page_title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong
hierarchical_section_title: Legislative Council of Hong Kong
caption_attribution_description: HK Central Government Offices Main Wing
context_page_description: The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the unicameral legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
  The legislature is a body comprising 70 members, 35 of whom are directly elected through five geographical constituencies under the proportional representation system with largest remainder method and Hare quota, while the other 35 are indirectly elected through interest-group-based functional constituencies with limited electorates. Under the constitutional reform package passed in 2010, 5 of the 35 members elected from functional constituencies are from the District Council functional constituency, with candidates nominated by the District Councillors and elected by territory-wide electorates.
  The Legislative Council was first established in 1843 under the Charter of the British colony of Hong Kong as an advisory council to the Governor. The powers and functions of the legislature expanded throughout its history.
context_section_description: The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
  The legislature is a body comprising 70 members, 35 of whom are directly elected through five geographical constituencies (GCs) under the proportional representation system with largest remainder method and Hare quota, while the other 35 are indirectly elected through interest-group-based functional constituencies (FCs) with limited electorates. Under the constitutional reform package passed in 2010, 5 of the 35 members elected from functional constituencies are from the District Council (Second) functional constituency, with candidates nominated by the District Councillors and elected by territory-wide electorates.
  The Legislative Council was first established in 1843 under the Charter of the British colony of Hong Kong as an advisory council to the Governor. The powers and functions of the legislature expanded throughout its history. Today the main functions of the Legislative Council are to enact, amend or repeal laws; examine and approve budgets, taxation and public expenditure; and raise questions on the work of the government. In addition, the Legislative Council is also given the power to endorse the appointment and removal of the judges of the Court of Final Appeal and the Chief Judge of the High Court, as well as the power to impeach the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
  Before the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, a Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) was unilaterally set up in Shenzhen by the Government of the People's Republic of China  as opposed to the 1995 elected colonial legislature. The PLC moved to Hong Kong and replaced the legislature after the transfer of sovereignty of 1997, until the next general election in 1998. Since 2000, the terms of the Legislative Council are four years.
  Article 68 of the Hong Kong Basic Law states the ultimate aim is the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage. This and a similar article dealing with election of the Chief Executive have made universal suffrage for the council and the Chief Executive the dominant issue in Hong Kong politics.
caption: Central Government Offices, home to Legco 1950s to 1985
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