Flag of Hong Kong
Bauhinia blakeana flower in the centre of a red field | |
Designed by | Tao Ho |
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Regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Xiānggǎng Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū Qūqí |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Jūngwàh Yàhnmàhn Guhngwòhgwok Hēunggóng Dahkbiht Hàhngjing Kēui Kēuikèih |
Jyutping | Zung1waa4 Jan4man4 Gung6wo4gwok3 Hoeng1gong2 Dak6bit6 Hang4zing3 Keoi1 Keoi1kei4 |
The Regional Flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China depicts a white stylised five-petal
Current design
Symbolism
The design of the flag comes with cultural, political, and regional meanings. The colour itself is significant; red is a festive colour for the
Before the adoption of the flag, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee Ji Pengfei explained the significance of the flag's design to the National People's Congress:
The regional flag carries a design of five bauhinia petals, each with a star in the middle, on a red background. The red flag represents the motherland and the bauhinia represents Hong Kong. The design implies that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China and prospers in the embrace of the motherland. The five stars on the flower symbolise the fact that all Hong Kong compatriots love their motherland, while the red and white colours embody the principle of "one country, two systems".[10]
Construction
The
A slightly different geometrical description of the flag is specified in the mandatory National Standard "GB 16689-2004: Regional flag of Hong Kong special administrative region".[note 1]
Size specifications
This table lists all the official sizes for the flag. Sizes deviating from this list are considered non-standard. If a flag is not of official size, it must be a scaled-down or scaled-up version of one of the official sizes.[9]
Size | Length and width in centimetres |
---|---|
1 | 288 × 192 |
2 | 240 × 160 |
3 | 192 × 128 |
4 | 144 × 96 |
5 | 96 × 64 |
Car flag | 30 × 20 |
Flag for signing ceremonies | 21 × 14 |
Desktop flag | 15 × 10 |
Colour specifications
The Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance stipulates that "The regional flag is in red, the chrominance value of which is identical with that of the national flag of the People's Republic of China."[citation needed]
Manufacture regulations
The Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance stipulates that the Hong Kong flag must be manufactured according to specifications laid out in the ordinance. If flags are not produced in design according to the ordinance, the
Protocol
The Hong Kong flag is flown daily from the chief executive's official residence, Government House, the Hong Kong International Airport, and at all border crossings and points of entry into Hong Kong.[12] At major government offices and buildings, such as the Office of the Chief Executive, the Executive Council, the Court of Final Appeal, the High Court, the Legislative Council, and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices overseas, the flag is displayed during days when these offices are working. Other government offices and buildings, such as hospitals, schools, departmental headquarters, sports grounds, and cultural venues should fly the flag on occasions such as the National Day of the PRC (1 October), the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (1 July), and New Year's Day.[12] The flag should be raised at 8:00 a.m. and lowered at 6:00 p.m. The raising and lowering of the flag should be done slowly; it must reach the peak of the flag staff when it is raised, and it may not touch the ground when it is lowered. The flag may not be raised in severe weather conditions.[13] A Hong Kong flag that is either damaged, defaced, faded or substandard must not be displayed or used.[14]
Display
Whenever the Chinese national flag is flown together with the Hong Kong regional flag, the national flag must be flown at the centre, above the regional flag, or otherwise in a more prominent position than that of the regional flag. The regional flag must be smaller in size than the national flag, and it must be displayed to the left of the national flag. When the flags are displayed inside a building, the left and right sides of a person looking at the flags, and with his or her back toward the wall, are used as reference points for the left and right sides of a flag. When the flags are displayed outside a building, the left and right sides of a person standing in front of the building and looking towards the front entrance are used as reference points for the left and right sides of a flag. The national flag should be raised before the regional flag is raised, and it should be lowered after the regional flag is lowered.[13]
An exception to this rule occurs during medal presentation ceremonies at multi-sport events such as the Olympics and Asian Games. As Hong Kong competes separately from mainland China, should an athlete from Hong Kong win the gold medal, and an athlete from mainland China win the silver and/or bronze medal(s) in the same event, the regional flag of Hong Kong would be raised in the centre above the national flag(s) during the medal presentation ceremony, and the Hong Kong flag would be the same size as the mainland China flag.[citation needed]
Another discrepancy was observed during the opening ceremonies of the
In November 2018, the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan visited Hong Kong while displaying a United States flag and a Hong Kong flag of equal size with the Chinese flag absent. In previous visits by other US aircraft carriers in 2011 and 2014, the carrier's display had included the Chinese flag. Stand News reported that both pro-democracy and pro-Beijing netizens on social media interpreted the display as support for Hong Kong independence or Hong Kong sovereignty.[17]
Half-mast
The Hong Kong flag must be lowered to half-mast as a token of mourning when any of the following people die:[14]
- President of the People's Republic of China
- Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
- Premier of the State Council
- Chairman of the Central Military Commission
- Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
- Persons who have made outstanding contributions to the People's Republic of China as the Central People's Governmentadvises the Chief Executive.
- Persons who have made outstanding contributions to world peace or the cause of human progress as the Central People's Government advises the Chief Executive.
- Persons whom the Chief Executive considers to have made outstanding contributions to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or for whom they consider it appropriate to fly the flag at half-mast.
The flag may also be flown at half-mast when the Central People's Government advises the Chief Executive to do so, or when the Chief Executive considers it appropriate to do so, on occurrences of unfortunate events causing especially serious casualties, or when serious natural calamities have caused heavy casualties.[14] When raising a flag to be flown at half-mast, it should first be raised to the top of the pole and then lowered to a point where the distance between the top of the flag and the top of the pole is one third of the length of the pole. When lowering the flag from half-mast, it should first be raised to the peak of the pole before it is lowered.[13]
Prohibition of use and desecration
The Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance states what manner of use of the Hong Kong flag is prohibited and that desecration of the flag is prohibited. It also states that it is a punishable offence for a person to use the flag in a prohibited manner or to desecrate the flag. According to the ordinance, a flag may not be used in advertisements or trademarks,[18] and that "publicly and wilfully burning, mutilating, scrawling on, defiling or trampling" the flag is considered flag desecration.[19] Similarly, the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance extends the same prohibition toward the Chinese flag.[20][21] The ordinances also allow for the Chief Executive to make stipulations regarding the use of the flag. In stipulations made in 1997, the Chief Executive further specified that the use of the flag in "any trade, calling or profession, or the logo, seal or badge of any non-governmental organisation" is also prohibited unless prior permission was obtained.[12]
The first conviction of flag desecration occurred in 1999. Protesters Ng Kung-siu and Lee Kin-yun wrote the word "shame" on both the Chinese flag and the Hong Kong flag, and were convicted of violating the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance and the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance. The
Zhu Rongchang, a 74-year-old mainland Chinese farmer, was jailed for three weeks in 2011 for "publicly and wilfully" burning the Chinese flag at Golden Bauhinia Square in central Hong Kong. He was reportedly the third person charged for desecrating the Chinese flag, but he was first to be jailed under the law.[24]
In early 2013, protestors went to the streets flying the old colonial flag demanding more democracy and resignation of Chief Executive
Previous flags of Hong Kong
Pre-colonial period
Qing dynasty (1862–1895)
Prior to the secession of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom following the First Opium War via the Treaty of Nanking, Hong Kong fell under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government and flew the flag and ensign of the Chinese government of the time. Prior to the establishment of the crown colony of Hong Kong, the ruling dynasty in China was the Qing dynasty. Despite being established in 1644, the Qing Empire had no official flags until 1862. Prior to 1898, when the Second Convention of Peking was signed between the Qing Court and the government of the United Kingdom, the New Territories was still Qing land. The flag itself features the "Azure Dragon" on a plain yellow field with the red flaming pearl of the three-legged crow in the upper left corner.[30]
-
Qing dynasty flag, 1862–1889
Colonial flags
Prior to
Use of Union Flag (1843–1871)
In 1843, a seal representing Hong Kong was instituted. The design was based on a local waterfront scene; three local merchants with their commercial goods are shown on the foreground, a square-rigged ship and a junk occupy the middle ground, while the background consists of conical hills and clouds. In 1868, a Hong Kong flag was produced, a Blue Ensign flag with a badge based on this "local scene", but the design was rejected by Hong Kong Governor Richard Graves MacDonnell.[31]
First colonial flag (1871–1876)
On 3 July 1869, a new design for the Hong Kong flag was commissioned at a cost of £3, which featured a "gentleman in an evening coat who is purchasing tea on the beach at Kowloon". After a brief discussion in the executive council, it was determined that the new design was very problematic and it was not adopted.[32]
In 1870, a "white crown over HK" badge for the Blue Ensign flag was proposed by the
Second colonial flag (1876–1955)
During a government meeting, held in 1911, it was suggested that the name of the colony appear on the flag in both Latin and Chinese scripts. However, this was dismissed as it would "look absurd" to both Chinese and Europeans.[33] The flag which was eventually adopted featured the Blue Ensign together with a "local scene" of traders in the foreground and both European-style and Chinese-style trading ships in the background.[citation needed]
Japanese occupation period (1941–1945)
During the
Third colonial flag (1955–1959)
The flag was similar in design to that previously used. It featured a British Blue Ensign with a local waterfront scene.[citation needed]
Fourth colonial flag (1959–1997)
A
Flags used by government departments
Flags of the governor of Hong Kong
-
Flag of the governor of Hong Kong, 1910–1955
Council flags
Hong Kong Regional Council
The flag of the Regional Council represented the governmental body which oversaw matters related to the outlying areas of the territory during the colonial period. The flag itself featured a stylised dark green R at a 45-degree angle on white background.[citation needed]
Hong Kong Urban Council
The flag of the
-
Flag of the Regional Council
-
Flag of the Urban Council
Proposals before the handover
Before Hong Kong's handover, between 20 May 1987 and 31 March 1988, a contest was held amongst Hong Kong residents to help choose a flag for post-colonial Hong Kong, with 7,147 design submissions, in which 4,489 submissions were about flag designs.
Looking for inspiration, Ho wandered into a garden and picked up a Bauhinia blakeana flower. He observed the symmetry of the five petals, and how their winding pattern conveyed to him a dynamic feeling. This led him to incorporate the flower into the flag to represent Hong Kong.
See also
- Emblem of Hong Kong
- Black Bauhinia flag
- List of Hong Kong flags
- List of Chinese flags
- List of British flags
- Flag of Macau
Notes
- ^ The offset angle of the top petal is 14° as opposed to 13°48'.
References
- ^ "State Council Gazette Issue No.7 Serial No. 616 (May 26, 1990)" (PDF). www.gov.cn. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Decision of the National People's Congress on the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region of the People's Republic of China". Government of Hong Kong. 4 April 1990. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
- ^ "Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance". Hong Kong e-Legislation. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ISBN 7-80083-759-9.
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Archived from the originalon 6 December 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
- ^ "Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance" (PDF). Bilingual Laws Information System. 1 July 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ a b Jeffrey Aaronson. "Schedule of Events". Time. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
- ^ a b c d 忆香港区旗区徽的诞生(上) [Reflecting on the Creation of the Hong Kong SAR Flag and Emblem – Part 1] (in Chinese). Wenhui-xinmin United Press Group. 24 May 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2009. [dead link] and 忆香港区旗区徽的诞生(下) [Reflecting on the Creation of the Hong Kong SAR Flag and Emblem – Part 2] (in Chinese). Wenhui-xinmin United Press Group. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2009. [dead link]
- ^ a b c (Schedule 1 of the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance) "Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance". Hong Kong e-Legislation. 1 July 1997. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-521-80775-3.
- ^ (Schedule 5 of the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance) "Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance" (PDF). Bilingual Laws Information System. 1 July 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ a b c "Stipulations for the Display and Use of The National Flag and National Emblem and The Regional Flag and Regional Emblem" (PDF). Protocol Division Government Secretariat of the Hong Kong SAR. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
- ^ a b c "Display of the Flags and Emblems". Protocol Division Government Secretariat of the Hong Kong SAR. 6 September 2005. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
- ^ a b c (Schedule 4 of the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance) "Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance" (PDF). Bilingual Laws Information System. 1 July 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20211122072404/https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/General/EN-Olympic-Charter.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "East Asian Games 2009". YouTube.
- ^ "列根號訪港 棄五星旗改掛港區旗 網民指暗示港獨立 陳雲稱承認港實然主權 | 立場報道 | 立場新聞". Archived from the original on 26 November 2018.
- ^ (Section 6 of the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance) "Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance" (PDF). Bilingual Laws Information System. 1 July 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ (Section 7 of the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance) "Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance" (PDF). Bilingual Laws Information System. 1 July 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ "CAP 2401, Section 6 – Prohibition on certain uses of national flag and national emblem". Bilingual Laws Information System. 1 July 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ "CAP 2401, Section 7 – Protection of the national flag and national emblem". Bilingual Laws Information System. 1 July 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ "FINAL APPEAL NO. 4 OF 1999 (CRIMINAL)". Court of Final Appeal. 15 December 1999. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ "Annual Report 2001". Hong Kong Journalists Association. 9 August 2001. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ "Hong Kong Jails Chinese Farmer For Flag-Burning". Arab Times. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ Alex Lo (5 November 2012). "Flag-wavers have right to be ridiculous". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ Joshua But; Tony Cheung (2 November 2012). "Hong Kong chief executive urges people not to wave colonial flag". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Hong Kong police take man aside after he displayed British colonial flag at football match". 13 October 2023.
- ^ Magramo, Kathleen (15 September 2022). "In Hong Kong, mourning the Queen has another purpose: defying China". CNN. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ "Pro-China media slam "minority" of Hong Kong mourners in wake of Queen's death". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- S2CID 158954624.
- ^ a b c d e "Colonial Hong Kong". Flags of the World. 18 August 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
- ^ "Minutes of Meeting: LegCo 15th April 1912" (PDF). Hong Kong LegCo Archives. The Hong Kong Legislative Council. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- ^ "Minutes of Meeting: 28th December 1911" (PDF). Hong Kong Legislative Council Archives. Hongkong Legislative Council. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-7425-7469-4.
- ^ A.T. (4 July 2012). "Free speech in Hong Kong: Show of strength". Analects. Hong Kong. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ a b 香港区旗区徽诞生记. China Art News. 1 January 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- ^ Andrea Hamilton. "Bringing You The Handover: Meet some of the most important men and women working behind the scenes". Asiaweek. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
External links
- Hong Kong at Flags of the World
- About the National Flag Archived 7 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine – webpage hosted on the website of the Protocol Division Government Secretariat
- Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance at elegislation.gov.hk