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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or Hong Kong (香港, Cantonese IPA: hœŋ1gɔŋ2, Jyutping or Penkyamp: hoeng1 gong2, Hanyu Pinyin: Xiānggǎng, Wade-Giles: Hsiang-kang, meaning Fragrant Harbour), is one of two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (the other is Macao), consisting of a small peninsula attached to China's southern coast and 236 islands in the South China Sea, of which Hong Kong Island is the second largest and Lantau the largest.

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 even its own rule of the road, with traffic continuing to drive on the left, for example.

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
Flag of Hong Kong Hong Kong coat of arms
(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: None
Official languages Chinese (Cantonese spoken de facto) and English
CapitalVictoria City
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa
Area
 - Total
 - % water		(Not ranked)
1,102.15 km²
4.6%
Population


 - Total (July 2003)


 - Density 		(Not ranked)


6,803,100


6,771/km²
GDP (2003)
 - Total
 - Total
 - GDP/head
 - GDP/head 		37th, 30th, 16th, 22nd
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 Code852 also 01
from Macau

History

Main article: History of Hong Kong

Although it was occupied since at least as long ago as 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 did not begin attracting worldwide attention until 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) were then leased to Britain for 99 years (from July 1, 1898 to June 30, 1997).

Pursuant to an agreement signed by the PRC and the 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 Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa as head of government. Tung assumed office on July 1, 1997, following his election by a 400-member Selection Committee appointed by the People's Republic of China. For the second five-year term of the Chief Executive which began in July 2002, Tung was nominated and elected unopposed by the Election Committee in February 2002.

Legislative Council elections were held in May 1998, September 2000, and again in September 2004. 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 electroate for these seats is too narrow.

The civil service of Hong Kong maintains its quality and neutrality, operating without discernible direction from Beijing.

File:HK Harbor Airport Landsat.jpg
A simulated-color satellite image of the Victoria Harbour and the former Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport, both in Hong Kong, taken on NASA's Landsat 7.

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.

Districts

Main article: Districts of Hong Kong

Hong Kong consists of 18 administrative districts:

Map of Hong Kong

Geography

Main article: Geography of Hong Kong

The name "Hong Kong" is derived from Hong Kong Island in the South China Sea, at the mouth of the Xi 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.

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 humid 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. On September 18, 1906, a typhoon and tsunami killed an estimated 10,000 persons.

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.

File:Hong Kong skyline nighttime.jpg
Hong Kong Skyline, as seen from Tsim Sha Tsui

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:

External link:

View of the central district of Hong Kong, from Victoria Peak

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.

File:Hong Kong skyline daytime 2.jpg
Hong Kong Skyline, as seen from Victoria Peak

Culture

Main article: Culture of Hong Kong

Miscellaneous topics

File:Victoria harbour hk.jpg
Aberdeen, Hong Kong and floating restaurant

Major landmarks include:

Universities and other tertiary institutions

There are eight universities and various other tertiary institutions in Hong Kong alone.

External links

Provincial-level divisions of China
Provinces
Autonomous regions
Direct-administered municipalities
Special administrative regions
Disputed province
Taiwan is claimed by the People's Republic of China but administered by the Republic of China (see political status of Taiwan).

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