1987 after the enactment of Hong Kong ...
- BN(O) - have no right of abode in the United Kingdom. See British nationality law and Hong Kong
British nationality law as it pertains to Hong Kong has been unusual ever since Hong Kong became a British colony in 1842. From its beginning as a sparsely populated trading port to today's cosmopolitan international financial centre and wo ...
for details.
British National (Overseas) status was given effect by the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986. Article 4(1) of the Order provided that on and after 1 July 1987, there would be a new form of British nationality, the holders of which would be known as British Nationals (Overseas). Article 4(2) of the Order provided that adults and minors who had a connection to Hong Kong were entitled to make an application to become British Nationals (Overseas) by ''registration''.
Becoming a British National (Overseas) was therefore not an automatic or involuntary process and indeed many eligible people who had the requisite connection with Hong Kong never applied to become British Nationals (Overseas). Acquisition of the new status had to be voluntary and therefore a conscious act. To make it involuntary or automatic would have been contrary to the assurances given to the Chinese government which led to the words "eligible to" being used in paragraph (a) of the United Kingdom Memorandum to the Sino-British Joint Declaration
The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...
. The deadline for applications passed in 1997. Any person who failed to register as a British Nationals (Overseas) by 1 July 1997 and were eligible to become PRC citizens became solely PRC citizens on 1 July 1997. However, any person who would be rendered stateless by failure to register as a British Nationals (Overseas) automatically became a British Overseas citizen under article 6(1) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986.
After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
, people urged the British Government to grant full British citizenship to all Hong Kong BDTCs – but this request was never accepted. However, it was considered necessary to devise a British Nationality Selection Scheme
The British Nationality (Hong Kong) Selection Scheme, usually known in Hong Kong as simply the British Nationality Selection Scheme (BNSS), was a process whereby the Governor of Hong Kong invited certain classes of people, who were permanent re ...
to enable some of the population to obtain British citizenship. The United Kingdom made provision to grant citizenship to 50,000 families whose presence was important to the future of Hong Kong under the British Nationality Act (Hong Kong) 1990.British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 199
legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 8 March 2013
After handover, all PRC citizens with the right of abode in Hong Kong (holding Hong Kong permanent identity cards) are eligible to apply for the HKSAR passport issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department. As the visa-free-visit destinations of the HKSAR passport are very similar with that of a BN(O) passport and the application fee for the former is much lower (see articles HKSAR passport
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport is a passport issued only to permanent residents of Hong Kong who also hold Chinese citizenship. Note that: The passport is referred to both as the HKSAR Passport and the Hong Kong Specia ...
and British passport
A British passport is a travel document issued by the United Kingdom or other British dependencies and territories to individuals holding any form of British nationality. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requ ...
for comparison and verification), the HKSAR passport is becoming more popular among residents of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong residents who were not born in Hong Kong (and had not naturalised as a BDTC) could only apply for the Certificate of identity
A certificate of identity, sometimes called an alien's passport, is a travel document issued by a country to non-citizens (also called aliens) residing within their borders who are stateless persons or otherwise unable to obtain a passport fro ...
(CI) from the colonial government as travel document. They are not issued (by neither the British nor Chinese authorities) after handover. Former CI holders holding PRC Citizenship (e.g. born in mainland China or Macau) and are permanent residents of Hong Kong are now eligible for the HKSAR passports, making the HKSAR passports more popular.
Recent changes to India's Citizenship Act, 1955 (see Indian nationality law
Indian nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Indian nationality. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the Constitution of India and the Citizenship Act, 1955.
All persons born in Ind ...
) will also allow some children of Indian origin, born in Hong Kong after 7 January 2004, who have a solely BN(O) parent to automatically acquire British Overseas citizenship at birth under the provisions for reducing statelessness in article 6(2) or 6(3) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986. If they have acquired no other nationality after birth, they will be entitled to subsequently register for full British citizenship with right of abode in the UK.
Political parties and elections
The four main political parties are as follows. Each holds a significant portion of LegCo. Thirteen members are registered as affiliated with the DAB, eight with the Democratic Party, five with the Civic Party, three with the Liberal Party and three with the League of Social Democrats.
There are also many unofficial party members: politicians who are members of political parties but have not registered such status in their election applications. There are two major blocs: the pro-democracy camp (opposition camp) and the pro-Beijing camp (pro-establishment camp).
Pro-Beijing (Pro-establishment camp)
* (DAB) (Starry Lee
Starry Lee Wai-king, SBS, JP (, born 13 March 1974 in British Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong politician, chairperson of the largest pro-establishment Beijing-loyalist party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (D ...
, chair)
* Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) is a pro-Beijing labour and political group established in 1948 in Hong Kong. It is the oldest and largest labour group in Hong Kong with over 420,000 members in 253 affiliates and associated ...
(FTU) (Ng Chau-pei
Stanley Ng Chau-pei (born February 1970) is a Hong Kong pro-Beijing camp, pro-Beijing politician and trade unionist and the incumbent President and former Chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU), the largest trade union in ...
, president)
* Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong
The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) is a pro-business pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Lo Wai-kwok, the party is currently the second-largest party in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, holding eigh ...
(BPA) (Lo Wai-kwok
Lo Wai-kwok, (; born 25 December 1953) is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the Engineering constituency since 2012 LegCo election, representing the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA). In 2016, he succe ...
, chair; Priscilla Leung
Priscilla Leung Mei-fun (; born 18 November 1960, Hong Kong) is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, representing the Election Committee since 2022. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. She ...
, vice-chair)
* Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
(Felix Chung
Felix Chung Kwok-pan (, born 4 November 1963) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the Textiles and Garment constituency, representing the Liberal Party. He has also been the leader of the Liberal Party since 2016, afte ...
, leader)
* New People's Party (NPP) (Regina Ip
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chair ...
, chair)
* Roundtable
The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...
(Michael Tien
Michael Tien Puk-sun (born 25 August 1950) is a Hong Kong politician, businessman and member of the Legislative Council for New Territories North West. He is the founder and chairman of the G2000 clothing retail chain and former chairman of ...
, Convenor)
* Professional Power
Professional Power () is a political group based in Sai Kung District, Hong Kong. The group is formed and led by Christine Fong, a former member of the Liberal Party. The group markets itself as nonpartisan and currently has four members in the Sa ...
(Christine Fong
Christine Fong Kwok-shan (, born 28 March 1966) is an engineer and politician in Hong Kong, as well as a former child actress. She is a current member of the Sai Kung District Council.
Early life and career
Fong was a child actress at ATV in ...
, Chair)
Centrist
* Third Side
Third Side is a Liberalism, liberal List of political parties in Hong Kong, political party in Hong Kong which claims to offer a "third road" to democracy, positioned between the Pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong, pro-democracy camp and the pro-B ...
(Tik Chi-yuen
Tik Chi-yuen () is a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and of North District Council. He is a registered social worker and chairman of the small centrist Third Side party, which he co-founded in 2015, after quitting the Democratic Part ...
, Chair)
* Path of Democracy
Path of Democracy ( zh, t=民主思路) is a political group and think tank established in 2015 in Hong Kong. It is led by former Civic Party legislator Ronny Tong, who joined the Executive Council on 1 July 2017. Although officially unaligned ...
(Ronny Tong
Ronny Tong Ka-wah, SC KC (; born 28 August 1950 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel and politician. He is a current non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. He co-founded the Civic Party and was a member of the Legis ...
, Convenor)
Pro-democracy (Opposition camp)
* Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(Lo Kin-hei
Lo Kin-hei (; born 1 June 1984) is the Chairman of the Democratic Party and Southern District Council. He has been a Southern District Councillor for Lei Tung II constituency from 2012 to 2021.
Career
Born in 1984, Lo graduated from the Univ ...
, Chair)
* Civic Party
The Civic Party (CP) is a pro-democracy liberal political party in Hong Kong. It is currently chaired by barrister Alan Leong.
The party was formed in 2006 on the basis of the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, which was derived from the B ...
(Alan Leong
Alan Leong Kah-kit (; born 22 February 1958), SC is a former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, representing the Kowloon East geographical constituency, and the sitting-Chairman of the Civic Party. He was also vice-chairperson of th ...
, chair)
* Labour Party (Kwok Wing-kin
Steven Kwok Wing-kin (; born 30 November 1986) is a Hong Kong politician and the chairman of the Labour Party since 2017. He is also a former member of the Tai Po District Council.
Biography
Kwok was educated at the University of Hong Kong (HKU ...
, Chair)
* League of Social Democrats
The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy camp and stresses on ...
(Chan Po-ying, Chair)
* People Power
"People Power" is a political term denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political for ...
(Leung Ka-shing, Chair)
* Hong Kong First (Claudia Mo
Claudia Mo (born Mo Man-ching on 18 January 1957), also known as Claudia Bowring, is a Hong Kong journalist and politician, a member of the pan-democracy camp. She represented the Kowloon West geographical constituency, until November 2020 wh ...
and Gary Fan
Gary Fan Kwok-wai (; born 30 October 1966) is a Hong Kong politician. He was the member of Legislative Council from 2012 to 2016 and from 2018 to 2019 after winning the 2018 by-election for New Territories East. He is also a former member o ...
, Leader)
* Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood
The Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) is a Hong Kong pro-democracy social-liberal political party catering to grassroots interest with a strong basis in Sham Shui Po. Established on 26 October 1986, it was one o ...
(Bruce Liu
Bruce Liu (born Xiaoyu Liu on May 8, 1997) is a Canadian pianist. Born in Paris and raised in Montreal, he began to play the piano at eight years old and was performing by the age of eleven. In 2021, he rose to widespread renown after winning the ...
, Chair)
* Professional Commons
The Professional Commons is an independent, membership-based, non-profit organisation and public policy think tank established in Hong Kong on 25 March 2007. It is open to all professionals who share the same values.
Mission
The Professional ...
( Paul Zimmerman, Chair)
Political pressure groups and leaders
Chinese General Chamber of Commerce
Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong
* Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions
The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) was a pro-democracy labour and political group in the Hong Kong. It was established on 29 July 1990. It had 160,000 members in 61 affiliates (mainly trade unions in various sectors) and rep ...
Lau Chin-shek
President
General Secretary)
Federation of Hong Kong Industries
* Hong Kong Federation of Students
The Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS, or 學聯) is a student organisation founded in May 1958 by the student unions of four higher education institutions in Hong Kong. The inaugural committee had seven members representing the four sc ...
(Pan-democracy camp)
* Scholarism
Scholarism was a Hong Kong pro-democracyWilfred Chan and Yuli Yang, CNNbr>Echoing Tiananmen, 17-year-old Hong Kong student prepares for democracy battle 28 September 2014 student activist group active in the fields of Hong Kong's education po ...
(Against Chinese Moral and National education) (Pan-democracy camp)
* Civic Passion
Civic Passion was a radical, populist, localist, and nativist political party in Hong Kong. Founded by Wong Yeung-tat as an activist group in 2012, it held strong localist views and opposed the involvement of the Chinese government in the gov ...
( Localist groups)
* Proletariat Political Institute
Proletariat Political Institute is a political organisation and school headed by Wong Yuk-man, former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It was first established by Wong in 2010 as a political educational institute within the Leagu ...
(Localist groups)
* Hong Kong Resurgence Order
Hong Kong Resurgence Order () is a localist political organisation in Hong Kong. It was founded by Chin Wan, the "mentor" of localism in Hong Kong and the founder of the city-state theory, in 2014 with a manifesto aiming to "restore the ancient C ...
(Localist groups)
* Hong Kong Indigenous
Hong Kong Indigenous is a localist political group established in 2015. It is known for its hardline localist stances and militant methods of protesting. It has been actively involved in protests and engaged into violent clashes with police, ...
(Localist groups)
* Hong Kong National Party
The Hong Kong National Party was a localist political party in Hong Kong. It was the first political party in Hong Kong to advocate for Hong Kong independence. The Hong Kong National Party is also the first political party to be outlawed since ...
(Localist groups)
* Hong Kong National Front (Localist groups)
* Hong Kong Localism Power
Hong Kong Localism Power () is a pro-Beijing conservative political organisation founded in 2015. It is currently headed by Jonathan Ho Chi-kwong.
In the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election, Ho formed a joint ticket with Democratic Pr ...
(Localist groups)
* Hong Kong Civic Association
The Hong Kong Civic Association is one of the longest-existing political organisations in Hong Kong. Established in 1954 by a group of teachers, professionals and businessmen, the Civic Association was one of the two semi-political parties to ...
* International Action
* Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) is a pro-Beijing labour and political group established in 1948 in Hong Kong. It is the oldest and largest labour group in Hong Kong with over 420,000 members in 253 affiliates and associated ...
Cheng Yiu-tong
President)
*
* Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council
Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
* Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union
The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union (HKPTU) was a pro-democracy trade union, professional association and social concern group in Hong Kong. Until its disbandment in 2021, it was the largest teachers' organisation in Hong Kong with s ...
(PTU)
See also
* Police state
A police state describes a state where its government institutions exercise an extreme level of control over civil society and liberties. There is typically little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the exe ...
* Conservatism in Hong Kong
Conservatism has deep roots in Hong Kong politics and society. As a political trend, it is often reflected in but not limited to the current pro-Beijing camp, one of the two major political forces in Hong Kong, as opposed to liberalism, a domina ...
* District Councils of Hong Kong
The district councils, formerly district boards until 1999, are the local councils for the 18 districts of Hong Kong.
History Before establishment
An early basis for the delivery of local services were the Kaifong associations, set up i ...
* Foreign relations of Hong Kong
Under the Hong Kong Basic Law, Basic Law, the Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, Special Administrative Region is exclusively in charge of its Autonomous entity, internal affairs and external relations, whilst the Government o ...
* Hong Kong independence
Hong Kong independence is a political movement that advocates the establishment of Hong Kong as an independent sovereign state. Hong Kong is one of two Special administrative regions of China (SAR) which enjoys a certain degree of autonomy ...
* Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict
Relations between people in Hong Kong and mainland China have been relatively tense since the early 2000s. Various factors have contributed, including different interpretations of the "one country, two systems" principle; policies of the Hong ...
* Hong Kong Watch
Hong Kong Watch is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in the United Kingdom that was established to monitor the conditions of human rights, freedoms and rule of law in Hong Kong. It was founded by British human rights activist Benedict ...
* Human rights in Hong Kong
Human rights protection is enshrined in the Basic Law and its Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap.383). By virtue of the Bill of Rights Ordinance and Basic Law Article 39, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is put in ...
* Liberalism in Hong Kong
Liberalism has a long tradition as an economic liberalism, economic philosophy since the British Hong Kong, founding of Hong Kong as an ''entrepôt'' which cherishes private property, the free market, and free trade. In recent decades, Hong Kong ...
* Localism in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, localism is a political movement centered on the preservation of the city's autonomy and local culture. The Hong Kong localist movement encompasses a variety of groups with different goals, but all of them oppose the perceived grow ...
* One country, two systems
"One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The constitutional principle was formulated in the early ...
* Politics of China
The People's Republic of China is run by a single party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), headed by the CCP General Secretary who tends to be the paramount leader of China. China is among few contemporary party-led dictatorships to not hold ...
* United Front in Hong Kong
* Principal Officials Accountability System
Principal Officials Accountability System, commonly referred to as the Ministerial system (), sometimes the Accountability System, was introduced in Hong Kong by chief executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002. It is a system whereby all principal ...
* Pro-Taiwan camp (Hong Kong)
The pro-Republic of China camp (), or the pro-Kuomintang camp (), is a political alignment in Hong Kong. It generally pledges allegiance to the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan and the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party).
The pro-ROC camp ...
* Socialism in Hong Kong
Socialism in Hong Kong is a political trend taking root from Marxism and Leninism which was imported to Hong Kong in the early 1920s. Socialist trends have taken various forms, including Marxism–Leninism, Maoism, Trotskyism, democratic sociali ...
References
Further reading
* Dexter S Boniface/ Ilan Alon: ''Is Hong Kong Democratizing?'' In: ''Asian Survey'', Vol. 50, No. 4 (2010), p. 786-807.
* Lam, Wai-Man; Chan, Ming K. (FRW)
"Understanding the Political Culture of Hong Kong: The Paradox of Activism and Depoliticization"
M.E. Sharpe, 2004.
* Ma, Ngok (Ma, Yue) 馬 嶽: "minzhuhua yu xianggang de hou zhimin zhengzhi zhi lu" 民主化與香港的後殖民政治之路 emocratisation and postcolonial policy in Hong KongIn: Ershiyi Shiji 二十一世纪 wenty- First Century Review No. 6 (2007), pp. 13–21.
* Sonny Shiu-Hing Lo: ''Competing Chinese Political Visions: Hong Kong v. Beijing on Democracy'' Praeger Security International, Westport 2010.
* Suzanne Pepper
Suzanne Pepper (1939 – 29 June 2022) was a Hong Kong-based American author, political scientist, and former editor from 1995 to 1996 of the Chinese University of Hong Kong's ''China Review''.
Biography
Pepper left the United States for Hong Kong ...
: ''Keeping Democracy at Bay – Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform'' Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 2008.
*
* - First online on 28 March 2021
External links
HKSAR Government web site
Hong Kong Executive Council
Hong Kong Legislative Council
Olympic Watch (Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games in a Free and Democratic Country) on the status of Hong Kong
Sight & Sound of a recent protest march
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...