TNAG-0542-FCO40-637-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 5

Page

CONFIDENTIAL

Brief No (V) HONG KONG

HONG KONG CONSTITUTION

Status

1.

POLITICAL

Hong Kong is a Colony consisting of three areas:

(a) Hong Kong Island, which China ceded to Britain in perpetuity

in 1842 by the Treaty of Nanking.

(b)

(c)

Kowloon and Stonecutters Island which were similarly ceded

in 1860 by the first Convention of Peking.

The New Territories which China leased to Britain for 99 years in 1898 by the second Convention of Peking.

The Formal Constitution

2. As a Colony the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is directly responsible to Parliament for the government of

Hong Kong. The Constitution is contained in the Letters Patent and

Royal Instructions.

2

3. Under the Constitution, the Governor has wide powers. These include the power to make laws (called Ordinances in Hong Kong) for

the "peace, order and good government of the Colony". However, the Crown reserves the power of disallowance in respect of all Ordinances enacted in Hong Kong and also the power of disallowance in respect of all Ordinances enacted in Hong Kong and also the power to legislat

for the Colony by Orders in Council where this may be considered

necessary.

!

14. The Governor is advised by an Executive Council (known as 12 Co)

of 14 members comprising the 5 ex-officio members and 9 others who may be either official (ie a member of the Hong Kong Government or

unofficial. The ex-officio members are: the Commander of the

British Forces, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, the

Secretary for Home Affairs and the Financial Secretary of the Colony.

At present, there is one other official member - the Director of bodies i

J

and Health Services and 8 other unofficial members, all of whom appointed by the Governor, with the consent of HMG, for terms of

L

TVILNECIANO

/year's