Country name:
conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Hong Kong
local short form: Xianggang
local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu
abbreviation: HK
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:
Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's
Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"
Legal system:
based on English common law
Suffrage:
direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents
living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years;
indirect election limited to about 100,000 members of functional
constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad
regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government
bodies
Executive branch:
chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Chief Executive TUNG Chee-hwa (since 1 July 1997)
cabinet: Executive Council consists of three ex-officio members and
10 appointed members; ex-officio members are: Chief Secretary Donald
TSANG Yam-kuen (since 1 May 2001), Financial Secretary Antony LEUNG
(since 1 May 2001), and Secretary of Justice Elsie LEUNG (since 1
July 1997)
elections: TUNG Chee-Hwa was elected to a second term in March 2002
by an 800-member election committee dominated by pro-Beijing forces;
the next election is scheduled to be held in 2007