Government of Hong Kong

Government of Hong Kong

香港特別行政區政府
Emblem of Hong Kong
Formation	1 July 1997 (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	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
Traditional Chinese	香港特別行政區政府
Simplified Chinese	香港特别行政区政府
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiānggǎng Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū Zhèngfǔ
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese	香港政府
Cantonese Yale	Hēunggóng Jingfú
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiānggǎng Zhèngfǔ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hēunggóng Jingfú Jyutping Hoeng1gong2 Zing3fu2 IPA [hœ́ːŋ.kɔ̌ːŋ tsēːŋ.fǔː]

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 on 1 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 and the principal officials who he or she nominates, are appointed by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. 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.

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 from, 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

Main article: Chief Executive of Hong Kong

The 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, 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. 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.

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 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

Executive Council

Main article: Executive Council of Hong Kong

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 16 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.

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, 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

Main article: Political Appointments System

The government released a report on the Further Development of the Political Appointment System on 17 October 2007. 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.

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.

Chief Secretary for Administration

Main article: 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 office of CS is currently vacant.

Financial Secretary

Main articles: Financial Secretary (Hong Kong) and 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 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

Main article: Secretary for Justice (Hong Kong)

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.

Policy bureaux (ministries) and government departments

Main article: Government Secretariat (Hong Kong)

The 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 and departments, 2022-

	Government secretariat	Government departments
Under the Chief Secretary for Administration	Chief Secretary for Administration's Office	Administrative Wing Government Records Service Legal Aid Department Protocol Division
	Civil Service Bureau
	Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau	Registration and Electoral Office Beijing Office Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (Mainland China, and Taiwan)
	Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau	Leisure and Cultural Services Department Tourism Commission
	Education Bureau	Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency
	Environment and Ecology Bureau Environment Branch Food Branch	Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Environmental Protection Department Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Government Laboratory Hong Kong Observatory
	Health Bureau	Department of Health
	Home and Youth Affairs Bureau	Home Affairs Department Information Services Department
	Labour and Welfare Bureau	Labour Department Social Welfare Department
	Security Bureau	Auxiliary Medical Service Civil Aid Service Correctional Services Department Customs and Excise Department Fire Services Department Government Flying Service Hong Kong Police Force Immigration Department
Under the Financial Secretary	Financial Secretary's Office	Office of the Government Economist
	Commerce and Economic Development Bureau	Intellectual Property Department Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) Post Office Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Trade and Industry Department Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (Overseas) (HKETOs)
	Development Bureau Planning and Lands Branch Works Branch	Architectural Services Department Buildings Department Civil Engineering and Development Department Drainage Services Department Electrical and Mechanical Services Department Land Registry Lands Department Planning Department Water Supplies Department
	Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau Financial Services Branch The Treasury Branch	Census and Statistics Department Company Registry Government Logistics Department Government Property Agency Inland Revenue Department Insurance Authority Official Receiver's Office Rating and Valuation Department The Treasury
	Housing Bureau	Housing Department
	Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau	Innovation and Technology Commission Office of the Government Chief Information Officer Efficiency Office
	Transport and Logistics Bureau	Civil Aviation Department Highways Department Marine Department Transport Department

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 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

The 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

The Office of the Government Economist 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.

Policy Bureaux

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

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Hong Kong government agencies.

See also

• Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
• Hong Kong Liaison Office
• Chinese Communist Party
• 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

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