The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region[1] (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong.
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| Formation | 1 July 1997 |
|---|---|
| Founding document | Hong Kong Basic Law |
| Jurisdiction | Hong Kong |
| Website | gov.hk |
| Legislative branch | |
| Legislature | Legislative Council |
| Meeting place | Legislative Council Complex |
| Executive branch | |
| Leader | Chief Executive |
| Appointer | Premier, State Council of China |
| Headquarters | Central Government Complex |
| Main organ | Executive Council |
| Departments | 13 (full list) |
| Judicial branch | |
| Court | Court of Final Appeal |
| Seat | Court of Final Appeal Building |
| Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 香港特別行政區政府 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 香港特别行政区政府 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | Hoeng1 gong2 Dak6 bit6 Hang4 zing3 keoi1 Zing3 fu2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | Hēunggóng Dahkbiht Hàhngjingkēui Jingfú | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Abbreviation | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 香港政府 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | Hoeng1 gong2 Zing3 fu2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | Hēunggóng Jingfú | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The Chief Executive and the principal officials are appointed by the State Council of the People's Republic of China in accordance with the outcome of local processes. 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 Hong Kong, 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.[2]
Under the "one country, two systems" constitutional principle, the Government is, in law, exclusively in charge of Hong Kong's internal affairs and specified external relations. The Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), from which the Hong Kong government is financially independent, is responsible for Hong Kong SAR's defence and foreign policy, while decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress can, in certain circumstances, override territorial judicial processes. The Hong Kong SAR government replaced the former British Hong Kong Government (1842–1997) in 1997. Despite gradually evolving, the general governmental structure was inherited from British Hong Kong.
On February 28, 2024, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan, announced the Special Administrative Region’s (SAR) government budget for the fiscal year 2024 to 2025 (“2024–25 Budget”). Under the 2024-25 budget, total government expenditure is set to rise by 6.7 percent to HK$776.9 billion (US$99.23 billion).[3]
Head of government
editThe Chief Executive is the head of the 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, under the principles of separation of powers,[4] with a two-tiered system of semi-representative government and an independent judiciary. The Chief Executive is elected by an Election Committee, a 1500-member electoral college consisting of individuals and bodies (i.e. special interest groups) elected within 40 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. Then 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.[5][6]
As of 1 July 1997,[update] the Chief Executive of Hong Kong officially replaced the Governor of Hong Kong as the head of the government for Hong Kong following the handover. 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 State Council of China 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 John Lee.
Executive
editExecutive Council
editThe 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 21 principal officials and 16 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.[7]
Principal officials
editIn 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, heads of government bureaux and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office 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 Bureaux. 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. 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
editThe government released a report on the Further Development of the Political Appointment System[8] on 17 October 2007.[9] 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.[10]
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.[11]
Chief Secretary for Administration
editThe 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 Secretary is Chan Kwok-ki.
Financial Secretary
editThe Financial Secretary is responsible for preparing the Government Budget in accordance with the Chief Executive's agenda in the policy address, ensuring fiscal policies are in accordance to the Public Finance Ordinance. The secretary 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
editThe Secretary for Justice is responsible for prosecutions and legal matters and heads the Department of Justice. The current Secretary for Justice is Paul Lam.
Policy bureaux and departments
editThe hierarchical structure of the government secretariat and government departments in Chief Executive John Lee's administration since 1 July 2022 is as follows:
| Government secretariat | Government departments | |
|---|---|---|
| Under the Chief Secretary for Administration |
Chief Secretary for Administration's Office |
|
| Civil Service Bureau | ||
| Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau | ||
| Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau |
| |
| Education Bureau |
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Environment and Ecology Bureau
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| Health Bureau | ||
| Home and Youth Affairs Bureau | ||
| Labour and Welfare Bureau | ||
| Security Bureau | ||
| Under the Financial Secretary |
Financial Secretary's Office | |
| Commerce and Economic Development Bureau |
| |
Development Bureau
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Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau
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| Housing Bureau | ||
| Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau |
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| Transport and Logistics Bureau |
Office of the Chief Executive
editThe 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 Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office, 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
editThe Human Resources Planning and Poverty Co-ordination Office, Administration Wing and Legal Aid Department are under the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office.
Financial Secretary's Office
editThe Office of the Government Economist and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority are under the Financial Secretary's Office.
Department of Justice
editThe 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.
Policy Bureaux
editThe current fifteen policy bureaux is a result of the 2022 government reorganisation, which added, expanded, and re-titled several bureaux. Currently, nine bureaux reports to the Chief Secretary for Administration, and the other six 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
- Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (newly established)
- Education Bureau
- Environment and Ecology Bureau (re-titled from the Environment Bureau and takes over the Food and Health Bureau except health)
- Health Bureau (takes over health policies from the defunct Food and Health Bureau)
- Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (reorganised from the Home Affairs Bureau)
- Labour and Welfare Bureau
- Security Bureau
- Commerce and Economic Development Bureau
- Development Bureau
- Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau
- Housing Bureau (split from the defunct Transport and Housing Bureau)
- Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (re-titled from the Innovation and Technology Bureau)
- Transport and Logistics Bureau (split from the defunct Transport and Housing Bureau)
Departments and agencies
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Basic Law of Hong Kong – Chapter IV". basiclaw.gov.hk. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ Article 68, Hong Kong Basic Law
- ^ "Overview of the 2024-25 Hong Kong Budget". March 2024.
- ^ Creery, Jennifer (1 September 2020). "No separation of powers in Hong Kong says Chief Exec. Carrie Lam, despite previous comments from top judges". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ Smith, Michael (5 October 2019). "Violence sweeps Hong Kong after face mask ban". Financial Review. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- ^ "Emergency Regulations Ordinance". Hong Kong e-Legislation.
- ^ "GovHK: Government Structure". Retrieved 25 October 2009.
- ^ Report on Further Development of the Political Appointment System
- ^ "Consultation Document on the Further Development of the Political Appointment System", Hong Kong Government, July 2006
- ^ Michael Ng, "Attracting new political talent 'from all sectors'" Archived 22 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Standard, 27 July 2006
- ^ Ambrose Leung, "Tsang's assistant may face Legco censure", Pg A3, South China Morning Post, 17 June 2008