Annex 4
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION (SAR)
GOVERNMENT
THE CHIEF
EXECUTIVE
1. The Chief Executive is the head of the
Hong Kong SAR Government (HKSARG) and is accountable to the Central
People's Government and to the HKSARG itself. The Chief Executive's
powers and functions include implementing laws, signing bills
and budgets passed by the Hong Kong Legislative Council, deciding
on government policies and issuing executive orders, nominating
and reporting to the Central People's Government the appointment
of principal officials, and appointing and removing judges and
holders of public office.
THE EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL (EXCO)
2. The Chief Executive is assisted by the
Executive Council (ExCo), which serves as the Cabinet. This currently
comprises the Chief Secretary, the Secretary for Finance and the
Secretary for Justice and 15 non-official members (community,
business, academia and party representatives), in making important
policy decisions and subsidiary legislation. The 14 official members
(the principal officials or Secretaries of the Government Bureaux
and Departments) only attend ExCo when their specific subjects
are under discussion.
3. Following criticisms that senior officials,
traditionally drawn from the Civil Service, were not being held
accountable for policy mistakes, the former Chief Executive introduced
a new system on 1 July 2002 for appointing top officials, termed
the "accountability system". The principal officials
are now political appointees on fixed term contracts who are responsible
for making and presenting policy. They are "accountable"
to the Chief Executive who can sack them for serious mistakes;
and they serve for a period no longer than that of the Chief Executive
who appointed them.
4. When Donald Tsang became Chief Executive
he further reformed the ExCo by removing these principal officials
from collective discussions in ExCo and by strengthening the participation
of non-official members. However, only the principal officials
are individually accountable.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
(LEGCO)
5. LegCo's main functions are: enacting
laws; examining and approving HKSARG budgets, taxation and public
expenditure; monitoring the HKSARG; endorsing the appointment
and removal of judges of the Court of Final Appeal and the Chief
Judge of the High Court; and debating issues of public interest.
Legislators have limited powers and, although there is no Government
party, the voting mechanism has meant that the HKSARG has generally
had little difficulty passing legislation.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
13 December 2005
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