Government of Hong Kong

Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
香港特別行政區政府

Emblem
Formation	July 1, 1997; 24 years ago (1997-07-01)
Founding document	Hong Kong Basic Law
Jurisdiction	Hong Kong
Website	www.gov.hk
Legislative branch
Legislature	Legislative Council
Meeting place	Legislative Council Complex
Executive branch
Leader	Chief Executive
Appointer	State Council
Headquarters	Office of the Chief Executive
Main organ	Executive Council
Judicial branch
Court	Court of Final Appeal
Seat	Court of Final Appeal Building

Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Traditional Chinese	香港特別行政區政府
Simplified Chinese	香港特别行政区政府
Cantonese Yale	Hēunggóng Dahkbiht Hàngjing kēui Jingfú
showTranscriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiānggǎng Tèbié Xíngzhèng Qū Zhèngfǔ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hēunggóng Dahkbiht Hàngjing kēui Jingfú Jyutping Hoeng1gong2 Dak6bit6 Hang4zing3 Keoi1 Zing3fu2 IPA [tsóŋ.wa̭ː jɐ̭n.mɐ̭n kòŋ.wɔ̭ː.kʷɔ̄ːk̚]
Hong Kong Government
Chinese	香港政府
Cantonese Yale	Hēunggóng Jingfú
showTranscriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiānggǎng Zhèngfǔ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hēunggóng Jingfú Jyutping Hoeng1gong2 Zing3fu2 IPA [hœ́ːŋ.kɔ̌ːŋ tsēːŋ.fǔː]

Politics and government of Hong Kong

show Laws Basic Law Drafting Committee Consultative Committee Article 23 National security law One country, two systems Sino–British Joint Declaration Criminal law Capital punishment in Hong Kong Criminal procedure Jury system Law enforcement in Hong Kong Human rights LGBT rights in Hong Kong Internet censorship in Hong Kong

show Executive Chief Executive: Carrie Lam Principal officials Chief Secretary: Matthew Cheung Financial Secretary: Paul Chan Secretary for Justice: Teresa Cheng Executive Council Convenor: Bernard Chan Government agencies Civil Service Bureau Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau Electoral Affairs Commission Education Bureau University Grants Committee Environment Bureau Environmental Protection Department Food and Health Bureau Department of Health Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Home Affairs Bureau Home Affairs Department Information Services Department Leisure and Cultural Services Department Labour and Welfare Bureau Security Bureau Hong Kong Police Force Hong Kong Fire Services Department Hong Kong Correctional Services Customs and Excise Department Immigration Department Government Flying Service Civil Aid Service Auxiliary Medical Service Transport and Housing Bureau Housing Department Commerce and Economic Development Bureau Trade and Industry Department Hong Kong Observatory Invest Hong Kong Post Office Radio Television Hong Kong Office of the Communications Authority Development Bureau Buildings Department Lands Department Land Registry Architectural Services Department Civil Engineering and Development Department Drainage Services Department Electrical and Mechanical Services Department Water Supplies Department Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau Census and Statistics Department Companies Registry Government Logistics Department Government Property Agency Inland Revenue Department Hong Kong Civil Service Political Appointments System Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR

show Legislature Legislative Council President: Andrew Leung List of Members of the Legislative Council Political camps: Pro-Beijing camp Pro-democracy camp

show Judiciary Court of Final Appeal Chief Justice: Geoffrey Ma High Court Chief Judge: Jeremy Poon Court of Appeal Court of First Instance District Court : Justin Ko Magistrates' Court : So Wai-tak Special courts and tribunals: Coroner’s Court Labour Tribunal Lands Tribunal Market Misconduct Tribunal Obscene Articles Tribunal Small Claims Tribunal

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show Elections Chief Executive Elections Election Committee Legislative elections Geographical constituencies Functional constituencies District Council (Second) District council elections List of constituencies of Hong Kong Political parties Universal suffrage

show Foreign relations Documents Hong Kong identity card HKSAR Passport BNO Passport Consular missions in Hong Kong Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Hong Kong–United Kingdom relations Hong Kong–United States relations Hong Kong–Philippines relations Hong Kong–Singapore relations Hong Kong–China relations Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement Hong Kong–Taiwan relations Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (Taiwan) Hong Kong–Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council

Related topics Culture Economy Education Geography History  Hong Kong portal

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The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed in July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1983, an international treaty lodged at the United Nations. This government replaced the former British Hong Kong Government (1842–1997). The Chief Executive also nominates principal officials for appointment by the State Council of the People's Republic of China (Central People's Government). The Government Secretariat is headed by the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, who is the most senior principal official of the Government. The Chief Secretary and the other secretaries jointly oversee the administration of the SAR, give advice to the Chief Executive as members of the Executive Council, and are accountable for their actions and policies to the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council.^[1]

Under the "one country, two systems" constitutional principle, the Government is, in law, exclusively in charge of Hong Kong's internal affairs and external relations. The Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), of which the Hong Kong government is financially independent, is responsible for Hong Kong's defence and foreign policy. Despite gradually evolving, the overall governmental structure was inherited from British Hong Kong.

Head of government[]

The Chief Executive is the head of Region and head of government of Hong Kong. The Basic Law designates a system of governance led by a Chief Executive and an Executive Council, with a two-tiered system of semi-representative government and an independent judiciary. The Chief Executive is elected by an Election Committee, a 1200-member electoral college consisting of individuals and bodies (i.e. special interest groups) elected within 28 functional constituencies defined in the Basic Law. The winner is then appointed to the position by the Premier of the People's Republic of China. The Chief Executive is responsible for implementing the Basic Law, signing bills and budgets, promulgating laws, making decisions on government policies, and issuing Executive Orders. The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, began exercise of her unfettered residual powers of law-making by decree on 4 October 2019, under the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, Chapter 241 of the Laws of Hong Kong, bypassing the legislature.^[2][3]

As of 1 July 1997, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong officially replaced the Governor of Hong Kong as the head of the government for Hong Kong following the transfer of sovereignty. The Chief Executive is assisted by the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Financial Secretary, and other secretaries who heads policy bureaus. The secretaries for each government affairs are appointed by the Central People's Government on the nomination of the Chief Executive. The Secretary for Justice (SJ) is responsible for legal matters of the government and prosecution for criminal cases in the territory. The Independent Commission Against Corruption and Audit Commission report directly to the Chief Executive. The current Chief Executive is Carrie Lam.

Executive[]

Executive Council[]

The Executive Council decides on matters of policy, the introduction of bills to the Legislative Council and the drafting of subordinate legislation. The Council consists of 15 principal officials and 14 non-official members. All members are appointed by the Chief Executive from among the senior officials of the executive authorities, members of the Legislative Council, and other influential public personnels. They serve for a period no longer than the expiry of the Chief Executive's term of office.^[4]

Principal officials[]

In a system popularly called the Principal Officials Accountability System introduced by then Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002, all principal officials, including the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary, Secretary for Justice and heads of government bureaux would no longer be politically neutral career civil servants, but would all be political appointees chosen by the Chief Executive from within or outside the civil service. The system was portrayed as the key to solve previous administrative problems, notably the co-operation of high-ranking civil servants with the Chief Executive.

Under the new system, there are 3 Secretaries of Department and 13 Directors of Bureau. The system is aimed at raising the accountability of the civil service, so the political appointees are responsible for all their job aspects and will step down if they make any failure. Under the new system, all heads of bureaux became members of the Executive Council, and came directly under the Chief Executive instead of the Chief Secretary or the Financial Secretary.

Deputy ministers and political assistants[]

The government released a report on the Further Development of the Political Appointment System^[5] on 17 October 2007.^[6] Two new layers, Deputy Directors of Bureaux and Assistants to Directors (AD) would be added to the political appointments. Each Director of Bureau will be assisted by the two new appointees and constitute the political team, who would ostensibly work closely with bureau secretaries and top civil servants in implementing the Chief Executive's policy agenda in an executive-led government. As with the principal officials, these two new posts may be drawn from within or outside the civil service, and appointees may or may not have a political background.^[7]

Eight new Under-secretaries were named on 20 May, and nine Political Assistant appointments were announced on 22 May 2008. By the administration's own admission, the announcements were poorly handled, and there was widespread criticism of several key aspects, namely the nationality and experience of appointees, the transparency of the recruitment process and the level of officials' salaries.^[8]

Chief Secretary for Administration[]

The Chief Secretary for Administration is responsible for assisting the Chief Executive in the supervision of policy bureaux and plays a key role in ensuring harmony in policy formulation and implementation. The current Chief Secretary is John Lee.

Financial Secretary[]

The Financial Secretary is responsible for preparing the Government Budget in accordance with the Chief Executive's agenda in the policy address, ensuring policy is in accordance to the Public Finance Ordinance. He or she has to estimate of revenue and expenditure before the Legislative Council each year, and to deliver an annual budget to the Legislative Council, outlining the government's budgetary proposals and moving the appropriation bills. The current FS is Paul Chan Mo-po.

Secretary for Justice[]

The Secretary for Justice is responsible for prosecutions and legal matters. He or she heads the Department of Justice. The current Secretary for Justice is Teresa Cheng.

Government offices and policy bureaux (ministries)[]

Office of the Chief Executive[]

The Office of the Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring the Chief Executive receives the best advice and support for formulating and co-ordinating policies. It is headed by the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, who would sit in meetings of the Executive Council.

The , Independent Commission Against Corruption, Audit Commission, Office of the Ombudsman and Public Service Commission report to the Chief Executive directly.

Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office[]

The , and Legal Aid Department are under the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office.

Financial Secretary's Office[]

The and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority are under the Financial Secretary's Office.

Department of Justice[]

The Department of Justice is led by the Secretary for Justice (Hong Kong) (Legal Department and Attorney General before the transfer of sovereignty). The Secretary for Justice (SJ) is responsible for all prosecutions in Hong Kong, drafting all Government legislation, and advising other policy bureaux and departments of the government on a vast array of legal issues.

The department consists of the Prosecutions Division, the Civil Division, the Legal Policy Division, the Law Drafting Division, the International Law Division, and the Administration and Development Division.

Government Secretariat[]

After reorganisation in 2007, the Government Secretariat today consists of thirteen policy bureaux. Nine of which reports to the Chief Secretary for Administration, and the other four reports to the Financial Secretary. The Chief Secretary for Administration is customarily considered to be the leader of the bureaux.

• Civil Service Bureau
• Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau
• Education Bureau
• Food and Health Bureau
• Home Affairs Bureau
• Labour and Welfare Bureau
• Security Bureau
• Transport and Housing Bureau
• Environment Bureau
• Commerce and Economic Development Bureau
• Development Bureau
• Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau
• Innovation and Technology Bureau

Departments and agencies[]

See also[]

• Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China
• Hong Kong Liaison Office
• Communist Party of China
• Hong Kong Civil Service
• Legislative Council
• District Councils
• Hong Kong government officials
• Hong Kong politicians
• Government Hill
• Central Government Complex
• Principal Officials Accountability System
• United Front Work Department

References[]

External links[]

• GovHK – One-stop Portal of the HKSAR Government
• Government and Related Organisations
• Government official news
• Organisation Chart of the Government
• HKSAR Government Telephone Directory