Compare the Taiwan political system and the Hong Kong political system - Essay Example

Taiwan Political System and the Hong Kong Political System Hong Kong is a special administrative region under the people’s republic of China under the one country, two systems principle (Ash, 2003). Apart from military defence and foreign relations, Hong Kong has a high level of autonomy from China. The economy is capitalist and the Hong Kong Basic Law protects the freedoms and rights of nationals. The government has four pillars; the Legislative council, civil service, executive council, and Judiciary.

The Chief Executive heads the Executive council (Tsang, 2007). The Election Committee elects the Chief Executive before being appointed by the Central People’s Government. The legislature has 30 seats occupied people elected by the electorate while the remaining 40 out of 70 seats that comprise the legislative council are filled by people elected by permanent residents of Hong Kong through universal suffrage. The region has a unitary government system and is globally accepted as an administrative region of the People’s Republic of China.

On its part, Taiwan (Republic of China) is a sovereign state and democratic republic (Clark, 2012). It has its own constitution, armed forces, and independent president. The situation of Taiwan as a state is currently under contention as it is claimed by the People’s Republic of China. The government is divided into five branches (Yuan); the Executive, Legislature, judiciary, control, and civil service examination. The state is headed by a president who is elected by the people (Makeham & Hsiau 2005).

Generally, the state is based on a semi-presidential system. The president appoints members of cabinet including the premier who is the president of the Executive branch of government. The state has a unicameral legislature that accommodates 113 seats out of which 73 are occupied by individuals elected by popular vote from single- member constituencies. The rest of the seats are filled by individuals voted in by different means. Like Hong Kong, the economic system is capitalist in nature. In conclusion, the two entities have a number of similarities and differences.

While Taiwan is a sovereign state, Hong Kong is an administrative region. While Hong Kong has four government pillars, Taiwan has five government pillars. While the Chief Executive heads the executive arm of government in Hong Kong, the president heads the government in Taiwan. The two enjoy a significant level of autonomy from the Republic of China. The two have a capitalist economy.ReferencesAsh, R. F. (2003). Hong Kong in Transition: One Country, Two Systems, Vol. 11: Curzon Studies in the Modern History of Asia.

London: Routledge.Clark, C. & Tan, A. (2012). Taiwans Political Economy: Meeting Challenges, Pursuing Progress. New York: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Makeham, J. & Hsiau, A. (2005). Cultural, Ethnic, and Political Nationalism in Contemporary Taiwan: Bentuhua. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Tsang, S. (4 September 2007). A Modern History of Hong Kong. I. B. Tauris.state, society, economy, and global insertion.