GOVERNMENT
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) is headed by Chief Executive Donald Tsang, who first took office in 2005 and whose current term ends in 2012. The Election Committee that votes on the Chief Executive (CE) is made up of approximately 800 Hong Kong residents from four constituency groups: commercial, industrial, and financial interests; professionals; labor, social services, and religious interests; and the legislature, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and the P.R.C. National People's Congress.
In December 2006, pro-democracy Civic Party legislator Alan Leong garnered 134
nominations from the Election Committee, enabling Leong to challenge incumbent
CE Tsang's bid for a new five-year term in 2007. Tsang, with solid support from
the pro-government and pro-business sectors, won the March 25, 2007 Election
Committee vote with 649 of the 795 votes. Leong garnered 123 votes.
In July 2002, the Hong Kong Government implemented the Principal Officials
Accountability System, which was designed to make the government more responsive
to public concerns. Twelve political appointees, directly responsible to the
Chief Executive, run the 12 policy bureaus. Three other senior civil service
positions--the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary, and Justice Secretary--are
also filled by political appointments. This system was expanded in 2008 to
include one Under Secretary and one Political Assistant position being filled by
appointment in each bureau.
While Hong Kong remains a free and open society where human rights are
respected, courts are independent, and there is well-established respect for the
rule of law, residents are limited in their ability to change their government,
and the legislature is limited in its power to affect government policies. The
September 12, 2004 Legislative Council (Legco) elections were seen as generally
free, open, and widely contested, although Hong Kong groups have alleged voter
intimidation, manipulation, or pressure in connection with them.
In December 2005 the Legco rejected a Hong Kong Government-proposed package of
incremental reforms to the mechanisms for choosing the CE in 2007 and forming
the Legco in 2008. In July 2007, the Hong Kong Government's Commission on
Strategic Development issued a Green Paper on Constitutional Development, which
set out a myriad of options to reform the CE and Legco electoral mechanisms,
with the "ultimate aim" of universal suffrage as prescribed by the Basic Law.
On December 12, 2007, Chief Executive Donald Tsang submitted a report on the
Green Paper to the central government. The report said more than half of local
people wanted universal suffrage by 2012, but 2017 might be a more realistic
date. In December 2007, the P.R.C. National People's Congress Standing Committee
(NPCSC) issued a decision on Hong Kong's constitutional development which, while
ruling out universal suffrage in 2012, appears to open the way for Hong Kong to
achieve full universal suffrage for the CE in 2017, and full universal suffrage
for Legco sometime thereafter. Any amendments to the Basic Law will require
approval by the CE, at least two-thirds of Legco, and then the NPCSC.
Principal
Government Officials
Chief Executive--Donald Tsang
Chief Secretary for Administration--Henry Tang
Financial Secretary--John Tsang
Secretary for Justice--Wong Yan Lung, SC
Secretary for Education--Michael Suen
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development--Rita Lau
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs--Stephen Lam
Secretary for Security--Ambrose Lee
Secretary for Food and Health--York Chow
Secretary for the Civil Service--Denise Yue
Secretary for Home Affairs--Tsang Tak-sing
Secretary for Labour and Welfare--Matthew Cheung
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury--K C Chan
Secretary for Development--Carrie Lam
Secretary for the Environment--Edward Yau
Secretary for Transport and Housing--Eva Cheng
Type: Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, with its own constitution (the Basic Law).
Branches: Executive--Administration: Chief Executive selected in March 2007; Executive Council, serving in an advisory role for the Chief Executive. Legislative--Legislative Council (Legco) elected in September 2004. Judicial--Court of Final Appeal is highest court, other lower courts.
Subdivisions: Hong Kong, Kowloon, New Territories.
Suffrage: Permanent residents, at 18 years or over, living in Hong Kong for the past seven years are eligible to vote in certain local elections and for Legco members.
