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What political system was adopted in British Hong Kong? What was its judiciary like? How did it help develop the concept of rule of law for future Hong Kong? |
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See answer below. |
The Executive Council was the highest consultative body in Hong Kong. Its role was to advise the Hong Kong Governor in policy-making. The Legislative Council was the law-making body. The Hong Kong Governor, the president of both Councils, would appoint government officials as official members and influential people in society as unofficial members. At first, all members of the two Councils were British.
The Canton-Hong Kong Strike occurred between 1925 and 1926. To alleviate China’s anti-British sentiment and to encourage the Hong Kong Chinese to be loyal to Britain, Sir Cecil Clementi appointed Chow Shou-son as the first Chinese unofficial member of the Executive Council in 1926. Since then, Chinese members started taking seats in the Executive Council.
Formerly the Supreme Court Building, the Court of Final Appeal Building was formally opened in 1912. Its pediment is topped with the blindfolded Statue of Justice. She is holding a set of scales on her right hand and a sword on her left hand. They represent fairness and a symbol of power respectively. The building was occupied by the Legislative Council from 1985 to 2011. It was used for judicial purposes again and became the Court of Final Appeal Building in 2015.
The Hong Kong Police Force was established in 1844. The Central Police Station Compound was completed in 1864 and underwent a number of extension works until 1925. The former police headquarters and the surrounding compound have adopted the name “Tai Kwun”, meaning “big station” in Chinese. This declared monument has been open to public for free since 2018.
In early years, the British took up the senior posts in the Hong Kong Police Force and managed the Indian and Chinese police officers. At that time, police officers often gave commands in English and blew their whistles when chasing suspects. Their uniforms were green in colour and the Sikh Indian police officers’ turbans made their heads look big. These earned them a nickname the “green-clothed big head”. There was also a bantering children’s song which went, “ABCD, green-clothed big head; the thief escapes, the whistle is blown.”
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What political system was adopted in British Hong Kong? What was its judiciary like? How did it help develop the concept of rule of law in future Hong Kong? |
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An authoritative political system led by the British was adopted in British Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Governor was the authorised representative of the British Crown who commanded the British garrison in Hong Kong. Consultative in nature, all members of both the Executive Council and the Legislative Council were appointed by the Governor holding absolute power. The judiciary, however, was independent of him. This helped maintained its credibility in society. Civilians in general respected and abided the law, which helped develop the concept of rule of law. It has become the cornerstone and a widely accepted core value of Hong Kong society that most Hong Kong people identify with. |