User:Douglas the Comeback Kid/Hong Kong and Macao

Many people may wonder why people from Hong Kong and Macao say they are from there but not China. Some may even find it strange because they believe that Hong Kong and Macao are part of China.

The reason is - Hong Kong and Macao are not part of China. They are Chinese dependencies, but not part of China.

Hong Kong had been a British colony for over 150 years, and Macao had been a Portuguese colony for over 400 years. Hong Kong and Macao were handed over to the Chinese in 1997 and 1999 respectively. After coming under Chinese sovereignty, the two city-states become Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China. Since then, people find it normal to say that these two places (the two territories) are part of China.

The laws of the two city-states are still different from each other and the Chinese law: Hong Kong, Macao and China remain three seperate jurisdictions. The two territories have their respectve legislatures which enact their own laws, namely the Legislative Assembly of Macao and the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Chinese legislations do not normally take effect in the two territories, they do only when needed. If needed, the legislatures of the two territories enact local legislations which take the same effect (e.g. China's Law About the National Flag of the People's Republic of China does not take effect in Hong Kong as such; it takes effect as Hong Kong's National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance).

People of Hong Kong and Macao do not have to pay tax to the Chinese government. Hong Kongers and the Macaolese are only taxed by their respective governments. The two city-states use different currencies from each other and China. Hong Kong uses the Hong Kong Dollar and Macao uses the Macao Pataca, while the Chinse use the Yuan.

Hong Kong and Macao are territorial entities. They are seperated from China by a border. People from Hong Kong and Macao cannot travel to China like walking from the City of London to the City of Westminister; they have to go through border controls on the Hong Kong or Macao side and the Chinese side. The same applies to the Chinese who want to visit Hong Kong or Macao.

A valid travel document is always needed: usually a passport or, for Chinese Hong Kongers and Chinese Macaolese, a Mainland Travel Permit for Residents of Hong Kong and Macao (Mainland Travel Permit). Most Chinese Hong Kongers and Chinese Macaolese involuntarily acquired Chinese nationality because of special interpretations of the Chinese Nationality Law by the Chinese legislature; the British natioanlity or Portuguese nationality of those born under British or Portuguese rule are not recognised by China. So these people cannot use their British or Portuguese passport to travel to China and they need the Mainland Travel Permit; 'mainland' means China here.

A Mainland Travel Permit is valid for 10 years (or 3 years if issued to people below 18) and holder can enter China for an unlimited number of time. There is no maximum period of stay for each visit, so theoretically, it is possible for a person to enter mainland China with this permit on the day it is issued and leave China on the day before it expires. But this permit does not grant holers the right of abode in mainland China. Holder has to obtain a special permit from the Chinese government before working in mainland China. Holder is treated as foreigners in many aspects, e.g. non-Chinese nationals have to register with the hotel their personal particualrs and the same rule also applies to Mainland Travel Permit holders.

Hong Kong and Macao have their own passports which are different from that of China's. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport (Hong Kong Chinese passport) and Macao Special Administrative Region passport (Macao Chinese passport) are issued to Hong Kongers and Macaolese of Chinese nationality. Hong Kong Chinese passport, Macao Chinese passport and Chinese passport holders enjoy different level of visa-free access because the three passports are different passports.

The cultures of Hong Kong and Macao are similar but different from each other and China's. Hong Kong culture, Macao culture and Chinese culture are three distinct cultures, yet they are similar to each other because of Hong Kong and Macao's geographical proximity to China.

The Hong Kong and Macao cultures are the blending of western and Asian cultures; this is because of their colonial past and the fact that the they are multiracial territories. 'Hong Konger' and 'Macaolese' are not identities reserved to the ethnic Chinese, they are also shared by people of other ethnic groups in Hong Kong and Macao.

People in Hong Kong, Macao and China speak different languages. In Hong Kong, people speak English and Cantonese; in Macao, people speak Cantonese and Portuguese; in China, people speak Mandarin. The only official language of China is Chinese. But for Hong Kong and Macao, in addition to Chinese, English and Portuguese are also an official language respectively.

The relationship between Hong Kong and Macao and China is similar to that between the British overseas territories and the UK. The British overseas territories have different laws from those of the UK and each other, independent immigration control, similar but different culture from British culture, different currencies from the Pound Sterling and, in some cases, different languages; they are British territories but not part of the UK. Similarly, Hong Kong and Macao are Chinese territories but not part of China.

The nature of the status of a territory is independent of the attitude of the sovereign state. For example, French Guiana is considered to be an overseas region of France with equivalent status as a province in mainland France ('metropolitan France'), but it is still considered to be a seperate territorial entity. The same concept applies to Hong Kong and Macao as well, regardless their geographical proximity to China.