What is the Basic Law of Hong Kong?

“One country, two systems” was the catch-phrase coined by China’s president Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, when China and Britain held negotiations on the future of Hong Kong. The two countries signed the Joint Declaration in 1984, setting out China’s basic policies towards Hong Kong upon resuming sovereignty in 1997.

Under the principle of “one country, two systems”, the socialist system would not be practiced in Hong Kong and the previously existing capitalist economy and Western-style legal system and rights would remain unchanged for 50 years. These policies were incorporated into the Basic Law, the prime source of Hong Kong’s legal doctrine since 1997.