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Hong Kong is governed differently from the rest of China. Until 1997, HK was ruled by the United Kingdom before being handed back to China. Under UK rule, the people of Hong Kong had experienced democracy, including elections for their leaders.

On Hong Kong’s return to China, the CCP decided to carry out a policy of "one country, two systems". This policy called The Basic Law, has allowed for greater democracy in Hong Kong than elsewhere in China. This includes freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and the right to political protest.

Despite the autonomy of The Basic Law, defence and foreign affairs for Hong Kong are controlled by the Chinese government and in 2020, the CCP introduced a National Security Law for Hong Kong. The law focused on detaining protesters and cracking down on dissent.

This authority over Hong Kong citizens has resulted in mass protests and increased arrests of activists, with crimes such as vandalism considered terrorism. (Source: ����ý News)

Executive Council

Hong Kong is governed by an Executive Council. This is led by a Chief Executive who is appointed by an Election Committee. Under the Basic Law, the Election Committee is a broadly representative group representing the best interests of society. The 1, 500 members of the Election Committee are appointed by China’s State Council and select a Chief Executive every five years. The Chief Executive leads the Executive Council, which is similar to the UK or Scottish Government cabinet.

Legislative Council

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council is the equivalent of a parliament.

It has three main roles:

• to introduce, amend or remove laws
• to pass budgets and financial decisions
• to scrutinise the work of the Executive Council

Since 2016, the Legislative Council was made up of 70 seats:

• 35 directly elected by geographical constituencies
• 5 nominated by district councillors
• 30 indirectly elected by functional constituencies (combinations of individuals and organisations involved in particular trades or industries)

In 2021, Hong Kong passed an electoral reform law which has reduced the number of directly elected members and increased mainland China’s control.

The Legislative Council is now made up of 90 seats:

• 20 directly elected by geographical constituencies
• 30 indirectly elected by functional constituencies
• 40 are elected by the Election Committee

The Election Committee now has control over both the Chief Executive and nearly half of the Legislative Council.

The electoral reform laws have also introduced a vetting system. Any prospective member of the Election Committee or the Legislative Council, or any candidate for Chief Executive must first be approved by a screening committee, making it easy to bar anyone deemed as being critical of Beijing.