Geography
Hong Kong is made of a peninsula and a group of small islands, which are covering about 1000 square kilometers. It is located in Eastern Asia and it is bordering China and the South China Sea. Hong Kong can be divided into three parts: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.
Hong Kong Island is home to the financial and administrative centre. The Kowloon peninsula is home to the majority of people living in Hong Kong. The New Territories comprises the rest of Hong Kong’s land and it is made of new towns, picnic areas and beaches.
Economy
In recent years, Hong Kong’s economy has grown strongly. Its GDP per Capita in 2008 was estimated at around US$ 43,800 or HK$ 337,260; Hong Kong’s economy depends mostly on: International Trade, Finance, Services and Tourism.
International Trade
International Trade is a very important part of the Hong Kong economy with Mainland China being Hong Kong’s largest trading partners.
Finance
Hong Kong is without any hesitation the premier Stock Market for Chinese firms wanting to get listed abroad. Mainland Chinese Firms now account for 1/3 of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and represents about 60% of the market’s capitalization.
Services
Hong Kong is highly dependent on its service industry, which comprises of travel and tourism, trade related services, shipping, banking services and civil aviation. It is important to notice that the service industry accounts for more than 90% of Hong Kong’s GDP.
Tourism
Tourism contributes a significant portion of Hong Kong’s GDP. With China decision’s to ease travel restrictions for its citizens wanting to visit Hong Kong, the tourism industry has literally exploded. In 2008, 16.9 million Mainland Chinese visited Hong Kong compared to 3.8 million in 2000.
Government & Politics
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China with its own law, capitalist system and lifestyle. The structure of Hong Kong’s government can be found in “The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” which follows a set of agreements between Britain and China prior to 1997. The core of these agreements can be summarized as the following sentence: “one country, two systems” which means that until 2047, China agrees to maintain Hong Kong’s capitalist system, judicial and legislative power as it was prior to the handover. The Beijing government is mostly responsible for Hong Kong ‘s defense and foreign affairs.
The head of the Hong Kong’s government is the Chief Executive (CE). Its cabinet is made of secretaries from various departments who report to the CE. The legislative branch of the government is responsible for enacting laws, approving budgets and monitoring the work of the government. The current CE is Sir Donald Tsang.
Population
As of July 2009, the Hong Kong population was estimated to be around 7,055,071.
National Flag
Hong Kong’s national flag depicts the Bauhinia on a red background. Each morning at 8:00 the flag is raised by 5 police officers. The national flag can be seen outside of many government buildings.
