Hong Kong[note
3] (Chinese:
香港)
is one of two
special administrative regions (SARs) of the
People's Republic of China (PRC), the other
being
Macau. A
city-state situated on China's south coast and
enclosed by the
Pearl River Delta and
South China Sea,[12]
it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep
natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2
(426 sq mi) and a population of seven million
people, Hong Kong is one of the most
densely populated areas in the world.[13]
Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese
and 5 percent from other groups.[14]
Hong Kong's
Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the
cities of
Guangzhou and
Taishan in the neighbouring
Guangdong province.[15]
Hong Kong became a colony of the
British Empire after the
First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined
to
Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were
extended in stages to the
Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the
New Territories in 1898. It was
occupied by Japan during the
Pacific War, after which the British resumed
control until 1997, when
China resumed sovereignty.[16][17]
The region espoused minimum government intervention
under the ethos of
positive non-interventionism during the colonial
era.[18]
The time period greatly influenced the current
culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East
meets West",[19]
and the
educational system, which used to loosely follow
the system in England[20]
until reforms implemented in 2009.[21]
Under the principle of "one
country, two systems", Hong Kong has a different
political system from
mainland China.[22]
Hong Kong's
independent judiciary functions under the
common law framework.[23][24]
The
Basic Law of Hong Kong, its constitutional
document, which stipulates that Hong Kong shall have
a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except
foreign relations and military defence, governs its
political system.[25][26]
Although it has a burgeoning
multi-party system, a small-circle electorate
controls half of its
legislature. An 800-person
Election Committee selects the
Chief Executive of Hong Kong, the head of
government.[27][28]
As one of the world's leading
international financial centres, Hong Kong has a
major capitalist service economy characterised by
low taxation and free trade, and the currency,
Hong Kong dollar, is the ninth most traded
currency in the world.[29]
The lack of space caused demand for denser
constructions, which developed the city to a centre
for modern
architecture and the world's most vertical city.[30][31]
The dense space also led to a highly developed
transportation network with public transport
travelling rate exceeding 90 percent,[32]
the highest in the world.[33]
Hong Kong has
numerous high international rankings in various
aspects. For instance, its
economic freedom, financial and economic
competitiveness,
quality of life,
corruption perception,
Human Development Index, etc., are all ranked
highly.[34][35][36][37][38][39][40]
