Theme 1 Revision: Hong Kong under "One Country, Two Systems"
BasicTheme 1 covers 'One Country, Two Systems', national conditions and identity, and Hong Kong's cultural diversity — revision means connecting concepts, memorising the timeline and mastering common question angles and confusion pairs.
- Theme 1's line: constitutional status, then country and identity, then society and culture — locate before retrieving
- Timeline anchors: the 1842, 1860 and 1898 treaties; 1984 Joint Declaration, 1990 Basic Law, 1997 handover, 2020 NSL
- Core relationships: 'one country' as premise, autonomy from authorisation, executive-led system, balance of security and rights
文體小知識：公民教育說明文——複習課：把主題一的概念整理成知識地圖，點出常見考問角度與易錯對比，而非重教一遍。
§Text Passage
1Theme 1 centres on Hong Kong under 'One Country, Two Systems', with three topics: the meaning and implementation of 'One Country, Two Systems'; our country and national identity; and the cultural diversity of Hong Kong society. The logic runs from the constitutional level, to the country and national identity, to the cultural character of Hong Kong society — organise your notes along this line so knowledge is easy to retrieve in the exam.
2Common question angles: the first topic is often examined through timelines and constitutional relations, with excerpts of provisions or news asking about the SAR's constitutional status, the source of high autonomy or the executive-led system; the second through the political system, national symbols and the two-way relationship between Hong Kong and the country; the third through the causes and positive meanings of cultural diversity, usually with everyday scenarios.
3Conceptual relationships are the key to marks: 'one country' is the premise within which 'two systems' operate; high autonomy comes from NPC authorisation, not inherent power; the political system is executive-led with the Chief Executive at the core; safeguarding national security and protecting residents' rights and freedoms must be balanced. Reversing or splitting these relationships undermines the whole answer.
4Watch the confusing pairs: Chinese citizen and Hong Kong permanent resident are different concepts; the NPC is an organ of state power while the CPPCC is a consultative body; the Hong Kong National Security Law was passed by the NPC Standing Committee and listed in Annex III of the Basic Law, not made by local legislation. Turn each pair into a two-column note before the exam.
1Summary 重點摘要
Theme 1 covers 'One Country, Two Systems', national conditions and identity, and Hong Kong's cultural diversity — revision means connecting concepts, memorising the timeline and mastering common question angles and confusion pairs.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
'One country' is the premise within which 'two systems' operate: the mainland keeps socialism while Hong Kong keeps its original capitalist system and way of life.
The Constitution and the Basic Law together form the constitutional basis of the HKSAR.
The relationship between the centre and the SAR: the power of high autonomy comes from NPC authorisation, not from the SAR itself.
A feature of the SAR's political system: the Chief Executive at the core, with the three branches each performing their duties and coordinating.
The view that national security covers political, economic, cultural and many other fields.
The system by which the people exercise state power through people's congresses; the NPC is the highest organ of state power.
Understanding and identifying with one's national identity, built on knowing the country, its achievements and culture.
The national flag, emblem and anthem; the related national laws are applied in Hong Kong under Annex III of the Basic Law.
Hong Kong's social character: Chinese culture as the mainstream with many cultures converging upon it.
Residents of different backgrounds respecting and living in harmony — one positive meaning of diversity.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: The Theme 1 knowledge mapStart revision with a knowledge map: the first topic covers the origins of the Hong Kong question, the concept, the road to the handover, constitutional relations, the national security law and the political system; the second covers the country's political system, the Chinese nation, citizenship and residence, national symbols, national achievements and Hong Kong's role; the third covers the causes and positive meanings of cultural diversity. The line runs from constitution to country to society — locate a question's topic first, then retrieve the right concepts.
- Step 2: The historical timeline in one passMemorise the timeline precisely: the 1842 Treaty of Nanking ceding Hong Kong Island, the 1860 Convention of Peking ceding the southern tip of Kowloon, the 1898 Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory leasing the New Territories for 99 years; the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in December 1984; the Basic Law drafted from 1985 and adopted by the NPC in April 1990; the SAR established on 1 July 1997; the National Security Law passed and listed in Annex III on 30 June 2020, taking effect the same day. One wrong year costs marks.
- Step 3: Sorting the conceptual relationshipsFour relationships matter: 'one country' is the premise and 'two systems' operate within it — never reversed; the Central Authorities and the SAR stand in authorisation, autonomy coming from the NPC rather than a division of powers; the political system is executive-led with the Chief Executive at the core, the three branches performing their duties and coordinating; safeguarding national security and protecting rights and freedoms are balanced, not opposed. Stating the relationships explicitly scores better than reciting definitions alone.
- Step 4: Grouping the national conditionsRevise the second topic in five clusters: the political system — Article 1's socialist system, the People's Congress system and the CPPCC's functions; ethnicity — 56 ethnic groups and the equality principle of Article 4; citizenship — the Nationality Law and the Basic Law's distinction between permanent and non-permanent residents; national symbols — the flag, emblem, anthem and Annex III; achievements and roles — national achievements in various fields and Hong Kong's benefits and contributions. Memorise by cluster and retrieve by cluster in answers.
- Step 5: Matching causes with meanings in diversityThe diversity topic has a clear frame: two causes — Hong Kong's mostly Chinese population passing down Chinese culture as the mainstream, and the convergence of languages, religions and ways of life since the early days; four positive meanings — cultural integration, cultural innovation and reflection, harmonious coexistence of ethnic groups, and citizens rooted in Chinese culture with a global outlook. Keep causes and meanings as matched pairs: state the mainstream and the convergence first, then the meanings point by point with one daily-life example each.
- Step 6: Common question anglesTheme 1 data-response questions come in three kinds: 'explain' questions, such as describing the SAR's constitutional status or the country's political system from the data, where accuracy matters; 'analyse' questions, such as the relationship between safeguarding national security and protecting rights, or the meanings of cultural diversity, where relationships and argument matter; and 'identity' questions set in everyday scenarios, where personal connection matters. Identify the command word first and organise the answer accordingly.
- Step 7: The confusion-pair checklistRun through the pairs before the exam: 'one country' before 'two systems'; autonomy is authorisation, not a division of powers; Chinese citizen differs from Hong Kong permanent resident, and some non-Chinese nationals are permanent residents; the National Security Law was passed by the NPC Standing Committee, not by local legislators; diversity has Chinese culture as the mainstream — mainstream first, then convergence; the NPC is an organ of state power while the CPPCC is a consultative body. One sentence per pair keeps the commonest traps away.
5Worked example Example
Data-response practice: Data 1 excerpts the Basic Law on the SAR's enjoyment of executive, legislative and independent judicial power including that of final adjudication; Data 2 reports the NPC Standing Committee passing the Hong Kong National Security Law on 30 June 2020 and listing it in Annex III of the Basic Law. Using the data and what you have learned, describe the relationship between the Central Authorities and the HKSAR.
- Read the question: it asks about the relationship between the centre and the SAR — the core is authorisation and the 'one country' premise; the data supports, your knowledge argues
- Use Data 1: the powers listed are the content of high autonomy — point out that they come from NPC authorisation
- Use Data 2: the NSL passed by the NPC Standing Committee and listed in Annex III shows that national security falls under the centre's constitutional responsibility
- Conclude: together the data shows a relationship of authorisation, with 'one country' as the premise of 'two systems'
- Answer: The Central Authorities and the HKSAR stand in a relationship of authorisation. Data 1 shows the SAR enjoying executive, legislative and independent judicial power including that of final adjudication — the content of its high degree of autonomy; yet these powers are not inherent but granted by the NPC, with the Constitution and the Basic Law as the constitutional basis. Data 2 shows the NSL passed by the NPC Standing Committee and implemented after being listed in Annex III, reflecting that safeguarding national security falls under the Central Authorities' constitutional responsibility. Together, the data shows that the state holds sovereignty and governing rights over Hong Kong, 'one country' is the premise of 'two systems', and the SAR exercises a high degree of autonomy under central authorisation.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Which three topics does Theme 1 include?
Q2What is the constitutional basis of the HKSAR?
Q3Where does the power of high autonomy come from?
Q4What is the difference between a Chinese citizen and a Hong Kong permanent resident?
Q5What is the mainstream of Hong Kong's cultural diversity?
8Recap Recap
- Theme 1's line: constitutional status, then country and identity, then society and culture — locate before retrieving
- Timeline anchors: the 1842, 1860 and 1898 treaties; 1984 Joint Declaration, 1990 Basic Law, 1997 handover, 2020 NSL
- Core relationships: 'one country' as premise, autonomy from authorisation, executive-led system, balance of security and rights
- National conditions in five clusters: political system, ethnicity, citizenship, national symbols, achievements and roles
- Confusion pairs: citizen vs permanent resident, NPC vs CPPCC, mainstream before diversity