Introduction: Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50...

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Political Developments: Currently no institutions of government in Hong Kong are elected through universal suffrage, although universal suffrage in Chief Executive and LegCo elections is the 'ultimate aim' of constitutional development under the Basic Law.

In December 2007, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) ruled out fully democratic elections for the CE and LegCo in 2012 but left open the possibility of universal suffrage-based elections for the CE in 2017 and the LegCo thereafter (2020 at the earliest).

On 24 June 2010, the LegCo approved an electoral reform package for the 2012 twin elections ...

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