1. Implement an executive-led system.
Hong Kong is an occupied land, not a sovereign country, and its ownership comes from the British government. Therefore, Hong Kong cannot be a legislative system in the first place. Hong Kong's executive and legislative powers are not "separated", but under the overall control of the supreme ruler, the Governor. In fact, the entire administrative system of the Executive Council, the Legislative Council and the government headquarters is directly controlled by the Governor, forming an executive-led system with the Governor as the core, which is a remarkable feature of Hong Kong's political system. The so-called administrative leadership is mainly in opposition. In the history of western countries, there is a legislative leadership system of "legislative center, meeting first", which is characterized by the fact that parliament (legislature) is the highest authority of the country, electing the government, formulating laws and examining and approving finances; The executive branch obeys the legislation, the government implements the law, and is supervised and restricted by the parliament. The legislative leading system is the product of the victory of bourgeois revolution, but with the rapid development of modern capitalism, it can no longer adapt to the changing situation of modern capitalism. The political and economic affairs of modern capitalist society are very complicated and changing rapidly, which requires a powerful and high-frequency administrative organ to make timely responses and decisions; The development of modern society needs to improve the rule of law, which requires government departments to put forward various draft laws in time and cooperate with the legislature to do a good job in legislation according to legislative procedures, so as to achieve effective governance. Executive-led is not only the need of the sovereign state, but also the need of social development in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a modern metropolis and an international free port. There are frequent internal and external exchanges, and the activities of information transportation, commerce, finance and other industries as well as political and cultural issues are complicated. In addition to having a legislative body that includes representatives of all parties, takes care of the interests of all classes and coordinates administrative relations, it also needs an administrative system that makes timely decisions, is efficient, runs smoothly and plays a leading role. Under the executive-led system, the relationship between the administration and the judiciary in Hong Kong is quite special. The judicial system in Hong Kong is quite independent. The judiciary is only responsible for the law, not the government or the governor. Even if the top administrative official makes a decision, it will be handed over to the relevant political organs for implementation. If the relevant administrative department lacks sufficient legal basis, the court may revoke the relevant decision and prohibit the relevant behavior from continuing. The Chief Justice is the highest head of the judiciary, appointed by the British Secretary of State, and announced by the Governor-General in accordance with royal instructions (issued by the Secretary of State). The Governor has the right to appoint judges (before appointment, he must listen to the opinions of the independent judicial service commission headed by the Chief Justice), but the Governor cannot interfere in the adjudication of cases and judges must not obey the Governor. Only under special circumstances, the Governor, as the representative of the British Emperor, can use legal power to pardon or reduce the sentence of a person convicted by the court, or appeal to a lightly sentenced prisoner for retrial and heavier punishment through the Ministry of Justice, but all of them must be handled in strict accordance with legal procedures. This is a restriction of administrative leadership on the power of the rulers, which embodies the combination of administrative leadership and checks and balances of the rule of law.
2. Perfect consultation system
The Hong Kong Government implements an extensive consultation system under the high centralization of the governor, that is, the dictatorship of the governor and consultative democracy. After the 1960s, mass movements broke out one after another, and it was difficult to maintain the rule simply by relying on the "upper elite". Coupled with the rapid development of social economy, it is necessary to listen to and absorb the opinions of all walks of life, especially professionals, in order to implement modern governance. Therefore, the British Hong Kong government gradually absorbed more social and celebrities into political organs at all levels, and established an extensive consultation system. Almost all government departments have set up various advisory committees to cooperate with and assist the government. Generally speaking, advisory bodies can be divided into five categories: statutory bodies that advise department heads (such as the Advisory Committee on the Protection of Rare Animals); A statutory body that advises the government (such as the Board of Education); Non-statutory organizations that advise department heads (such as the Labour Advisory Board); Non-statutory organizations that advise the government (such as the Transport Advisory Committee); And a committee (such as that Hong Kong examination Authority) responsible for carrying out certain affair. The Advisory Committee is composed of government officials and the public, most of whom are elites from all walks of life and are keen on serving the society. Such a huge consulting network covers all walks of life, which makes government agencies cooperate with non-governmental and semi-official consulting agencies, and the combination of government centralization and non-governmental consulting has become a prominent phenomenon in Hong Kong's political structure. When the government formulates policies and takes major measures, it can collect information and opinions from all sides through consulting institutions, and the people or some members of society can participate in decision-making. This can make the government's decision-making more scientific, listen to different opinions more widely, and get some recognition of some government policies. The implementation of the power system with consulting characteristics has stabilized the Hong Kong government. The British Hong Kong has always attached importance to absorbing the political forces represented by elites or elite groups in society into the administrative decision-making structure, endowing the ruling power with legitimacy, and seeking the form of "* * * governance" by the British Hong Kong and Chinese elites. This has almost become a very special system design: almost all government departments have no advisory bodies, which makes the government more sensitive to social trends, so it can often resolve many potential conflicts and make politics stable. Of course, the effect of negotiation under a high degree of centralization is always limited. In essence, this kind of consultation is only a nascent democratic factor, because there is no real democracy in Hong Kong, sovereignty does not belong to the state, and power does not come from the people. However, in practice, the positive role is still the main one. It communicates public opinion and people's feelings, publicizes and explains decisions for the government, reduces dissatisfaction and negative forces encountered in implementing policies, and alleviates social contradictions. This has also given some Hong Kong people the opportunity and right to participate in public affairs.
2. Hong Kong's economic system:
1 economic development
Hong Kong stands out because of its highly internationalized city, convenient business environment, legal system, free trade and free flow of information, fair and open competition, developed financial network, first-class transportation and communication infrastructure, advanced support services, and cooperation between highly educated working population and efficient and energetic entrepreneurs. In addition, Hong Kong has huge fiscal and foreign exchange reserves, a freely convertible and stable currency, and a simple tax system with low tax rates.
2. Free economic system
Cato College in the United States and more than 50 economic societies around the world also rated Hong Kong as the freest economy in the world. The International Monetary Fund ranks Hong Kong as an advanced economy. Other famous organizations, such as the World Economic Forum, the International Institute for Development Management and the Economist Intelligence Unit, also believe that Hong Kong is one of the most competitive places to do business in the world. According to the World Investment Report 2002 published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Hong Kong has the best performance in attracting foreign direct investment in Asia.
3. GDP growth
In the past 20 years, Hong Kong's economy has nearly tripled. The average annual real growth rate of GDP is 5. 1%, which exceeds the growth rate of the world economy and the economic system of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Hong Kong's per capita GDP is more than twice that of 20 years ago, which is equivalent to an average annual real growth of about 3.8%, which is higher than many western countries and second only to Japan in Asia.
economic policy
Hong Kong has always been famous for its market-oriented economic policies. Marketization means that the government does not make any guiding planning for the economy or the market. At the same time, investors and entrepreneurs know the market better than government officials, and the activities of non-governmental organizations can lead Hong Kong to prosperity better than the official economic blueprint. Economic activities are the key to maintaining competitiveness and creating wealth for Hong Kong people.
The policy of "helping as much as possible and reducing intervention"
The government strongly advocates the policy of "helping as much as possible and reducing intervention". The main function of the government is to create the most favorable business conditions, including software such as freedom, the rule of law, a clean and efficient public sector and a level playing field, as well as land and infrastructure needed for social development, such as hardware such as schools and roads.
The government is also committed to eliminating market restrictions and encouraging fair competition. In the fields of securities, futures and banking, as well as telecommunications, information technology and broadcasting, the government has made great efforts to open the market and achieved quite satisfactory results.
The government defends and promotes Hong Kong's commercial interests at the international level. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has sent representatives to attend international conferences of the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and has negotiated and signed bilateral agreements with other countries in the fields of air services.
Prudent financial management
The government manages its finances prudently and maintains a simple tax system with low tax rate to encourage workers to produce and attract entrepreneurs to invest. The corporate profits tax rate is 16% and the salaries tax rate is 15%, both of which are low compared with other countries.
International Financial Center
Hong Kong is an international financial center, consisting of closely linked financial institutions and markets. The government's policy is to maintain and develop a sound legal framework, regulatory system, infrastructure and administrative framework, to provide a level playing field for market participants, to maintain the stability of the financial and monetary systems, and to enable Hong Kong to compete effectively with other major financial centers. Hong Kong, with its superior geographical environment, is a bridge connecting the time difference between North America and Europe, has close ties with the mainland and other Southeast Asian economies, and has established a good communication network with other parts of the world, so it can become an important international financial center. In addition, the free flow of funds into and out of Hong Kong is also an important factor.
financial market
Hong Kong's financial market is characterized by high liquidity. The market operates according to effective and transparent regulations that meet international standards. The working population in Hong Kong has a certain level of education, and it is very easy for overseas professionals to come to work in Hong Kong, which further promotes the development of the financial market.
banking
There are many international financial institutions operating in Hong Kong. There are 133 licensed banks in Hong Kong, of which 12 1 is a foreign bank. Of the 65,438,000 largest banks in the world, 73 operate in Hong Kong. In addition, there are 9 1 subsidiaries, branches or related companies of foreign banks operating in the form of restricted license banks or deposit-taking companies in Hong Kong. Another 94 overseas banks have representative offices in Hong Kong. The total external assets of Hong Kong banks rank high in the world.
foreign exchange market
Hong Kong's foreign exchange market is developed and active, which plays an indispensable role in the global foreign exchange market. As Hong Kong has links with other overseas foreign exchange markets, it can conduct foreign exchange transactions with the rest of the world 24 hours a day. According to the global survey conducted by the Bank for International Settlements every three years, the turnover of Hong Kong's foreign exchange market ranks seventh in the world.
stock market
In terms of market value, Hong Kong's stock market is one of the largest in the world, ranking third in Asia, next only to Japan and the mainland of China. There are 978 listed companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, with a total capital of 3.61/kloc-0.30 billion yuan (US$ 463 billion). Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) is a second-board market based on American Nasdaq stock market, which provides financing opportunities for emerging enterprises, especially those related to high-tech business. Today, there are 65,438+066 companies listed on GEM, with a total capital of 52.2 billion yuan (US$ 6.69 billion).
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong has also implemented a pilot scheme, making Hong Kong the first Asian city to offer the listing and trading of seven major American Nasdaq stocks in the Asian time zone.
Economic ties with the Mainland
Hongkong is the gateway to China's business and investment. Since 1978, when the Mainland implemented the economic reform and opening-up policy, the economic ties between Hong Kong and the Mainland have become increasingly close.