Table of contentsHistory of Hong KongHong Kong political systemEconomic partnershipsCEPA - Closer Economic Partnership Agreement.FTA - Free Trade AgreementsDTA - Double Taxation AgreementsAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC)Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC)United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)World Trade Organization (WTO)Economic SituationHistory of Hong KongThe history of Hong Kong is very interesting and unique. However, due to the limited scope of this article, only a brief overview will be provided. From 1842 to 1997, Hong Kong was a British colony. First, Britain took control of Hong Kong Island after the First Opium War (1839-1842). After the Second Opium War (1856-1860), the Kowloon Peninsula was also added to British territory. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIn 1898, the new territories were added under a 99-year lease that ended in 1997, when Britain had to cede Hong Kong to China. During this period, Britain briefly lost control of Hong Kong when it was occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Before the handover to China in 1997, Britain introduced a Bill of Rights requiring China to accept a “One country, two systems” policy. for another 50 years. The main goal was that Hong Kong could retain its capitalist economic and political system. Additionally, Hong Kong does not have to pay taxes or fees to China, meaning more money is available for this. investments in Hong Kong (The Daily Conversation 2017).Hong Kong Political SystemThe political system is based on the “Basic Law” which is the constitution of Hong Kong. The chief executive is the head of Hong Kong and the position is currently held by Carry Lam, elected in 2017. The chief executive is elected by an electoral committee and then the executive board is appointed by the chief executive. The purpose of the executive council is to advise the chief executive on government matters. To pass or amend laws, the chief executive also needs the approval of the legislative council which is elected by the people every 4 years. Seats in the legislative council are divided into two parts. Half of the seats are elected by region and depending on the size of the region, the number of seats is determined. The other half is made up of functional seats, elected according to 28 functions related in one way or another to Hong Kong's economy, such as transport or construction. However, not all workers in these branches can vote for the corresponding functional seat. Instead, many functional seats are elected primarily by businesses, giving them more decisive power. There are five additional seats which are elected by everyone who does not work in the branches represented by the other functional seats (GovHK 1). The number of votes is not equally represented by the number of seats in the legislative council, leading to an unequal distribution. distribution of power within government (Pickett 2016). This results from a complex set of rules and regulations which will not be explained further due to the limited scope of this article. It is worth noting at this point that despite being a special administrative region, China influences Hong Kong's political system by proposing suitable candidates for the position of Chief Executive. Only candidates approved in Beijing can be elected by the electoral committee. This lack of independence as wellthat the different rules regarding the distribution of power within the government are viewed critically by the population and have been the cause of numerous protests (The Guardian 2017). Another strong political link with mainland China concerns the defense forces. The Hong Kong government does not have a Ministry of Defense, as military matters are handled by China (GovHK1) Economic Partnerships Hong Kong maintains various economic partnerships that support its good international relations and demonstrate its desire to facilitate trade with different countries. The most important partnership agreements are presented below.CEPA - Closer Economic Partnership Agreement.CEPA is an agreement between China and Hong Kong which regulates Hong Kong's preferential access to mainland Chinese markets with respect to residents, products and businesses. It was signed in 2003, but many other agreements have been added since then to address specific issues, such as investment regulation. The aim of the agreement is to strengthen trade and investment cooperation between China and Hong Kong, while supporting joint relations between China and Hong Kong. development. To this end, customs duties and other non-tariff barriers are eliminated on almost all trade in goods. In addition, efforts are being made to eliminate discriminatory measures and generally facilitate mutual trade and investment. This agreement is particularly significant because Hong Kong accounted for 8.3% of China's total trade in 2016, making it the Chinese mainland's second-largest trading partner after the United States (Department of Commerce and Trade industry 2). FTA - Free Trade Agreements signed by Hong Kong a variety of free trade agreements that make it very attractive for international trade. So far, FTAs ​​have been concluded with the European Free Trade Association, New Zealand, Chile and since November 2017 also with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Furthermore, negotiations are already underway to conclude agreements with even more countries (Department of Trade and Industry 3). the profit is made, provided that these differ from each other. Honk Kong has so far formed DTAs with 30 jurisdictions and is currently negotiating with 15 more. (Bundesfinanzministerium) Hong Kong thus increases its attractiveness for foreign investors, because they can be sure of only paying taxes once on their income earned in Hong Kong. In addition to the above agreements, Hong Kong is also a member of the following cooperations and organizations: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) APEC is a cooperation between 21 member economies of the Pacific Rim, promoting free trade within the Asia-Pacific region (Commerce and Industry Department 1)Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC)The PECC is a network of committees composed of institutions and individuals dedicated to promoting cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Pacific (PECC).United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)UNCTAD is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly responsible for trade, investment and development issues. It is also the United Nations focal point for the least developed countries” (UNCTAD). World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO is an organization of cooperating international governments that regulates international trade. Hong Kong is not only a member, but one of the founding states of the WTO (WTO). As mentioned previously, the large number of agreements and.3).