Definitely not in the club. The Commonwealth is really about those countries that gained independence from Britain and chose to stay connected. Hong Kong didn’t gain independence; it was returned to Chinese sovereignty. The whole concept of the Commonwealth is based on independent statehood or continued British dependence, and Hong Kong falls outside of both of those categories now that it’s a Special Administrative Region of China. If you look at the official list of members, you won’t find Hong Kong on there. Macau, which was handed back to Portugal, is in a similar non-member situation. It’s a unique political situation that just doesn’t fit the Commonwealth model.
It’s out. Hong Kong was a British Dependent Territory, not an independent Commonwealth realm, and the membership is only for sovereign nations or for current dependent territories of the UK, Australia, or NZ. When the sovereignty was transferred to China, which isn’t a Commonwealth member, the status was lost. Simple as that it’s down to international law and its political classification as an SAR of China.
I always thought that was a shame, to be honest. You’d think with such a strong connection to Britain for so long, and with a lot of Commonwealth traditions still visible there, they’d have found a way for them to be an associate member or something. But the way the rules are set up, and the fact that they’re now under China’s sovereignty, means it’s a hard no. It’s all down to that legal status of being a non-sovereign territory whose sovereign is a non-Commonwealth country. It really highlights how the 1997 handover was different from how most other colonies transitioned.
That’s a tricky one! Hong Kong was part of the whole British world, of course, being a colony and later a dependent territory. Residents did use to be considered Commonwealth citizens back in the day, before the 1997 handover. But once the sovereignty went back to the PRC, the link to the Commonwealth was broken because the Commonwealth is an association of sovereign states. Since HK is not a state itself and its ultimate sovereign (China) isn’t in the Commonwealth, the membership doesn’t apply. It’s a full stop at ’97.
It’s a common mix-up because of the British history, but no. The Commonwealth is mainly for independent countries that used to be part of the British Empire (plus a couple of new members like Rwanda and Mozambique who have no historical link but meet the other criteria). Hong Kong is not an independent country; it’s a Special Administrative Region of China. That’s the key factor that rules it out. Until it’s independent, or if the arrangement somehow changed to be a British territory again, it can’t join.
Definitely not in the club. The Commonwealth is really about those countries that gained independence from Britain and chose to stay connected. Hong Kong didn’t gain independence; it was returned to Chinese sovereignty. The whole concept of the Commonwealth is based on independent statehood or continued British dependence, and Hong Kong falls outside of both of those categories now that it’s a Special Administrative Region of China. If you look at the official list of members, you won’t find Hong Kong on there. Macau, which was handed back to Portugal, is in a similar non-member situation. It’s a unique political situation that just doesn’t fit the Commonwealth model.
It’s out. Hong Kong was a British Dependent Territory, not an independent Commonwealth realm, and the membership is only for sovereign nations or for current dependent territories of the UK, Australia, or NZ. When the sovereignty was transferred to China, which isn’t a Commonwealth member, the status was lost. Simple as that it’s down to international law and its political classification as an SAR of China.
I always thought that was a shame, to be honest. You’d think with such a strong connection to Britain for so long, and with a lot of Commonwealth traditions still visible there, they’d have found a way for them to be an associate member or something. But the way the rules are set up, and the fact that they’re now under China’s sovereignty, means it’s a hard no. It’s all down to that legal status of being a non-sovereign territory whose sovereign is a non-Commonwealth country. It really highlights how the 1997 handover was different from how most other colonies transitioned.
That’s a tricky one! Hong Kong was part of the whole British world, of course, being a colony and later a dependent territory. Residents did use to be considered Commonwealth citizens back in the day, before the 1997 handover. But once the sovereignty went back to the PRC, the link to the Commonwealth was broken because the Commonwealth is an association of sovereign states. Since HK is not a state itself and its ultimate sovereign (China) isn’t in the Commonwealth, the membership doesn’t apply. It’s a full stop at ’97.
It’s a common mix-up because of the British history, but no. The Commonwealth is mainly for independent countries that used to be part of the British Empire (plus a couple of new members like Rwanda and Mozambique who have no historical link but meet the other criteria). Hong Kong is not an independent country; it’s a Special Administrative Region of China. That’s the key factor that rules it out. Until it’s independent, or if the arrangement somehow changed to be a British territory again, it can’t join.