Hong Kong Government Gazette

The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette (formerly and still widely known as The Hong Kong Government Gazette) is the official publication of the Government of Hong Kong. Published by the Government Logistics Department (GLD), it acts as an official channel to promulgate information which is required for statutory or other reasons to be made public,[1] including legislations, ordinances, appointments of major officials and public notices.[2]

Hong Kong Government Gazette
Traditional Chinese香港特別行政區政府憲報
Simplified Chinese香港特别行政区政府宪报
The Hong Kong Gazette Vol. I No. 1 1 May 1841.

It is normally published on Fridays.

Contents

The Gazette consists of seven parts:

  • Main Gazette – contains government notices on appointments (of senior government officials, members of statutory bodies, etc), departmental notices and public tenders;
  • Legal Supplement No. 1 – newly enacted or amended ordinances passed by the Legislative Council;
  • Legal Supplement No. 2 – newly enacted or amended regulations passed by the Legislative Council;
  • Legal Supplement No. 3 - bills;
  • Special Supplement No. 4 - lists of certain categories of professionals and establishments (such as doctors, real estate agents and nursery centres) whose names are required by law to be published in the Gazette periodically;
  • Special Supplement No. 5 - Draft Bills, Executive Orders, Orders of the State Council, etc; and
  • Supplement No. 6 - public notices on matters such as liquidation, bankruptcy and transfer of business, that can be placed by members of the public at a fee.

Regular issues of the Gazette are usually published every Friday, except when a public holiday falls on Friday. Gazette Extraordinaries might also be published in between regular issues to carry important notices. Gazette Extraordinaries were previously published on need basis, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, these have been increased to a daily basis so that statutory notices of compulsory COVID-19 testing for specific groups of people could be promulgated.

History

The current form of Hong Kong's government gazette began on 24 September 1853 when the Hongkong Government Gazette (香港政府憲報) started publication, following a proclamation by William Caine, the Colonial Secretary, that it would become "the only Official Organ of Proclamations, Notifications, and all Public Papers of this Government".[3] Prior to this, the Hong Kong Gazette was an earlier government gazette in British Hong Kong, which was amalgamated with the Friend of China in 1842. The Friend of China remained the government gazette between 1842 and 1845.[4]

When Hong Kong became the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997, the Hong Kong Government Gazette (香港政府憲報) was renamed the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette. The format remained largely unchanged but the serial numbering of volumes started anew from Volume 1.

Old records are kept by libraries around the world (including the Hong Kong Central Library), and in the Central Preservation Library for Government Preservation of the Public Records Office.[5] Additionally, the public may also access the scanned copies of gazette issued before World War II on the HKU Libraries website. The official website of the Gazette contains online records of the Gazette (in PDF format) dating back to 2000.[6]

References
  1. "Receiving Notifications of the Issue of Government Gazette". GovHK. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  2. 香港政府檔案處 (15 January 2001). "《香港政府憲報》簡介" (PDF). 華南研究資料中心通訊 (22): 10–12. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  3. Hongkong Government Gazette (PDF) (Report). 24 September 1853.
  4. Sweeting, A.E (1 May 1990). Education in Hong Kong, Pre-1841 to 1941: Fact and Opinion – A.E. Sweeting – Google Books. ISBN 9789622092587. Retrieved 6 March 2015 – via Google Books.
  5. "Hightlights (sic) of PRO Holdings". Educational Resources Portal. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  6. "Gazette". The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
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