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Hong Kong Basic Law
Hong KongPolitics

Explainer | Why escalating row over whether Hong Kong has ‘separation of powers’ in its political system is not just a fight over words

  • Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s comments on the issue have rekindled a decades-long debate on the form of government in the city
  • But what is the concept, has it ever existed in Hong Kong and why is it a sensitive topic?

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The different roles of Hong Kong’s executive, legislative and judicial branches of government are set out in the city’s mini-constitution. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Gary Cheung
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor raised eyebrows when she argued there was no “separation of powers” in the city’s executive-led political system, saying judges’ past comments on the concept merely referred to a clear division of work between different branches of the government.
Lam’s remarks on Tuesday came after it was discovered last month that the phrase “separation of powers”, among other politically sensitive concepts, had been deleted from new editions of liberal studies textbooks, sparking accusations of political censorship.

Now, Lam’s high-profile rejection of the notion has rekindled a decades-long debate on the form of government in Hong Kong.

Carrie Lam says the chief executive is head of the government and also the Hong Kong special administrative region. Photo: Nora Tam
Carrie Lam says the chief executive is head of the government and also the Hong Kong special administrative region. Photo: Nora Tam

What is separation of powers?

Under the arrangement, the government is divided into separate branches, each of which has its own role and powers. The branches are usually the executive authorities, legislature and judiciary. Separation of powers as well as checks and balances between these branches are found to varying degrees in modern democracies.

Did it exist in Hong Kong before the 1997 handover? What about after?

There was no separation of powers in the Western sense when Hong Kong was under British rule before 1997. The judiciary was independent but all legislators were appointed by the governor until 1985, when functional constituencies – with electorates drawn from various trade and professional sectors – were introduced. Senior government officials were given seats in the Legislative Council until 1995.

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