ENG-1969 — Page 334

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Constitution and Administration

HONG KONG is a British Crown Colony, and this chapter describes the way in which the Hong Kong Government is organised to administer the Colony. The policy of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom is that there shall be no major constitutional change; nor is there much popular pressure for it. The Governor and the members of Executive and Legislative Councils are keenly aware that internal political stability, upon which economic progress is dependent, demands adjustment of policy to conform with the changing attitudes and values of the population.

THE GOVERNOR

The office of Governor is the central feature of the Government of Hong Kong. The Governor is the representative of the Queen and is in a real sense the head of the Government. He presides at meetings of the Executive Council, whose advice he must seek on important policy matters. He is the President of the Legislative Council, in which he has a casting vote. His assent is required before any bill passed by the Legislative Council can become law. Save where an enactment otherwise provides, he remains responsible for every executive act of the Government.

The Governor, who is appointed by the Queen, derives his authority from the Letters Patent, which were passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom and create the office of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Hong Kong. The Letters Patent require him to observe the laws of the Colony as well as such Instructions as may from time to time be issued to him by the Queen or by the Secretary of State. Among the more important of such Instructions are the Royal Instructions and Colonial Regulations.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

The Royal Instructions provide that the Executive Council shall consist of five ex officio members (namely the Commander