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); Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu (Hanyu Pinyin)
local short form: Heung Kong (Eitel/Dyer-Ball); Xianggang (Hanyu Pinyin)
abbreviation: HK
etymology: probably an imprecise phonetic rendering of the Cantonese name meaning "fragrant harbor"

Dependency status:
special administrative region of China

Government type:
limited democracy

Administrative divisions:
none (special administrative region 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:
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 (2015)

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 the legislature and a majority of seats in 18 district councils; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven 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
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President of China XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013)
head of government: Chief Executive LEUNG Chun-ying [C.Y. LEUNG] (since 1 July 2012)
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 5-17 March 2013 (next to be held in March 2018); chief executive indirectly elected by the Election Committee and appointed by the Central People's Government for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term) ; LEUNG Chun-ying [C.Y.LEUNG] elected chief executive on 25 March 2012 and took office on 1 July 2012 (next to be held in March 2017)
election results: LEUNG Chun-ying elected chief executive; Election Committee vote - LEUNG Chun-ying 689, Henry TANG 285, Albert HO 76
note: the Legislative Council voted in June 2010 to expand the electoral committee to 1,200 seats for the 2012 election

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Legislative Council or LegCo (70 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by several majority vote methods based on the rules of the individual constituencies; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 9 September 2012 (next to be held in September 2016)
election results: percent of vote by block - pro-democracy 56.2%; pro-Beijing 42.7%, independent 3.2%; seats by block/party - pro-Beijing 43 (DAB 13, BPA 7, FTU 6, Liberal Party 5, NPP 2, other 10); pro-democracy 27 (Democratic Party 6, Civic Party 6, Labor Party 4, PP 3, Professional Commons 2, LSD 1, ADPL 1, PTU 1, Neo Democrats 1, NWSC 1); independent 2

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): 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 and 3 permanent and 1 non-permanent judges
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 and other judges, judicial and legal professionals; permanent judges appointed until normal retirement at age 65, but 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: Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [Bruce LIU Sing-lee] Business and Professional Alliance or BPA [Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen] Civic Party [Audrey EU] Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [Starry LEE Wai-king] Democratic Party [Emily LAU] Federation of Trade Unions or FTU [Stanley NG Chau-pei] Labor Party [LEE Cheuk-yan] League of Social Democrats or LSD [LEUNG Kwok-hung] Liberal Party [Felix CHUNG Kwok-pan] Neighborhood and Workers Service Center or NWSC [LEUNG Yui-chung] Neo Democrats [collective leadership] New People's Party or NPP [Regina IP Lau Su-yee] People Power or PP [Erica YUEN Mi-ming] Professional Commons (think tank) [Charles Peter MOK] Professional Teachers Union or PTU
others: Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU [LEE Cheuk-yan]
note: political blocks include: pro-democracy - ADPL, Civic Party, Democratic Party, Labor Party, LSD, PP, Professional Commons; pro-Beijing - DAB, FTU, Liberal Party, NPP, BPA; there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China) Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong Civic Act-up [Cyd HO Sau-lan, Legislative Council of Hong Kong member] (pro-democracy) Federation of Hong Kong Industries Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [LEE Cheuk-yan, chairman] Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan) Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [FUNG Wai-wah, president]

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:
none (Special Administrative Region of China); Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) carries out normal liaison and communication with the US Government and other US entities
commissioner: Clement C.M. LEUNG
office: 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 Clifford A. HART Jr. (since 30 July 2013); note - also accredited to Macau
consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong
mailing address: Unit 8000, Box 1, DPO AP 96521-0006
telephone: [852] 2523-9011
FAX: [852] 2845-1598

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 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Hong Kong Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Hong Kong Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.

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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16