Hong Kong territory profile
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The former British colony became a special administrative region of China in 1997, when Britain’s 99-year lease of the Fresh Territories, north of Hong Kong island, expired.
Hong Kong is governed under the principle of “one country, two systems”, under which China has agreed to give the region a high degree of autonomy and to preserve its economic and social systems for fifty years from the date of the handover.
But Beijing can veto switches to the political system, and pro-democracy compels have been frustrated by what they see as the slow tempo of political reform.
FACTS
Hong Kong
Semi-autonomous, special administrative region of China
Population 7.Two million
Area 1,098 sq km (424 sq miles)
Major languages Chinese (mainly Cantonese), English (both official)
Major religions Buddhism, Taoism
Life expectancy eighty (studs), eighty six (women)
Currency Hong Kong dollar
LEADERS
Chief executive: Carrie Lam
Carrie Lam was sworn in as Hong Kong’s very first female chief executive on one July two thousand seventeen on the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China.
Widely seen as Beijing’s preferred candidate, Lam secured seven hundred seventy seven votes from the 1,194-member Election Committee which picks the city’s next chief and is believed to be predominated by Beijing loyalists. This was Hong Kong’s very first leadership election since the two thousand fourteen pro-democracy protests.
Lam served as the city’s secretary for development before being appointed the chief secretary for administration in 2012, Hong Kong’s number two official.
She is said to have been student activist and has been described as the “Metal Lady” and “the fighter”.
MEDIA
Hong Kong is home to many of Asia’s thickest media players. The territory has one of the world’s largest film industries and is a major centre for broadcasting and publishing.
It has kept its editorially-dynamic media, in contrast to the rest of China where official control over broadcasting is pervasive.
Hong Kong internet users love some of the world’s highest download speeds. More than 83% of households had broadband access by late 2013.
TIMELINE
Some key dates in Hong Kong’s history:
1842 – China cedes Hong Kong island to Britain after the Very first Opium War.
1898 – China leases the Fresh Territories together with two hundred thirty five islands to Britain for ninety nine years.
1941-45 – Japan occupies Hong Kong during 2nd World War.
1970s – Hong Kong is established as an “Asian Tiger” – one of the region’s economic powerhouses – with a thriving economy based on high-technology industries.
1997 – Hong Kong is transferred back to the Chinese authorities after more than one hundred fifty years of British control.
2014 – Pro-democracy demonstrators occupy the city centre for weeks in protest at the Chinese government’s decision to limit voters’ choices in the two thousand seventeen Hong Kong leadership election. More than 100,000 people took to the streets at the height of the Occupy Central protests.