Flag of Hong Kong

Symbolism The design of the flag comes with cultural, political, and regional meanings. The colour itself is significant; red is a festive colour for the Chinese people, used to convey a sense of celebration and nationalism. Moreover, the red colour is identical to that used in the national flag of the People's Republic of China, chosen to signify the link re-established between post-colonial Hong Kong and mainland China. The position of red and white on the flag symbolises the "one country, two systems" political principle applied to the region. The stylised rendering of the Bauhinia × blakeana flower, a flower discovered in Hong Kong, is meant to serve as a harmonising symbol for this dichotomy. A sculpture of the plant has been erected in Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong. Before the adoption of the flag, Ji Pengfei, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee explained the significance of the flag's design to the National People's Congress: Construction The Hong Kong government has specified sizes, colours, and manufacturing parameters in which the flag is to be made. The ratio of its length to breadth is 3:2. In its centre is a five-petal stylised rendering of a white Bauhinia × blakeana flower. If a circle was to circumscribe the flower, it would have a diameter 0.6 times the entire height of the flag. The petals are uniformly spread around the centre point of the flag, radiating outward and turning in a clockwise direction. Each of the flower's petals bears a five-pointed red star with a red trace, suggestive of a flower stamen. The heading that is used to allow a flag to be slid or raised onto a pole is white. ==Protocol==

The Hong Kong flag is flown daily from the chief executive's official residence (Government House), at the Hong Kong International Airport, and at all border crossings and points of entry into Hong Kong. At major government offices and buildings, such as the Office of the Chief Executive, the Executive Council, the Court of Final Appeal, the High Court, the Legislative Council, and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices overseas, the flag is displayed during days when these offices are working. Other government offices and buildings, such as hospitals, schools, departmental headquarters, sports grounds, and cultural venues, should fly the flag on occasions such as the National Day of the People's Republic of China (1 October), the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (1 July), and New Year's Day. A Hong Kong flag that is either damaged, defaced, faded or substandard must not be displayed or used. Display Whenever the Chinese national flag is flown together with the Hong Kong regional flag, the national flag must be flown at the centre, above the regional flag, or otherwise in a more prominent position than that of the regional flag. The regional flag must be smaller in size than the national flag, and it must be displayed to the left of the national flag. When the flags are displayed inside a building, the left and right sides of a person looking at the flags, and with his or her back toward the wall, are used as reference points for the left and right sides of a flag. When the flags are displayed outside a building, the left and right sides of a person standing in front of the building and looking towards the front entrance are used as reference points for the left and right sides of a flag. The national flag should be raised before the regional flag is raised, and it should be lowered after the regional flag is lowered. and that "publicly and wilfully burning, mutilating, scrawling on, defiling or trampling" the flag is considered flag desecration. Similarly, the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance extends the same prohibition toward the Chinese flag. The ordinances also allow for the Chief Executive to make stipulations regarding the use of the flag. In stipulations made in 1997, the Chief Executive further specified that the use of the flag in "any trade, calling or profession, or the logo, seal or badge of any non-governmental organisation" is also prohibited unless prior permission was obtained. Leung Kwok-hung, a former member of the Legislative Council and a political activist in Hong Kong, was penalised in February 2001, before he became a member of the Legislative Council, for defiling the flag. He was convicted of three counts of desecrating the flag—for two incidents on 1 July 2000 during the third anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China and for one incident on 9 July of the same year during a protest against elections to choose the Election Committee, the electoral college which chooses the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Leung was placed on a good-behaviour bond for 12 months in the sum of HK$3,000. ==Previous flags of Hong Kong==

Pre-colonial period Qing dynasty (1862–1895) Before the secession of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom following the First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking, Hong Kong fell under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government and flew the flag and ensign of the Chinese government of the time. Before the establishment of the crown colony of Hong Kong, the ruling dynasty in China was the Qing dynasty. Despite being established in 1644, the Qing Empire had no official flags until 1862. Up until 1898, when the Second Convention of Peking was signed between the Qing Court and the government of the United Kingdom, the New Territories was still Qing land. The flag itself features the "Azure Dragon" on a plain yellow field with the red flaming pearl of the three-legged crow in the upper left corner. Colonial flags The flag of British Hong Kong from 1870 to 1997 was a Blue Ensign with the coat of arms of Hong Kong on a white disk. In Hong Kong, it is known as the Hong Kong flag (), British Hong Kong flag () or the Dragon and Lion flag (). Following a grant from the College of Arms in 1959, it was adopted as the flag of British Hong Kong. First colonial flag (1870–1876) In 1870, a "white crown over HK" badge for the Blue Ensign flag was proposed by the Colonial Secretary. The design was updated in 1873 and the letters "HK" were removed. Second colonial flag (1876–1959) In 1876, a (, ) was adopted to the Blue Ensign flag with the Admiralty's approval. The "local scene" depicted traders in the foreground and both European-style and Chinese-style trading ships in the background. During the Pacific War, part of World War II, the Empire of Japan captured Hong Kong in 1941 and occupied it until 1945. The Japanese military government used the flag of Japan in its official works in Hong Kong. The design of the "local scene" badge was revised in 1955. ==Proposals before the handover==

Before Hong Kong's handover, between 20 May 1987 and 31 March 1988, a contest was held amongst Hong Kong residents to help choose a flag for post-colonial Hong Kong, with 7,147 design submissions, in which 4,489 submissions were about flag designs. Architect Tao Ho was chosen as one of the panel judges to pick Hong Kong's new flag. He recalled that some of the designs had been rather funny and with political twists: "One had a hammer and sickle on one side and a dollar sign on the other." Some designs were rejected because they contained copyrighted materials, for example, the emblem of Urban Council, Hong Kong Arts Festival and Hong Kong Tourism Board. and the flag was first officially hoisted seconds after midnight on 1 July 1997 in the handover ceremony marking the handover. It was hoisted together with the national Chinese flag, while the Chinese national anthem, "March of the Volunteers", was played. The Union Flag and the colonial Hong Kong flag were lowered seconds before midnight. Black Bauhinia variant The Black Bauhinia flag is a variant of the flag of Hong Kong with a black background and (in most versions) a modified bauhinia flower. The flag first appeared amid the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests as a symbol of protest against the Chinese government, in contrast to pro-government supporters displaying the Chinese and Hong Kong flags. ==See also==