| Government | Hong Kong |
= Fields = World Records = Dictionary = Bar graph = Distribution map = Fields History = Definitions |
Country name:
 | conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region conventional short form: Hong Kong local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu local short form: Xianggang abbreviation: HK |
Dependency status:
 | special administrative region of China |
Government type:
 | limited democracy |
Capital:
 | void |
Administrative divisions:
 | none (special administrative region of China) |
Dependent areas:
 | void |
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 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; indirect election - limited to about 220,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, central government bodies, and municipal organizations |
Executive branch:
 | chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Chief Executive Donald TSANG Yam-kuen (since 24 June 2005) cabinet: Executive Council or ExCo consists of 15 official members and 14 non-official members elections: chief executive elected for five-year term by 800-member electoral committee; last held on 25 March 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Donald TSANG elected chief executive receiving 84.1% of the vote of the election committee; Alan LEONG Kah-kit received 15.9% |
Legislative branch:
 | unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; 30 seats indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 7 September 2008 (next to be held in September 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - pro-democracy 57%; pro-Beijing 40%, independent 3%; seats by parties - (pro-Beijing 35) DAB 13, Liberal Party 7, FTU 1, others 14; (pro-democracy 23) Democratic Party 8, Civic Party 5, CTU 3, League of Social Democrats 3, ADPL 2, The Frontier 1, NWSC 1; others 11; independents and non-voting LEGCO president 2 |
Judicial branch:
 | Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region |
Political parties and leaders:
 | Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee]; Civic Party [KUAN Hsin-chi]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [TAM Yiu Cheng]; Democratic Party [Albert HO Chun-yan]; League of Social Democrats [Raymond WONG Yuk-man]; Liberal Party [Miriam LAU Kin-yee] note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - ADPL, Civic Party; Democratic Party, League of Social Democrats; pro-Beijing - DAB, Liberal Party, The Professional Forum (an informal group of three generally pro-government and pro-business LegCo members from functional constituencies and one independent elected from a geographic constituency); 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; Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU (pro-democracy) [LAU Chin-shek, president; LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions or FTU (pro-China) [CHENG Yiu-tong, executive councilor]; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [Szeto WAH, chairman]; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [CHEUNG Man-kwong, president]; Neighborhood and Workers' Service Center or NWSC [LEUNG Yiu-chung, LegCo member] (pro-democracy); Civic Act-up [Cyd HO Sau-lan, LegCo member] (pro-democracy) |
International organization participation:
 | ADB, APEC, BIS, ICC, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WMO, WTO |
Diplomatic representation in the US:
 | none (special administrative region of China); Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington, New York, and San Francisco carries out normal liaison and communication with the US Government and other US entities |
Diplomatic representation from the US:
 | chief of mission: Consul General Joseph R. DONOVAN, Jr. consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 461, Box 1, FPO 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 |
Government - note:
 | void |
|
= Fields = World Records = Dictionary = Bar graph = Distribution map = Fields History = Definitions |
|