The politics of Hong Kong takes place in a framework of a political system dominated by its quasi-constitutional document, the Hong Kong Basic Law, its own legislature, the Chief Executive as the head of government and of the Special Administrative Region and of a politically constrained multi-party executive-led system. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is led by the Chief Executive, the head of government.
The Basic Law, Hong Kong's constitutional document, was approved in March 1990 by National People's Congress of China, and entered into force on 1 July 1997, when sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to China (PRC), ending over one and a half centuries of British rule. Hong Kong 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. In accordance with Article 31 of the Constitution of China, Hong Kong's Special Administrative Region status provides constitutional guarantees for implementing the policy of "one country, two systems".Wong, Yiu-chung. (2004). One Country, Two Systems in Crisis: Hong Kong's Transformation. Lexington Books. Hong Kong. .
According to the Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984) and the Basic Law, Hong Kong was to 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. For instance, the International Olympic Committee has recognised Hong Kong as a participating nation under the name, "Hong Kong, China", separate from the delegation from the People's Republic of China.
Since 2021, universal suffrage is only granted in elections for 20 out of 90 seats of the Legislative Council and 88 out of 470 seats of the district councils. The head of the government (Chief Executive of Hong Kong) 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 (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 but also from religious organizations and municipal and central government bodies. The CE is legally appointed by the Premier of China. 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 in the 90-seat, unicameral Legislative Council (LegCo).
Within functional constituencies, the franchise for the 30 seats is limited to about 230,000 voters in the other functional constituencies (mainly composed of business and professional sectors).
The 1,500-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 Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.
While Hong Kong retains the common law system, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China 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.
Transition, 1984-1997 According to the Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984), Hong Kong was to retain its political, economic and judicial systems and unique way of life and continue to participate in international agreements and organizations as a dependent territory for at least 50 years after retrocession. The International Olympic Committee has recognized Hong Kong as a participating nation under the name, "Hong Kong, China", separate from the delegation from the People's Republic of China.
In March 1990, the National People's Congress of China approved the Basic Law, Hong Kong's constitutional document, which entered into force on 1 July 1997, when sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to China (PRC). This ended over one and a half centuries of British rule. Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC with a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign affairs and defense, which are responsibilities of the PRC government. In accordance with Article 31 of the Constitution of China, Hong Kong's Special Administrative Region status provides constitutional guarantees for implementing the policy of "one country, two systems".
Major political issues since 1997
Right of abode, 1999
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 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 (NPC) should be asked to amend the part of the Basic Law to redress the problem, the Government of Hong Kong (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 (NPCSC). in June 1999, the NPCSC issued an interpretation in favour of the Hong Kong Government thereby overturning parts of the court decision. While the full powers of NPCSC to interpret the Basic Law was provided for in the Basic Law itself, some critics argued this undermined judicial independence.
1 July 2003 marches and Article 23
The Hong Kong 1 July March has been an annual protest rally led by the Civil Human Rights Front 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 such as free speech, venting dissatisfaction with the Hong Kong Government 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, subversion, secession and sedition.Executive Council of HKSAR. "Executive Council " . Retrieved on 26 August 2013. However, there were concerns that the legislation would infringe upon 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, 2003 - to date
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; 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 (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' 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 criticized 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' principle, and hoped that this would put an end to the controversies on development of political structure in Hong Kong.
Mid December 2007 Chief Executive Sir Donald Tsang requested that Beijing allow direct elections for the Chief Executive. He referred to a survey in which 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. End of December 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 selects for 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-record gathering.
Resignation of Tung Chee-hwa and interpretation of Basic Law, 2005
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 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 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 protests, 2005
On 4 December 2005, people in Hong Kong demonstrated against Sir Donald Tsang's proposed reform package, before a vote on 21 December. According to the organizers,"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 Standard. "." Turnout is substantial however one cuts it . Retrieved on 13 January 2009.