Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [27]
Hong Kong’s famed harbour suffers from years of pollution by industry and sewage. In 2001 the government built a 23.6km underground tunnel to carry 75% of the sewage away from Victoria Harbour. The scheme has improved the quality of the water in both the harbour and at Hong Kong’s 41 gazetted beaches. In 2007, 25 beaches were rated ‘good’ in terms of water quality, compared to 10 in 1997. Water quality ratings of beaches can be found on the website of the Environmental Protection Department (www.epd.gov.hk).
The future of Hong Kong’s environment will depend not only on the city’s efforts, but also on whether pollution in the greater Pearl River Delta region will be tamed. Hong Kong relies on Guangdong for much of its drinking water and fresh food. The most polluted water in Hong Kong is found in Deep Bay, which is shared with nearby Shenzhen, and Hong Kong’s air quality deteriorates drastically when winds bring pollution from the north. The governments of Hong Kong and Guangdong are working together to tackle regional pollution. Though progress has been slow, their success will bring a greener Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta.
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) is a complicated hybrid of a quasi-presidential system glued awkwardly onto a quasi-parliamentary model. It is not what could be called a democratic system, although it has democratic elements.
The executive branch of government is led by the chief executive, Donald Tsang, who was selected to replace business tycoon Tung Chee Hwa, following his resignation in March 2005. Uncontested, Tsang was elected by an 800-member election committee dominated by pro-Beijing forces in June and then voted in two years later in a contested election, when he comfortably beat pro-democracy legislator Alan Leong.
The chief executive selects members (currently numbering 30) of the Executive Council, which serves effectively as the cabinet and advises on policy matters. The top three policy secretaries are the chief secretary for administration, the financial secretary and the secretary for justice. Council members are usually civil servants or from the private sector.
The 60-seat Legislative Council (LegCo) is responsible for passing legislation. It also approves public expenditure and monitors the administration. Council members are elected for four-year terms.
On average, the pro-democracy bloc commands around 65% of the popular vote in direct elections. However, only half of the 60 LegCo seats are determined through direct election, with the other 30 chosen by narrowly defined, occupationally based ‘functional constituencies’. With a few exceptions, ‘corporate voting’ is the rule, enfranchising only a few powerful and conservative members of each functional constituency.
The judiciary is headed by the chief justice and is, according to the Basic Law, independent of the executive and the legislative branches. The highest court in the land is the Court of Final Appeal, which has the power of final adjudication. The independence of the judiciary has been strictly retained since the handover.
The 18 District Councils are meant to give Hong Kong residents a degree of control in their local areas. These councils consist of elected representatives and appointed members. They have little power in territory-wide policy matters, though their members do try to gain political capital by speaking on them. All political parties make use of District Board elections to groom second-tier politicians.
The Basic Law stipulates that the chief executive and the LegCo will ‘ultimately