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infon ing I legri ive
Updated October 12, 2023
China Primer: Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the
People's Republic of China (PRC, or China). The United
Kingdom (UK) established Hong Kong as colony in 1841,
and administered it until 1997 when the UK transferred it to
the PRC. The PRC agreed that after the handover, the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong, or
HKSAR) would retain a high degree of autonomy, except
in foreign and defense affairs.
After the handover, Hong Kong's legal and local
government systems remained distinct from those of the
PRC, and the city continued to be one of the world's largest
international trade and financial centers as well as a nexus
for exchanges of all kinds between China and the world.
Following large-scale protests in 2019 opposing a bill that
would have allowed the extradition of fugitives to mainland
China, China's legislature, with the stated purpose of
restoring order, imposed a national security law (NSL) on
the HKSAR on June 30, 2020. The NSL criminalizes the
organization and perpetration of terrorist activities,
secession, subversion, and collusion with foreign
entities to endanger national security. Members of
Congress and the executive branch have expressed concern
over the law, its implementation, and PRC and HKSAR
authorities' broader crackdown on civil society, and have
called upon China to abide by the commitments it made
ahead of the handover in 1997 (see below).
History of the HKSAR
In 1984, the UK and the PRC government signed an
international treaty, the Sino-British Joint Declaration on
the Question of Hong Kong or Joint Declaration. Under
this agreement, the UK agreed to transfer sovereignty over
Hong Kong to the PRC on July 1, 1997. The PRC
government, in turn, committed to ensure that Hong Kong
would enjoy a high degree of autonomy and will be
vested with executive, legislative and independent judicial
power, including that of final adjudication. The PRC also
promised the [flights and freedoms, including those of the
person, of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association,
of travel, of movement, of correspondence, of strike, of
choice of occupation, of academic research and of religious
belief will be ensured by law. The Joint Declaration
required the PRC to pass a Basic Law for the HKSAR
incorporating these commitments, and the commitments
were to remain unchanged for 50 years. China's National
People's Congress (NPC) passed the Basic Law of the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of
the People's Republic of China, or Basic Law, on April
4, 1990.
Hong Kong is governed by an indirectly elected Chief
Executive and Legislative Council (LegCo), and operates
with a legal system based on British Common Law. With
Hong Kong at a Glance
Population (2022): 7.4 million
Area: 1,082 square kilometers (418 square miles)
Currency: Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)
Per Capita GDP (2020): US$65,922 (Purchasing Power
Parity (PPP))
Leadership: Chief Executive John Lee (Lee Ka-chiu)
The Chief Executive is appointed by and accountable to the PRC
Central Government
Legislature: Unicameral Legislative Council (LegCo) with 90
members elected by the Hong Kong Election Committee (40)
and fixed geographical (20) and functional (30) constituencies
Four Key Industries (by % of 2021 GDP value added):
Financial Services (21.3%), Trading and Logistics (23.7%),
Tourism (0.1%), and Professional Services (1 1.4%)
Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department,
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
these institutions, Hong Kong became a global trade and
financial center, and a window for trade, investment, and
finance with the PRC. Under the terms of the Joint
Declaration, Hong Kong maintains separate membership in
more than 40 international organizations, including the
World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). Hundreds of U.S.
companies maintain operations in Hong Kong, and the
territory still hosts the Asia headquarters of many major
multinational corporations.
H g n Autonomy and Dernocratk
institutons
Since 2020, China's Central Government has adopted
measures that appear to be eroding Hong Kong's autonomy.
Some of the measures seem aimed at further embedding the
influence of the Central Government and Communist Party
of China (CPC) within the HKSAR. The HKSAR's
Committee for Safeguarding National Security (CSNS),
established under the NSL, assumed primary responsibility
for safeguarding national security. The CSNS is chaired by
Hong Kong's Chief Executive but operates under the
supervision of and [is] accountable to the [Central
Government]. In March 2023, the CPC created a Hong
Kong and Macao Work Office as a working body of the
CPC Central Committee. Some analysts have interpreted
the move as a way for the Party to centralize its
leadership in Hong Kong, in order to keep Hong Kong from
becoming a weak link in national security.
PRC and HKSAR authorities also have adopted measures
that could further erode the HKSAR's democratic
institutions. In March 2021, for example, the NPC adopted
a decision to amend certain provisions of the Basic Law,
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