British Consulate-General, Hong Kong

British Consulate-General
Hong Kong
Location Hong Kong
Address 1 Supreme Court Road,
Admiralty, Hong Kong Island
Coordinates 22°16′34.25″N 114°9′53.7″E / 22.2761806°N 114.164917°E / 22.2761806; 114.164917Coordinates: 22°16′34.25″N 114°9′53.7″E / 22.2761806°N 114.164917°E / 22.2761806; 114.164917
Consul General HE Andrew Heyn,
HM Consul-General Hong Kong
Website British Consulate-General Hong Kong

The British Consulate-General Hong Kong, located at 1 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong Island, is one of the largest British Consulates-General in the world and is bigger than many British Embassies and High Commissions.[1] It is responsible for maintaining British ties with Hong Kong and Macau.[1]

Together with the Consulate General of the United States of America, Hong Kong and Macau, the Consulate General of Malaysia, and the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, the British Consulate-General is among the few Consulates-General in Hong Kong to be housed in its own building.

Role

Due to Hong Kong's status as a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the Consul-General in Hong Kong reports directly to the China Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, instead of to the British Ambassador in Beijing, unlike Consuls-General in mainland China.[2] The Consulate-General in Hong Kong also serves Macau, with several diplomats accredited specifically to Macau.[3]

The British Consulate-General was also the Regional Passport Processing Centre, handling passport applications from British citizens resident elsewhere in Asia.[4]

Previously, it also processed applications received by the British Trade and Cultural Office (now called the British Office) in Taipei, Taiwan.[5] It also received registrations of marriages from British nationals in Taiwan, although there was no legal requirement for British nationals to do so.[6]

History

When Hong Kong was under British rule, the Governor represented the British government, as well as the British monarch as head of state. Matters relating to British nationality were handled by the Hong Kong Immigration Department.[7]

During the negotiations between Britain and China on the future of Hong Kong, the British proposed the establishment of a "British Commissioner" following transfer of sovereignty to China.[8] Some of the diplomatic representatives of Commonwealth countries in Hong Kong were already known as "Commissioners".[9] This was rejected by the Chinese as an attempt to make the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region into a member or associated member of the Commonwealth.[8]

However, the United Kingdom's commercial interests were represented by the British Trade Commission.[10] The last Senior Trade Commissioner, Francis Cornish, became the first British Consul-General following the transfer of sovereignty to China, on 1 July 1997.[11]

The Consulate-General was designed by British architects Terry Farrell and Partners.[12] Opened by Princess Anne on 30 January 1997, it was a HK$290 million project, with the British Council in an adjoining building opened in December that year.[13]

The Consul-General has resided at rented flat at Opus Hong Kong since 2013.[14]

List of HM Consuls-General

List of HM Consuls-General in Hong Kong:

Name Tenure began Tenure ended Date of birth (and age)
when published
Francis Cornish
(zh)		1 July 1997November 199718 May 1942
Sir Andrew Burns
(zh)		November 1997June 200021 July 1943
Sir James Hodge
(zh)		June 2000November 2003 24 December 1943
Stephen Bradley
(zh)		November 2003March 20084 April 1958
Andrew Seaton
(zh)		March 2008September 201220 April 1954
Caroline Wilson[15]
(zh)		September 2012September 2016
Andrew Heyn[16] September 2016

See also

References

  1. 1 2 British Consulate-General Hong Kong
  2. ↑ The UK's relations with Hong Kong: 30 years after the Joint Declaration, Tenth Report of Session 2014–15, Foreign Affairs Select Committee, House of Commons, 6 Mar 2015, page 16 PDF
  3. ↑ "British Embassy Macao". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Passport application changes for Brits living abroad
  5. ↑ British Trade and Cultural Office - About us
  6. ↑ British Trade and Cultural Office - How to register a marriage
  7. ↑ Hong Kong's New Constitutional Order: The Resumption of Chinese Sovereignty and the Basic Law, Yash Ghai, Hong Kong University Press, 1997, page 167
  8. 1 2 The Chinese government resumed exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People's Republic of China
  9. ↑ Hong Kong $ Directory, Local Printing Press, 1987, page 32
  10. ↑ Hunting with the Tigers: Doing Business with Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, Claudia Cragg, Pfeiffer & Company, 1993, page 417
  11. ↑ Chief Executive holds 'useful, cordial' talks with British Prime Minister, Government of Hong Kong, 22 October 1997
  12. ↑ Terry Farrell - Royal Institute of British Architects
  13. ↑ Francis Cornish, South China Morning Post, 31 January 1997
  14. ↑ Britain's Hong Kong Consul General in £35 million flat, Daily Telegraph, 9 Jun 2013
  15. ↑ Consul General to Hong Kong & Macao, Caroline Wilson CMG
  16. ↑ "Change of Her Majesty's Consul General to Hong Kong and Macao - News articles - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-02.


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