Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: A Unique and Free Society in China and the World - Today and Tomorrow -

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1 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: A Unique and Free Society in China and the World - Today and Tomorrow - 8 June 2009 University of Vienna Austria Stephen Kai WONG Director, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region skywong@hketoberlin.gov.hk 1

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3 Basic Facts Population: 8.2 millions 6.8 millions Area: sq km sq km GDP in Euro 270 billions 150 billions GDP Growth Rate 1.6% 2.5% GDP Services Sector: 67% 92% Source: Statistik Austria Census and Statistics Department HKSAR Government 3

4 Location of Hong Kong 4 HKETO Berlin

5 One Country, Two Systems Fundamentals Under the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems' the socialist system and policies shall not be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Hong Kong's previous capitalist system and life-style shall remain unchanged for 50 years 5

6 The Basic Law The Basic Law is the constitutional document for the HKSAR. It enshrines the important concepts of 'One Country, Two Systems', 'A High Degree of Autonomy' and 'Hong Kong People ruling Hong Kong'. It also prescribes the various systems to be practised in the HKSAR. The full text of the Basic Law is available at 6

7 Background of the Basic Law 19 December 1984 Signing of the Sino-British Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong by the Chinese and British governments Ratified on 27 May April 1990 Adoption of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China 1 July 1997 Effective date of the Basic Law 7

8 How Basic Law makes Hong Kong unique Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems' (Articles 2 & 12) Hong Kong can participate in international organizations and conferences not limited to states (Article 152) Hong Kong has its own currency, own legal system and own independent judiciary (Article 156) Hong Kong can on its own, using the name 'Hong Kong, China' conclude and implement agreements with foreign states and regions and international organizations in the appropriate fields, including economic, trade, financial and monetary, shipping, communications, tourism, cultural and sports (Article 151) Hong Kong adopts both Chinese and English as its official languages (Article 9) 8

9 How Basic Law makes Hong Kong unique Immigration & Travel Hong Kong applies its own immigration controls and issues its own passports (Articles 154 & 155) Close to 140 countries/territories have granted visa-free access or visa-on arrival to HKSAR passport holders. Reciprocally, nationals of more than 170 countries and territories may visit Hong Kong visa-free for a period ranging from 7 days to 180 days Employment Hong Kong formulates its own laws and policies relating to labour (Article 147) The Quality Migrant Admission Scheme is for highly skilled or talented persons (eg. academics, musicians, artists, professors) to settle e in Hong Kong to enhance Hong Kong's economic competitiveness in the global market 9

10 How Basic Law makes Hong Kong unique Tax Hong Kong adopts a low tax policy under the independent taxation system (Article 108) The current maximum personal income tax rate is 15% while the profits p tax rate is 16.5% Education Hong Kong formulates its own policies on education, including the educational system, the language of instruction and the recognition of educational qualifications (Article 136) How do foreign students benefit? - Non-local students who have obtained a degree in Hong Kong can apply to stay and work in Hong Kong through the 'Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates' Scheme 10

11 How Basic Law makes Hong Kong a Free Society Hong Kong residents enjoy freedoms of: speech/the press/publications (Article 27) association/assembly/procession/demonstration (Article 27) forming and joining of trade unions/strike (Article 27) religious belief (Article 32) The provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and international labour conventions as applied in Hong Kong 11

12 Hong Kong residents' rights and freedoms are safeguarded by the Basic Law 12 Freedom of religious belief Freedom of speech Freedom of assembly Private ownership of property Freedom of press Freedom of academic research Right to vote and stand for election Equality before the law HKETO Berlin Freedom of movement

13 Free Economy Businesses can compete equally and freely (level-playing field) Foreign businesses are treated the same as local ones No restrictions on ownership of property Free movements of goods and capital No restrictions on the amount of money allowed into or out of Hong Kong The Hong Kong dollar is freely convertible Clean and transparent civil service (enforced by the Independent Comission Against Corruption) Hong Kong has been ranked as the world s freest economy for the past 15 years 13

14 What makes Hong Kong a Paradise for Business Status of a free port (Article 114) Rule of law Common Law System, Independent Judiciary (Articles 8,18,19,84, 85) A low tax policy under an independent taxation system (Article 108) Hong Kong Free flow of capital guaranteed (Article 112) Free operation of financial business and financial markets safeguarded (Article 110) Status as an international financial centre (Article 109) 14

15 Constitutional Development Steady and progressive development since reunification in 1997 Open and clean Legislative Council (LegCo) elections in 1998, 2000, 2004 and Directly elected seats increased to 30 half of LegCo in 2004 Remaining 30 LegCo seats returned by functional constituencies representing interests of business community, professional groups, grassroots and other sectors Election Committee responsible for electing Chief Executive (CE) expanded from 400 in 1996 to 800 in Most members of the committee are elected from different sectors of the community 15

16 Timetable for universal suffrage July 2007 December 2007 December 2007 Fourth Quarter 2009 Outlook Green paper on Constitutional Development published to consult the public on the models, roadmap and timetable for implementing universal suffrage for the Chief Executive (CE) and Legislative Council (LegCo) Based on outcome from the public consultation the Standing Commitee of the National People s Congress (NPCSC) made a decision that the CE may be elected by univeral suffrage in 2017 and LegCo may be formed by universal suffrage in 2020 The CE appointed the Task Group on Constitutional Development under the Commission on Strategic Development to discuss specifically the two electoral methods for 2012 within the framework set out by NPCSC s decision The HKSAR Government will consult the public on the possible options for amending the electoral methods for electing the CE and forming the LegCo in 2012 The aim of the HKSAR Government is to determine the two electoral methods for 2012 within the tenure of the current term Government. This could then lay a solid foundation for attaining universal suffrage for the CE in 2017 and for LegCo in

17 Relation between Mainland China and Hong Kong Links between Mainland China and Hong Kong are becoming stronger, while maintaining the uniqueness of Hong Kong under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle 17

18 CEPA - Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement - Landmark free-trade pact between Mainland China and Hong Kong offers favourable trading and investment conditions to Hong Kongbased companies local or foreign owned - interested in exporting goods, trading services and investment fasciliation Hong Kong signed phase I of CEPA with Mainland China in June Hong Kong and Mainland China later reached agreement for further liberalization under phases II, III, IV, V and VI of CEPA in August 2004, October 2005, June 2007, July 2008 and May 2009 respectively 18

19 CEPA A Win-Win Situation Enhancing already close economic cooperation and integration between the Mainland and Hong Kong Win-Win agreement: Opportunity for Hong Kong businesses to gain greater access to the Mainland market Benefits the Mainland to use Hong Kong as a "springboard" to reach out to the global market Foreign investors are also welcome to establish businesses in Hong Kong to have access to the vast opportunities of the Mainland market 19

20 Pan Pearl River Delta Initiative Pan-PRD region, covering Mainland's nine southern provinces, Hong Kong and Macao High techology and high value-added industries in the PRD combined with the professional services of Hong Kong e.g. financial, legal, accounting created lucrative business models for local and foreign companies Combined population: 467 million (similar to that of the European Union) 20

21 Hong Kong Mainland Opportunities o is handling almost one-fifth of the Mainland's foreign trade o is the largest external investor in the Mainland, accounting for 40% of total inward direct investment o entreprises employ 9.6 million people in Guangdong o has 229,000 people ( 7% of Hong Kong's working population) working in the Mainland (80% as managers and professionals) o is the only city that can handle renminbi business outside the Mainland 21

22 Hong Kong: Today and Tomorrow International Finance & Business Centre Over 90% of Hong Kong s workforce is employed in the tertiary sector Hong Kong lies - 12th in the ranks of top international exporters - 11th in the ranks of top international exporter of services Over 300 banks are located in Hong Kong (76 of the world's 100 largest) The third largest stock exchange in Asia The world s sixth largest foreign exchange centre 22

23 Global Economic Crisis Hong Kong as a free and open economy has been inevitably affected by the global economic crisis But: sound fundamentals, strong regulatory framework, a robust exchange fund, production base and market on the Mainland and strong backing from the government makes Hong Kong well equipped to withstand the downturn Strong fundamentals Counter-cyclical measures: 30 billion govenment spending Job creation ( jobs) Maintaining high capital works expenditure Global economic crisis 23

24 - Situated at the heart of Asia Infrastructure 5 hours of flying time to reach half of the world's population - Hong Kong's international airport: world busiest for international freight and the fifth busiest for international passenger traffic - One of the busiest container ports - Boundary check-points connecting Guangdong and Hong Kong are amongst the busiest in the world - One of the world's most advanced and sophisticated telecommunications systems 24

25 Infrastructure Projects 10 major infrastructure projects planned, e.g. 1. Guangzhou-Shenzen Shenzen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link 2. Hong Kong-Zhuhai Zhuhai-Macao Bridge 3. Kai Tak (the old airport) Development Plan 4. West Kowloon Cultural District Hong Kong plans to spend 21.5 billion over the next five years on a significant expansion of the railway network, new land formation, roads, new town developments, government buildings, schools, community facilities and environmental protection 25

26 Education Centre of educational excellence in the Asia-Pacific region Government spending on education exceeds 4.6 billion Euro a year (accounting for a quarter of the recurrent annual budget) Scholarship fund of over 92 million Euro for local and foreign students Hong Kong has more international schools than any other Asian city (74 kindergartens, 46 primary and 24 secondary schools) Three Hong Kong universities are ranked among the top 50 institutions (2008) The University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Hong Kong universities host Asia's best executive business management programmes and research projects: EMBA offered by HKUST and CUHK 26

27 Attractions for Foreign Students Learning in a cosmopolitan, liberal and English-speaking environment Attaining high-ranking, internationally recognized qualifications International perspectives and employment opportunities Learning on the door-step of the world's fastest-growing country, China, for overseas students Allowance for non-local full-time students to take up internships or parttime on campus jobs/full time off-campus summer jobs Allowance to stay for 12 month upon graduation to seek employment in Hong Kong 27

28 Hong Kong is a regional sports hub Leisure & Sports Staging equestrian events as the co-host city of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Other major sport events: Hong Kong Marathon, Hong Kong Open (golf), Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes, Rugby Seven Host of 2009 East Asian Games Multi-sport competitions, featuring top-class athletes from across the region A rich variety of arts festivals and cultural events, e.g. the annual Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival 28

29 Health Protection As an international city Hong Kong is inevitably affected by global epedemic disease but cummunicable diseases are well controlled Establishment of a Communicable Disease Control System Valuable practical experience gained in quarantine, infection control c and other public measures High government transparency with regular and timely media briefings Case: 'A H1N1' tough but considered decision to prevent the spread of the virus to the community and outside Hong Kong the government will continue to take all measures legally and in good faith to tackle the virus at source without delay 29

30 Hong Kong -Tomorrow- Quality of Life The Government is exploring ways of beautifying the cityscape and upgrading the quality of life to make Hong Kong an ideal home Continuing investment in urban construction (e.g. re-structuring of land use for providing community facilities) Revitalisation of historic buildings Building a greener city ( e.g. landscaping, geological parks) Beautifying and revitalising the harbourfront (setting up of a task force to study the feasibility of medium and long-term re-planning) Promoting cultural and recreational diversity (support artistic creations and overseas exchanges, encourage tertiary institutions, develop a broad audience base) Sports development (promoting sports in the community, organising ng major sports events and reinforcing support for elite athletes) 30

31 Hong Kong -Tomorrow- Environmental Protection Improving air quality Transforming jointly with the Guangdong Provincial Government the PRD region into a green and quality living area Enhancement of energy efficiency, usage of clean fuels and promotion of low carbon economy Reduction of waste at source and encouragement of waste recovery and recycling 31

32 Hong Kong -Tomorrow- Caring Society Balancing social interests and upholding social justice Elaboration on long-term solution and fostering community consensus over controversial policies Forward-looking approach in promoting social development (including upholding the family as the core social value and introducing sustainable measures to meet the challenges posed by an ageing population) Protecting peoples interest in e.g. food safety, protection for flat buyers, information on consumer prices, legislaton for wage protection and old age allowance 32

33 The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin First Government representative office set up on the 9 March 2009 overseas after the reunification in 1997 (The Basic Law Article 156) Provide you with: Information Support Practical Assistance Continue to promote the interest of Hong Kong with Hong Kong Tourism Board and Hong Kong Trade Development Council 33

34 The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin The same rights of privileges and immunities as the diplomatic representation of a state, [despite] Hong Kong is not an independent state. Federal Minister for Justice Ms Brigitte Zypries. 34

35 Organization Chart Director Deputy Director Administration Division Commercial and Public Relations Division Invest Hong Kong Division 35

36 For more information Director, Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, Berlin Address Friedrichstrasse 50, Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) skywong@hketoberlin.gov.hk Websites: Hong Kong SAR Government Commerce and Economic Development Bureau Invest Hong Kong Hong Kong Trade Development Council Hong Kong Tourism Board