| The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, generally shortened to Hong Kong
(香港; Cantonese IPA:
[hœːŋ1kɔːŋ2]; Jyutping:
hoeng1 gong2; Yale: heūng góng; Mandarin pinyin:
Xiānggǎng; Wade-Giles: Hsiang-kang 
listenfile), is one
of the two Special Administrative Regions
of the People's Republic of China, the other
being Macau. It usually participates in international events under the name, "Hong Kong,
China".
Hong Kong consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. The Kowloon Peninsula is attached to the New Territories in the north, and
the New Territories are in turn connected to the mainland of China
across the Sham Chun River (Shen Zhen River). In total, Hong Kong has
236 islands in the South China Sea, of which Lantau is the largest and
Hong Kong Island the second largest and most populated. Ap Lei Chau is the
most densely-populated.
Hong Kong was a British crown colony until 1997, when it was returned to Chinese rule. Under the
policy of the 'One Country, Two Systems', Hong
Kong enjoys a considerable degree of autonomy from the Mainland, as well as continuing to have its own legal system, currency, customs, immigration authorities, and its own rule of the road, with traffic continuing to drive on the left, for example. Only national defence and diplomatic
relations are responsibilities of the central government in Beijing.
中華人民共和國香港特別行政區
Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of the People's Republic of China
|
|
 |
| Official languages |
Chinese (Cantonese spoken de facto) and English |
| Chief Executive |
Donald Tsang (acting) |
Area
- Total
- % water |
(Not ranked)
1,102.15 km²
4.6% |
Population
- Total
- Density
|
(Not ranked)
6,803,100 (July 2003)
6,771/km²
|
GDP (2003)
- Total
- Total
- GDP/head
- GDP/head
|
37th, 30th, 14th, 21st
US$199 billion (PPP)
$157 billion (Nominal)
$27,200 (PPP)
$23,592 (Nominal)
|
Establishment
- Date
|
Handover to the PRC
July 1, 1997
|
| Currency |
Hong Kong dollar (HKD) |
| Time zone |
UTC +8 (AWST) |
| Internet TLD |
.hk |
| Calling Code |
852 also 01 from Macau |
| Flower |
Bauhinia |
History
Main article: History of Hong Kong
Although it was occupied at least since the Neolithic Age, the
territory of today's Hong Kong remained distant from the major events unfolding in imperial China for most of its history. It began attracting worldwide
attention in the 19th century.
Occupied by United Kingdom during the First Opium War in 1841, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded by China the following year under the
Treaty of Nanking. Parts of the adjacent Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street), and the Stonecutter's
Island were ceded to Britain in 1860 by the Convention of Peking after the
Second Opium War. Various adjacent lands, known as the New Territories (including New Kowloon and Lantau Island) were then leased to Britain for 99
years from July 1, 1898 to June 30, 1997.
Pursuant to an agreement signed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United Kingdom (UK) on December 19, 1984, the Sino-British
Joint Declaration, the whole territory of Hong Kong under British colonial rule
became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC on July 1, 1997.
In the Joint Declaration, the PRC promised that under the "One Country, Two Systems" policy proposed by Deng Xiaoping, China's socialist economic system
would not be practised in Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign
affairs and defence for 50 years until 2047.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is headed by its Chief Executive, the head of
government. This office is presently held by Donald Tsang Yam-Kuen as
acting Chief Executive, assumed duty on March 12, 2005 after the resignation of Tung Chee Hwa. Tsang had been
Chief Secretary, since 2001, and served the British administration as Finance Secretary. Elections for
a new chief secretary by the 800-member electoral college will proceed on July 10,
2005. Tung assumed office on July 1, 1997,
following his election by a 400-member electoral college. For the
second five-year term of the Chief Executive which began in July 2002, Tung was the only
candidate validly nominated and declared elected unopposed. This made it unecessary to utilize the Election Committee to
select the Chief Executive.
Legislative Council elections
were held on May 24, 1998 September 10, 2000, and again on September 12, 2004, with the next scheduled
for 2008. According to the Basic Law, Hong Kong's "Mini-constitution", the
present third term of the Legislative Council has 30 seats directly elected from geographical constituencies, and 30 seats
elected from functional constituencies. The 1998,
2000 and 2004 Legislative
Council elections were seen as free, open, and widely contested, despite discontent among mainly 'pro-democracy' politicians, who
contended that the functional constituency elections and the Election Committee elections (for 1998 and 2000) were undemocratic
as they consider that the electorate for these seats is too narrow.
The civil service of Hong Kong maintains its quality and neutrality, operating without discernible direction from Beijing. Many government and administrative operations are located in Central on Hong Kong
Island near the historical location of Victoria City, the site of the
original British settlements.
The Right of abode issue sparked
debates in 1999, while the controversy over Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 was the focus of politics in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2003 culminating in a peaceful mass demonstration in
2003 after which the government was forced to indefinitely shelve further consideration of amendments to Article 23. Afterwards,
the focus of controversies shifted to the issue of universal
suffrage towards the end of 2003 and in 2004, which was the slogan of another peaceful
mass demonstration in 2004.
Subdivisions
Main article: Districts of Hong Kong
Hong Kong consists of 18 administrative districts:
Geography
Main article: Geography of Hong Kong
The name Hong Kong is derived from Hong Kong Island in
the South China Sea, at the delta of the Zhu Jiang (or Pearl River) of southern China. Other territories
that were later added include the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, which include over 200 surrounding islands. The
landscape is fairly hilly to mountainous with steep slopes, the highest point
being the Tai Mo Shan at 958 m,
though lowlands exist in the north.
Hong Kong was on the east of the Zhu Jiang Delta, while Macau (another Special Administrative Region of China) is on the west.
Besides that, Hong Kong is bordering the city of Shenzhen in the north.
Of the total of 1102 km² of Hong Kong, only 25% are developed. The remaining
75% are set aside as country parks and nature reserves.
The local climate is that of a tropical monsoon clime. It is cool and dry in winter (Jan-Mar), hot and rainy from spring through summer (Apr-Sep), and warm, sunny and dry in the autumn (Oct-Dec).
Hong Kong is visited by occasional typhoons.
See also: Ecology of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Country Parks
& Special Areas
Economy
Main article: Economy of Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a bustling economy highly dependent on international trade. It is one of the world's freest economies, as well as the world's 10th largest
trading entity and 11th largest banking center. Natural resources
are limited, and food and raw materials must
be imported. Indeed, imports and exports, including re-exports, each exceed GDP in dollar value. Hong Kong has
extensive trade and investment ties with the People's Republic of China, even before its reunification with China on July 1, 1997. The service industry represented 86.5% of the GDP in
2001, and the territory, with a highly sophisticated banking sector, has housed the Asian
headquarters of many multinational corporations in recent decades.
At a level of US$ 28,800 (2003 estimate) Hong Kong's per capita GDP compares
with the level in the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth
averaged a strong 5% in 1989-1997. The widespread
Asian economic difficulties in 1998 hit this trade-dependent economy quite hard, with GDP down 5%. The economy, with growth of 10% in 2000, recovered rapidly from the Asian financial crisis. The recent global downturn has badly hurt
Hong Kong's exports and GDP growth was 2.3% in 2002.
In early 2003, the local economy was hit hard by the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
On June 29, 2003, the Mainland and Hong Kong
Closer Economic
Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) was signed. CEPA allows Hong Kong service providers in 18 areas to enter the mainland market
at least one year ahead of their foreign competitors. The arrangement provides a platform for Hong Kong professionals to practice
on the mainland and also allows Hong Kong permanent residents to set up individually owned retail stores in Guangdong Province.
On July 28, 2003, the Individual Visit Scheme was started to allow travellers from
some cities in mainland China to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis. As a result, the tourism industry in Hong Kong is booming once again.
See also: Hang Seng Index, Hong Kong Economic and Trade
Office
External link: Index of Economic Freedom - The Heritage
Foundation (http://cf.heritage.org/index2004test/country2.cfm?id=HongKong)
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Hong
Kong
Hong Kong is by population the fourth largest metropolitan
area of the PRC (see List of cities in China).
Considered as a "dependency", Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated countries/dependencies in the world, with an overall density
of nearly 6,700 people per km².
Despite the population density, Hong Kong was reported to be one of the greenest cities in Asia. The majority of people live
in flats in high-rise
buildings. The rest of the open spaces are often covered with parks, woods and shrubs. About 60% of the land is designated as
Country Parks and Nature Reserves. Hiking and camping are popular outdoor activities in Hong Kong's hilly country parks. The irregular and long coastline of Hong Kong also provides many bays and fine beaches for its inhabitants. Environmental concern and awareness is growing, however, as Hong Kong ranks as one of
the most (air-)polluted cities in the world.
Cantonese, the Chinese language used in Hong Kong government matters, is spoken by most of the local Chinese population at
home and in the office. But English is quite widely understood; it
is spoken, mostly at work, by more than one-third of the population. Every major religion is freely practised in Hong Kong. Ancestor worship is predominant due to the strong Confucian influence, whereas Christianity is practised
by a mere 10% of the population.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Hong Kong
Miscellaneous topics
Major Landmarks
Universities and other tertiary institutions
See also: Education in Hong Kong
There are eight universities and various other tertiary institutions in Hong Kong.
- Univsersities
- Other tertiary institutions
Celebrities born or raised in Hong Kong
External links
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