hong kong(20)

A Special administrative region (SAR) ：
is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The PRC at present has two SARs, namely Hong Kong and Macau. Each SAR has a Chief Executive as head of the region and head of government.

圖片參考：http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/PR_China-SAR_%26_SEZ-Chinese.png/300px-PR_China-SAR_%26_SEZ-Chinese.png

Background：
Article 31 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China authorizes the National People's Congress to create special administrative regions.

Two special administrative regions, namely Hong Kong and Macau, were created in 1997 and 1999 respectively. Each of the SARs has a Basic Law which provides the region with a high degree of autonomy, a separate political system and a capitalist economy under the principle of "one country, two systems", which was proposed by Deng Xiaoping.

圖片參考：http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/zh/thumb/f/fe/Hk_map_18_Chinese.png/280px-Hk_map_18_Chinese.png

High degree of autonomy：
Currently, the two SARs of Hong Kong and Macau are responsible for all issues except acts of state like diplomatic relations and national defence: consequently, they have their own judiciaries and courts of final appeal, their own legislature, immigration policies, currencies and extradition processes. The pre-existing legal systems, namely common law in Hong Kong and Portuguese law in Macau, are preserved except consequential to establishment of courts of final appeal.
With listed exceptions, national laws applying in the mainland do not apply in a SAR. These listed exceptions must involve diplomacy, national defence or something beyond the scope of the SAR's autonomy.


圖片參考：http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/zh/b/b3/HK_map.png

In the 1980s, with the lease on the New Territories running out, the British government, led by Margaret Thatcher, decided to negotiate the question of the sovereignty of Hong Kong. Although the British would have been legally required to transfer only the New Territories to the PRC, Whitehall decided that maintaining a rump colony would not be worthwhile - the majority of Hong Kong's land was in the New Territories, and failure to return the entire colony would undoubtedly have generated political friction between the UK and PRC.

Pursuant to an agreement known as the Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed by the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom on 19 December 1984, the whole territory of Hong Kong under British colonial rule became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC on 1 July 1997. In the Joint Declaration, the PRC promised that under the - One Country, Two Systems policy proposed by Deng Xiaoping, the socialist economic system in mainland China would not be practised in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong's previous capitalist system and life-style would remain unchanged for at least 50 years, or until 2047. Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except diplomatic affairs and national defence.