The District Councils (區議會 and formerly District Boards) are district organizations in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It is mainly a consultative body of the HKSAR Government on district administration and other affairs. There are 18 district councils in Hong Kong, corresponding to the 18 districts of Hong Kong. A Special Administrative Region (SAR) (Simplified Chinese: 特别行政区; Traditional Chinese: 特別行政區; pinyin: tèbié xíngzhèngqÅ«; Cantonese IPA: /tɐk6piːt6 hɐŋ4tsɪŋ3kʰɵy1/; Jyutping: dak6bit6 hang4zing3keoi1; Yale: dahkbiht hàhngjingkeÅ«i) is a political subdivision of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The territory of Hong Kong is divided in 18 administrative districts (Population as of 2000) Hong Kong Island Central and Western (274,400) Eastern (620,800) Southern (282,400) Wan Chai (190,300) Kowloon (New Kowloon included) Kowloon City (406,000) Kwun Tong (564,700) Sham Shui Po (372,200...

There are 18 councils making up the DC:

Hong Kong Island (香港島)

• Central & Western District (中西區)
• Eastern District (東區)
• Southern District (南區)
• Wan Chai District (灣仔)

Kowloon (九龍)

• Kowloon City District (九龍城)
• Kwun Tong District (觀塘)
• Sham Shui Po District (深水埗)
• Wong Tai Sin District (黃大仙)
• Yau Tsim Mong District (油尖旺)

New Territories (新界)

• Islands District (離島)
• Kwai Tsing District (葵青)
• North District (北區)
• Sai Kung District (西貢)
• Sha Tin District (沙田)
• Tai Po District (大埔)
• Tsuen Wan District (荃灣)
• Tuen Mun District (屯門)
• Yuen Long District (元朗)

Functions

The councils advise the Government on the following:

• matters affecting the well-being of people in the District;
• the provision and use of public facilities and services within the District;
• the adequacy and priorities of Government programmes for the District;
• the use of public funds allocated to the District for local public works and community activities; and

District Councils also undertake the following within the respective districts with its available funds allocated by the Government:

• environmental improvements;
• the promotion of recreational and cultural activities; and
• community activities

Constituencies

There are a total of 529 District Council members, of which -

• 400 are returned by direct election with one returned in each of the 400 constituencies in the 18 districts by a "First past the post" system,
• 27 are ex-officio members (Rural Committee Chairmen in the New Territories), and
• 102 are appointed members by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

The First Past the Post electoral system, is a voting system for single-member districts. ... The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Chinese: 香港特別行政區行政長官 pinyin: Xiānggǎng Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū Xíngzhèng Zhangguān) is the head of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, and represents the Region. ...

Terms of office

Each term of the District Council lasts for 4 years. The first term begins from Jan 1 2000, and the second term begins on Jan 1 2004.

See also

• Politics of Hong Kong
• Districts of Hong Kong
• Legislative Council of Hong Kong

On July 1, 1997, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) resumed its exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, ending more than 150 years of British colonial control. ... The territory of Hong Kong is divided in 18 administrative districts (Population as of 2000) Hong Kong Island Central and Western (274,400) Eastern (620,800) Southern (282,400) Wan Chai (190,300) Kowloon (New Kowloon included) Kowloon City (406,000) Kwun Tong (564,700) Sham Shui Po (372,200... Legislative Council Building The Legislative Council of Hong Kong (立法會, abbreviated LegCo) is the legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

External links

• Home page of District Councils