"One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in session.
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 articles and three annexes, the Basic Law was composed to implement Annex I of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Article 23 is an article of the Hong Kong Basic Law. It states that Hong Kong "shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies."
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.
Elections in Hong Kong take place when certain political offices in the government need to be filled. Hong Kong has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in the Legislative Council. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is nonpartisan but can work with several parties to form a coalition government.
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.
Human rights protection is enshrined in the Basic Law and its Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap.383). By virtue of the Bill of Rights Ordinance and Basic Law Article 39, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is put into effect in Hong Kong. Any local legislation that is inconsistent with the Basic Law can be set aside by the courts. This does not apply to national legislation that applies to Hong Kong, such as the National Security Law, even if it is inconsistent with the Bills of Rights Ordinance, ICCPR, or the Basic Law.
The Macau national security law is a law in Macau which prohibits and punishes acts of "treason, secession, and subversion" against the Central government, as well as "preparatory acts" leading to any of the three acts. Taken into effect on 3 March 2009, the purpose of the law is to fulfil Article 23 of the Macau Basic Law, the de facto constitution of the Macau Special Administration Region. Macau National Security Law has been in force for eleven years. Pro-Beijing state-owned Hong Kong Newspaper Wen Wei Po claimed that Macau's National Security Law "has not been used".
National Security Bill was a proposed bill which aimed to amend the Crimes Ordinance, the Official Secrets Ordinance, and the Societies Ordinance, pursuant to the obligation imposed by Article 23 of the Basic Law, and to provide for related, incidental and consequential amendments. The proposed bill was introduced on 14 February 2003. It caused considerable controversy in Hong Kong and a massive demonstration on 1 July. On 6 July, James Tien resigned from the Executive Council. On 5 September 2003, Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa announced that the bill had been officially withdrawn.
Events in the year 2020 in Hong Kong.
The Decision of the National People's Congress on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Safeguard National Security is a congressional resolution passed by the third session of the 13th National People's Congress on 28 May 2020. This resolution authorizes the National People's Congress Standing Committee to promulgate a national security law in Hong Kong.
The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a national law of China on Hong Kong national security passed in 2020. It is implemented in Hong Kong in accordance with Hong Kong Basic Law Article 18, which allows for China's national laws to be valid in Hong Kong if they are included in Annex III. It was formulated under the authorization of the National People's Congress decision on Hong Kong national security legislation. The law was passed on 30 June 2020 by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress as a means of resolving the anti-extradition bill protests instigated by a Hong Kong local bill proposed in 2019 to enable extradition to other territories including the mainland, and came into force the same day.
In early May 2020, the Chinese Government announced plans to draft a new national security law for Hong Kong, something required under Hong Kong Basic Law but which should explicitly be written and enacted by Hong Kong's own government. In response to apparent mainland intent to bypass Hong Kong's local legislature, the United Kingdom – which administered Hong Kong until 1997 – announced that if a security law drafted by China was approved, Britain would open a route for all Hong Kong residents born under British rule to become British citizens. Other nations and organisations have given various responses to the decision, to legislation plans, and ultimately the law itself as passed by the Chinese Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 28 May 2020 with 2878 votes "for", 1 vote against, and 6 blank votes. At 9:30 am, 30 June 2020, the same Standing Committee unanimously voted to enact the law. The law became effective at 11 pm on the same day.
The Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (OSNS) is the Chinese central government's national security office in Hong Kong. The office was established in July 2020 by the Hong Kong national security law.
The Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a national security committee established by the Government of Hong Kong under the Article 12 of the Hong Kong national security law. The committee is supervised and accountable to the Central People's Government of China.
The 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes were initiated by the National People's Congress (NPC) on 11 March 2021 to "amend electoral rules and improve the electoral system" of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for its Chief Executive (CE) and the Legislative Council (LegCo), in order to ensure a system in which only "patriots", according to the Chinese definition, govern Hong Kong. The reforms have been widely criticized for their negative impact on the democratic representation in the Hong Kong legislature.
The Public Offices Ordinance 2021 is an ordinance to amend the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance and other relating legislation which adds new requirements for the Chief Executive, Executive Council members, Legislative Council members and judges and other judicial officers, imposes oath-taking requirements on District Council members, and specifies requirements for candidates to swear to uphold the Basic Law and bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region when assuming office or standing for election and also adds new grounds and mechanism for disqualification from holding the office or being nominated as a candidate. The ordinance was seen as another round of the Beijing authorities to bar the opposition from standing in elections or holding public offices and also raised concerns on the bill's vague parameters of the oath with such over-reaching scope would undermine Hong Kong's judicial independence.
The National Security Department is the Hong Kong Police Force national security law enforcement agency established by the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020.
The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance is a local law of Hong Kong. It was introduced by the Government of Hong Kong on 8 March 2024, passed by the Legislative Council on 19 March 2024, and took effect on 23 March 2024. The ordinance is enacted to implement Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law.
