Hong Kong and Hong Kong News

  
Country Profile

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions(SARs)of the People's Republic of China(PRC), the other being Macau. Hong Kong is a City-State situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South china Sea.
Administratively, Hong Kong is subdivided into 18 geographic districts, each represented by a District Council which advises the government on local matters.There are a total of 534 district council seats, 405 of which are elected; the rest are appointed by the Chief Executive and 27 ex officio chairmen of rural committees.
Hong Kong is frequently described as a place where "East meets West", reflecting the culture's mix of the territory's Chinese roots with influences from its time as a British colony.
Hong Kong's transportation network is highly developed. Over 90% of daily travels (11 million) are on public transport, the highest such percentage in the world.
Hong Kong Dollar is the 8th most traded currency in the world as of 2010

Official Language    Chinese,English
Population               7.1 Million(2010 Estimate)
Ethnic Groups          95% Chinese and 5% Others
Currency                 Hong Kong Dollar



History
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire  after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined toHong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories  in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War during the after which the British resumed control until 1997.
On July 1,1997, the transfer of sovereignty from United Kingdom to the PRC occurred, officially ending 156 years of British colonial rule. Hong Kong became China's first special administrative region

 and Tung Chee Hwa  took office as the first Chief Executive of Hog Kong. 

Tung Chee Hwa was elected with eighty percent of the electoral votes against two other candidates -Peter Woo and Sir Ti Liang Yang. In 2002, Tung Chee Hwa was reelected uncontested, as he had received 713 signatures of support in the Electoral Committee.Tung Chee Hwa resigned on March 12,2005.
On  June 21,2005 Donald Tsang was officially appointed Chief Executive of the HKSAR by the State Council of the Central People's Government to complete the remainder of Tung's term, which ended on June30, 2007
In the Hong Kong Chief Executive election held on March 25,2007,Donald Tsang won the election getting 649 votes as against Alan Leong who got only 123 votes in the 800-member Election Committee
In the Hong Kong Chief Executive election held on March 25,2012,the incumbent Chief Executive Donald Tsang  is barred from seeking a third term pursuant to the Basic Law of Hong Kong.  
Government
The Chief Executive is the Head of Special Administrative Region and is also the highest ranking official in the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and is the head of the executive branch.(Legislative Council) The Chief Executive is elected by an 1200-member Election Committee.(atleast receive 100 Nominations)
The Chief Executive must be a Chinese citizen atleast 40 years of age and is a permanent resident of Hong Kong.The term of office of the Chief Executive is five years who may not serve more than two consecutive terms.
Govt. House is the Official Residence of the Chief Executive

Legislative Council 

 

Permanent residents of Hong Kong are eligible to vote in direct elections for the 30 seats representing geographical constituencies in the 60-seat, Unicameral  Legislative Council.
The franchise for the other 30 seats is limited to about 180,000 voters in functional constituencies (composed of business and professional sectors).The term of office of a member is four years.

ographical constituencies	No. of Seats
	1998	2000	2004	2008	2012*
Hong Kong Island	4	5	6	6	7
Kowloon East	3	4	5	4	5
Kowloon West	3	4	4	5	5
New Territories East	5	5	7	7	9
New Territories West	5	6	8	8	9
Total	20	24	30	30	35

 The Legislative Council of Hong Kong has been housed in the Old Supreme Court Building in Central Hong Kong  from 1985 to November 2011.
 Beginning in December 2011, the Legislative council convenes at the Legislative Block of the Central Govt Complex,Tamar .

 Chief Executive Election -Sunday March 25,2012

A thick cloud of suspicion and fearful speculation nonetheless hangs over voting for Sunday’s decision on Hong Kong’s next chief executive.Is Hong Kong to run its own affairs as promised when Britain and China signed a 1984 agreement for the transfer of sovereignty, or is the Party to take command?
Hong Kong's seven million residents have no say in the election, which is decided entirely by 1,200 votes. Beijing has committed to holding direct elections by 2017
Hong Kong Chief Executive candidatesHenry Tang, Albert Ho and Leung Chun-ying stand on the stage during a debate organized by the election committee members in Hong Kong March 19, 2012

 The two leading contenders—former finance chief Henry Tang and former cabinet member Leung Chun-ying.The winning candidate will need a majority 601 votes from the elites, which constitute the election committee, in the Sunday election. To be sure, the city's chief executives won't be chosen via the popular vote, but instead by this group of 1,200 politicians, businesspeople, and representatives from professional and social groups

CY Leung Elected Hong Kong's New Leader

 

Hong Kong on Sunday appointed as its new Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, a businessman with close ties to China .Leung Chun-ying(57)was declared Hong Kong's New Chief Executive after securing 689 votes. With most of the votes counted, Henry Tang had 285 and pro-democracy candidate Albert Ho 76, election officials said.