Government and Politics in HongKong Presentation 4.pptx

1、GOVERNMENT, society and market after the handover: Part I,Main issues to cover,One Country Two Systems (OCTS) Civil service reform The Principal Official Accountability System (POAS) The political appointment system,A new era of HKSAR,The sovereignty transfer from UK to China marked the end of Briti

2、sh rule in Hong Kong The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, began operating under Chinese sovereignty and the new constitutional framework set up by the Basic Law, the mini- constitution of Hong Kong,Things that are not changed after 1997,English is still taught in all schoo

3、ls. However, many schools teach in Cantonese in parallel with Mandarin in some schools The border with the mainland continued to be patrolled as before, with separate immigration and customs controls Hong Kong citizens were still required to apply for a Home Return Permit (回乡证) in order to visit mai

4、nland China,Things that are not changed after 1997,Citizens of mainland China still did not have the right of abode （居留权）in Hong Kong Hong Kong remained a common law jurisdiction, which is different from the continental law system used in mainland China Hong Kong remained an individual member of var

5、ious international organizations, such as the WTO, APEC, IAEA, Interpol, ILO, etc,Things that are not changed after 1997,Hong Kong continues to send its own team to international sporting events such as the Olympic Games Hong Kong maintains its own overseas economic liaison offices (HK Economic and

6、Trade Offices) as well as in mainland China and Taiwan Many countries Consulates-General in Hong Kong remained outside the jurisdiction of their embassies in Beijing, such as the United States Consulate General which reports directly to Department of State, and British Consulate-General which report

7、s directly to Foreign and Commonwealth Office,Things that are not changed after 1997,Hong Kong continues to negotiate and maintain its own aviation bilateral treaties with foreign countries and territories. Flights between Hong Kong and the mainland China are regarded as international flights Hong K

8、ong SAR passport holders have easier access to countries in Europe and North America compared to mainland Chinese passport holder Hong Kong retains a separate international dialing code (852) from that of mainland China (86),Things that are changed after 1997,The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is now

9、elected by a selection committee with 1200 members (800 members before 2012), while the Governor was appointed by the United Kingdom At international sporting events such as the Olympics, Hong Kong is now known as Hong Kong, China. Hong Kong athletes compete under the Hong Kong SAR flag instead of t

10、he Colonial flag of Hong Kong The Court of Final Appeal (终审法院) replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council （枢密院司法委员会）as the highest court of appeal,Things that are changed after 1997,Public holidays changed, with British-inspired occasions, such as the Queens Official Birthday and Liberatio

11、n Day with PRC National Day and HKSAR Establishment Day Hong Kong is no longer linked to the Commonwealth and no longer participates in related organizations and events, such as the Commonwealth Games,One country, two systems (OCTS),The meaning “One Country, Two Systems, High Autonomy, Hong Kong peo

12、ple ruling Hong Kong” (一国两制，高度自治，港人治港) The Essence Two systems: capitalism and socialism Fifty years unchanged: capitalist system and way of life (原有资本主义生活方式五十年不变) Independent executive, legislative and judiciary power, including the power of final adjudication (终审权) “HK people ruling HK” means main

13、land officials will not be used to rule HK,Institutional Features of OCTS,The Sovereignty Aspects Central Govt responsible for foreign affairs and national defense CE and major officials have to be formally appointed by the Central Govt The laws enacted in HK must be reported to National Peoples Con

14、gress Standing Committee (NPCSC全国人大常委) for record (备案) Some laws of PRC are enforceable in HK; NPCSC can change the list of laws that are enforced in HK (listed in Annex III) Central govt can declare a state of emergency in HK (Art.18),Institutional Features of OCTS,The Sovereignty Aspects Ultimate

15、power to interpret the Basic Law (基本法) lies with NPCSC Cases involve affairs that are responsibility of Central Govt, or concerning the relationship between mainland China and HK, the courts should seek interpretation from NPCSC Power of amendment of Basic Law vests in the NPC (Art.159). The HKSAR,

16、State Council or NPCSC can propose amendments,Institutional Features of OCTS,The Autonomy Aspects SAR has executive, legislative, judicial power, and (2) political appointment system,Background of the Principal Officials Accountability System （POAS）,After the handover, Hong Kong inherited the coloni

17、al system that all positions in the government were filled by civil servants, with a hope that political stability can be maintained The Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law had assumed the continuity of a bureaucracy-led government to preserve continuity of the government machine Under

18、this system, only the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary and Secretary for Justice were ex-officio members （官守成员）of the Executive Council (EXCO,行政会议), Unofficial members were majority in the council,Background of POAS,In effect, the first SAR administration was a coalition government with top bure

19、aucrats headed by then Chief Secretary for Administration, Anson Chan(陈方安生) As bureaucrats are not elected, they are not meant to represent popular interest and do not capture the mandate to exert any kind of power. Yet, power is exercised and no mechanisms of accountability can hold them fully acco

20、untable Meanwhile, they are not members of the Executive Council and not administratively accountable to the Chief Executive,Background of POAS,Many policy failures shows that the government and the Chief Executive failed to hold top civil servants, namely permanent secretary, accountable Tung intro

21、duced POAS to remedy the perceived weaknesses of Hong Kong government,The Principal Officials Accountability System (POAS),The Principal Officials Accountability System (POAS, 高官问责制) was introduced by then CE Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002 The objectives of the system are: To strengthen the accountabili

22、ty of principal officials; ensure better response to the needs of the community; enhance coordination in policy formulation; strengthen the cooperation between the Executive and the Legislature; ensure effective implementation of policies and provide quality services to the public,The Principal Offi

23、cials Accountability System (POAS),A new system of employment was introduced into the highest level of Government. These principal officials will be employed on terms and conditions different from those of the civil service Under the new system, the Chief Executive will nominate candidates of high p

24、ersonal integrity and ability from inside and outside the civil service for appointment by the Central Peoples Government as principal officials They are not be civil servants and employed on contract. The term of their contract will not exceed the term of the Chief Executive, who nominates them for

25、 appointment,The Principal Officials Accountability System (POAS),Principal officials under the accountability system will accept total responsibility and in an extreme case, they may also have to step down for grave personal misconduct or if they cease to be eligible under the Basic Law They are ap

26、pointed to the Executive Council and responsible for all aspects of their portfolios. The principal officials are directly responsible to the Chief Executive and they take part directly in the decision making process relating to the allocation of resources of the Government as a whole,The Principal

27、Officials Accountability System (POAS),The civil service will remain permanent, meritocratic and politically neutral The system of appointment, posting, promotion and disciplinary action will remain unchanged Once decisions have been taken by the Chief Executive in Council or by the principal offici

28、als, civil servants have to support the decisions, and fully and faithfully implement decisions,The Principal Officials Accountability System (POAS),POAS was widely regarded as the key to solving previous administrative problems, notably the lack of cooperation of high ranking civil servants As Tung

29、 said, “certainly, the officials should be responsible for the success and failure for the policies for which they are responsible” Indeed the POAS system bears fruits, e.g. resignation of Regina Ip (叶刘淑仪) and Anthony Leung（梁锦松）,Yeoh Eng-kiong(杨永强) The POAS was expanded and superseded by the Politic

30、al Appointment System in 2008,The political appointment system,The Political Appointments System (政治委任制度) is a scheme introduced in 2008 to reinforce its ministerial team by supplement the POAS system and inserting two layers of politically appointed officials The appointment of deputy directors and

31、 political assistants is an extension of the previous POAS that was initially confined to principal officials,The political appointment system,In mid 2005, then CE Donald Tsang (曾荫权) proposed a system for developing political career path for aspiring politicians by creating middle-ranking posts Constitutional and mainland Affairs Bureau(政制及内地事务局) director Stephen Lam （林瑞麟）said he hoped arrangements would help extend opportunities for political participat