The two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau (created in 1997 and 1999 respectively) each have a codified constitution called
Basic Law. Consequently, the
National People's Congress authorises the SAR to exercise a high degree of autonomy and enjoy executive, legislative and independent judicial powers, and each with their own
Courts of Final Appeal.
Currency •
Renminbi: The currency is commonly abbreviated as CNY¥. Adopt a stable exchange rate. •
Hong Kong dollar: The currency is commonly abbreviated as HK$. The exchange rate is pegged to the
US dollar. •
Macanese pataca: The currency is commonly abbreviated as MOP$. The exchange rate is pegged to the
Hong Kong dollar.
External affairs Special administrative regions are empowered to contract a wide range of agreements with other countries and territories such as mutual abolition of
visa requirement, mutual legal aid, air services,
extradition, handling of
double taxation and others, with no
Chinese government involvement. However, in some diplomatic talks involving an SAR, the SAR concerned may choose to send officials to be part of the Chinese delegation. For example, when former
Director of Health of Hong Kong Margaret Chan became the
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, she served as a delegate from the
People's Republic of China to the WHO. At the same time they are members of various international organisations such as WTO, APEC, etc. • Hong Kong participates in 41 intergovernmental international organisations with countries as participating units. • Hong Kong participates in 54 intergovernmental international organisations. • Macau participates in 19 intergovernmental international organisations with countries as participating units. • Macau participates in 30 intergovernmental international organisations. The
Government of Hong Kong and
Government of Macao have established
Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (HKETOs) and
Delegações Económicas e Comerciais de Macau (DECMs) respectively in some countries, as well as in the
Greater China Region. HKETOs serve as a quasi-
interests section in favour of
Hong Kong. DECMs serve as a quasi-
interests section in favour of
Macao. For regions with no HKETOs and DECMs,
Chinese diplomatic missions take charge of protecting Hong Kong-related and Macau-related interests. Some countries which have
a diplomatic relationship with the central Chinese government maintain
Consulate-General offices in Hong Kong and Macau.
Olympic Games In sporting events such as the
Olympic Games or
Asian Games, the SARs may have their own independent teams. They participate under the respective names of "
Hong Kong, China" and "
Macau, China", and compete as different entities as they had done since they were under foreign rules, but both SARs are usually allowed to omit the term ", China" for informal use.
Defence and military The
People's Liberation Army is garrisoned in both SARs. PRC authorities have said the PLA will not be allowed to interfere with the local affairs of Hong Kong and Macau, and must abide by its laws. There are many PLA-run corporations in Hong Kong. The PLA also have sizeable
land holdings in Hong Kong worth billions of dollars., the Macau SAR passport is granted such for 141 countries and territories, while the Chinese passport is granted such for 81 countries and territories A person may also hold concurrently hold passports from both SARs provided that they have Chinese nationality and permanent residency in both. Apart from affording the holder consular protection by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, these passports also specify that the holder has right of abode in the issuing SAR. The
National People's Congress has also put each SAR in charge of administering the
PRC's Nationality Law in its respective realms, namely
naturalisation, renunciation and restoration of PRC nationality and issuance of proof of nationality. Due to their colonial past, many inhabitants of the SARs hold some form of non-Chinese nationality (e.g.
British National (Overseas) status,
British citizenship,
British Overseas citizenship or
Portuguese citizenship). However, SAR residents who are Chinese descent have always been considered as Chinese citizens by the PRC authorities, an exception to this case is Macau, wherein residents of Chinese descent may choose Chinese or Portuguese nationality. Special interpretation of the Nationality Law, while not recognising
dual nationality, has allowed Chinese citizens to keep their foreign "right of abode" and use travel documents issued by the foreign country. However, such travel documents cannot be used to travel to
mainland China and persons concerned must use
Home Return Permit. Therefore,
master nationality rule applies so the holder may not enjoy consular protection while in China. Chinese citizens who also have foreign citizenship may declare a change of nationality at the Immigration Department of the respective SARs, and upon approval, would no longer be considered Chinese citizens. SAR permanent residents who are not Chinese citizens (including
stateless persons) are not eligible for SAR passports. Persons who hold a non-Chinese citizenship must obtain passports from foreign diplomatic missions which represents their countries of citizenship. For example, a Russian citizen who has acquired
right of abode in Hong Kong and thus holds a
Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card would not be considered a Chinese citizen and would continue to hold their Russian passport unless they obtain PRC nationality. For those who are stateless, each SAR may issue its own form of
certificates of identity, e.g.
Document of Identity, in lieu of national passports to the persons concerned. Chinese citizens who are non-permanent residents of two SARs are also ineligible for SAR passports but may obtain CIs just like stateless persons.
Comparisons == Offer to Taiwan and other ROC-controlled areas ==