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.
"One country,two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of its 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."
Ronny Tong Ka-wah,SC KC is a Hong Kong Senior Counsel and politician. He is a current non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. He co-founded the Civic Party and was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong,representing the New Territories East constituency from 2004 until he quit the party and resigned from the legislature on 22 June 2015,following the historic vote on Hong Kong electoral reform a few days earlier,having switched his political alignment from pro-democracy to pro-Beijing Hong Kong political group Path of Democracy,of which he is currently the convener.
Tam Yiu-chung,GBM,JP is a pro-Beijing politician in Hong Kong. He is a former member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC),former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) and former chairman of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB).
Democratic reforms in Hong Kong did not seriously begin until 1984 and has faced significant challenges since 2014. The one country,two systems principle allows Hong Kong to enjoy high autonomy in all areas besides foreign relations and defence,which are responsibilities of the central government. Hong Kong's Basic Law allows residents to vote for local district councillors.
The Sixth Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the sixth meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Running from 1 October 2016 to 31 December 2021,it was the longest legislative session in Hong Kong history,lasted for five years and three months. The term of the session was originally from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2020,but was extended by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) due to the postponement of the 2020 Legislative Council election.
The Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016,commonly known as the 31 August Decision,is a decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC),the national legislative body of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 31 August 2014 which set limits for the 2017 Chief Executive election and 2016 Legislative Council election in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
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 Chinese 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.
The month of June 2020 was the first anniversary of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. The decision taken by the National People's Congress on national security legislation and the alleviation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong led to a new series of protests and international responses. On 30 June,the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the Hong Kong national security law which came into force the same day,leading to even more people protesting on 1 July.
The month of July 2020 in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests began with a turning point in the evolution of the protests,brought about by the Hong Kong national security law. The law,which had been passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China on 30 June and come into effect on the same day,was widely seen as having the purpose of curbing opposition,in a broad sense,against the Chinese Communist Party in the city. The law had direct relevance to the protests,as it prescribes harsh penalties for the tactics that protesters had commonly used. Nevertheless,sizeable protests erupted throughout the city on occasion of the 1 July protests the next day,resulting in about 370 arrests,including at least ten on charges under the new law. The Hong Kong government,faced with the task of implementing a law that had been drafted and promulgated without substantial involvement by its own officials,was seen widely,including in the academic and media sectors,as being unable to draw a clear demarcation line between which acts would constitute punishable offences under the law,and which would not. The vagueness of the law,while refused by the city's police chief,was seen by pro-democrats and observers as a deliberate device to amplify its deterrence effect.
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 enactment of the Hong Kong national security law on 30 June 2020 has since caused huge changes in Hong Kong’s local education,government,culture,society,and economy. These effects are considered to be the result of the Hong Kong government’s continuing autocratization.
The 2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was originally scheduled on 6 September 2020 until it was postponed by the government. On 31 July 2020,Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that she was invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to postpone the election under the emergency powers granted to her by it,citing the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 cases,adding that the move was supported by Beijing.
On 11 November 2020,15 Hong Kong pro-democracy members of the Legislative Council announced their resignations in protest against the decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) which bars Legislative Council members from supporting Hong Kong independence,refusing to recognise Beijing's sovereignty over Hong Kong,seeking help from "foreign countries or foreign forces to interfere in the affairs of the region" or committing "other acts that endanger national security" that resulted in the disqualification of pro-democracy legislators Alvin Yeung,Dennis Kwok,Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung. In July 2020,the four had been barred from running in the subsequently postponed Legislative Council election originally scheduled for September 2020. The resignation en masse left the Legislative Council membership dwindled to 43 out of the total number of 70 seats,with virtually no opposition for the first time since the 1997 handover.
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.
Ng Ka Ling v Director of Immigration was a joint appeal of three cases decided in 1999 by Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal (CFA). Chief Justice Andrew Li,in the Court's unanimous opinion,held that mainland-born children of Hong Kong permanent residents enjoyed the right of abode,regardless of whether one of their parents had acquired Hong Kong permanent residency at the time of birth of the children.
