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 presidential 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 chief executiveof the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong.
The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the chief executive. It is analogous to other Executive Councils in the Commonwealth such as the Federal Executive Council of Australia, the Executive Council of New Zealand, and the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.
The law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has its foundation in the English common law system, inherited from being a former British colony and dependent territory. There are several sources of law, the primary ones being statutes enacted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and case law made by decisions of the courts of Hong Kong.
The Chief Secretary for Administration is the most senior principal official of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Chief Secretary is head of the Government Secretariat which oversees the administration of the Region to which all other ministers belong, and is accountable for his or her policies and actions to the Chief Executive and to the Legislative Council. Under Article 53 of the Basic Law, the position is known as "Administrative Secretary". As the second highest ranking public official in Hong Kong, the Chief Secretary acts as Acting Chief Executive when the Chief Executive is absent.
The Financial Secretary is the title held by the Hong Kong government minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. The position is among the three most senior Principal Officials of the Government, second only to the Chief Secretary in the order of precedence. Together with other secretaries, the Financial Secretary is accountable to the Legislative Council and the Chief Executive for his actions in supervising the formulation and implementation of financial and economic policies.
The Secretary for Justice is the head of the Hong Kong Department of Justice, the chief legal advisor to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, and the chief law enforcement officer of the Government of Hong Kong. Before the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the position was known as the Attorney-General of Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, the Principal Officials Accountability System (主要官員問責制) was introduced by inaugural chief executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002. It is a system whereby all principal officials, including the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary, Secretary for Justice and head of government bureaux would no longer be politically neutral career civil servants. Instead, they would all be political appointees chosen by the chief executive.
The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau is a policy bureau of the Hong Kong Government. The bureau has general responsibility over local administration, with a remit covering youth affairs, family planning, women's affairs, social development, fire safety, and matters related to the district councils. One of the important roles of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau is to enhance liaison and communication with all sectors of the community including the Legislative Council and the general public. The Bureau was established on 1 July 1997 as the Home Affairs Bureau, succeeding the Home Affairs Branch of the colonial government secretariat. It was reorganized at the beginning of the Lee government in 2022 as the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, with some of its functions transferred to the new Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. It has its headquarters in the West Wing of the Central Government Complex in Tamar.
Principal officials, according to the Basic Law, are government officials who are nominated by the Chief Executive and appointed by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. They include departmental secretaries and secretaries of policy bureaux. Five other officials are also principal officials because of the importance of their positions.
The Government Secretariat is the collective administrative headquarters of the Government of Hong Kong. It is collectively formed by the offices of the Chief Secretary and of the Financial Secretary as well as thirteen policy bureaux.
The Government of the Macau Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Macau Government, is the executive authorities of Macau. Formed on 20 December 1999 in accordance with the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, it is headed by secretariats or commissioners and report directly to the chief executive. The affairs of the government are decided by secretaries, who are appointed by the chief executive and endorsed by the State Council of the Central People's Government in Beijing. As a special administrative region of China, Macau has a high degree of autonomy, in light of the "One Country, Two Systems" policy. The Macau Government, financially independent from the Central People's Government, oversees the affairs of Macau.
The Secretary for Health is a ministerial position in the Hong Kong Government, who heads the Health Bureau. The current office holder is Lo Chung-mau.
In Hong Kong, the Political Appointments System is a scheme introduced by then chief executive Donald Tsang in 2008 to reinforce the government's ministerial team by superseding the Principal Officials Accountability System and inserting two layers of politically appointed officials below the secretaries, who are political appointees. These appointees report only to the secretaries, but not the permanent secretaries, the highest-ranking civil servants. The appointment of undersecretaries and political assistants is an extension of the previous RPAS that was initially confined to principal officials. Prior to the introduction, there were 14 political appointees—3 Secretaries of Departments and 11 Directors of Bureaux.
The Second term of Donald Tsang as Chief Executive of Hong Kong, officially referred to as "The 3rd term Chief Executive of Hong Kong" relates to the period of governance of Hong Kong since the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2012. Former civil-servant Donald Tsang was the Chief Executive throughout the duration.
The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau is a ministerial-level policy bureaux of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for the implementation of the Basic Law, including electoral matters and promotion of equal opportunities and privacy protection. The bureau also functions as the intermediary between the HKSAR Government and the Central People's Government and other Mainland authorities under the principles of "One Country, Two Systems", including the coordination of liaison between the HKSAR Government and Central authorities, promoting regional co-operation initiatives between Hong Kong and the Mainland, and overseeing the operation of offices of the HKSAR Government on the Mainland.
Deputy Financial Secretary is a ministerial position in the Government of Hong Kong, deputising the Financial Secretary. The position was created in 2022 after John Lee took office as Chief Executive.
Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) is a policy bureau of the Government of Hong Kong. It is responsible for policy matters on the development of innovation and technology and information technology which are the key drivers in this endeavour. The Bureau is led by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, currently Dong Sun.
Transport and Logistics Bureau is a policy bureau for the Government of Hong Kong. It is responsible for the transport and logistics policy portfolios. The agency was established on 1 July 2022, when the housing portfolios of the former Transport and Housing Bureau was spun off to form the Housing Bureau. The current Secretary for Transport and Logistics is Lam Sai-hung.
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