Hong Kong honours system
The existing
Hong Kong honours system was created after the sovereignty of
Hong Kong was transferred to the
People's Republic of China as a
special administrative region in
1997. Before that, Hong Kong was a
British dependent territory and followed the
British honours system with the
Order of the British Empire.
General awards
The
Grand Bauhinia Medal (大紫荊勳章) the highest award under the HKSAR honours and awards system, is to recognise the selected person's life-long and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong Kong. The awardee is entitled to the postnominal letters
GBM and the style
The Honourable. (Bauhinia,
Bauhinia blakeana, is the floral emblem of Hong Kong.)
The Order of the Bauhinia Star has three classes (postnominal in parenthesis): the
Gold Bauhinia Star (
GBS; 金紫荊星章), the
Silver Bauhinia Star (
SBS, 銀紫荊星章), and the
Bronze Bauhinia Star (
BBS, 銅紫荊星章).
The
Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS) is awarded to eminent persons who have given very distinguished services to the community or who have rendered public or voluntary services of a very high degree of merit.
The
Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) is awarded to persons who have taken a leading part in public affairs and/or voluntary work over a long period of time.
The
Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) is awarded to persons who have given outstanding service over a long period of time, but in a more limited field or way than that required for the Silver Bauhinia Star.
Bravery awards
The Order of the Medal for Bravery is awarded for display of bravery in an incident. The
Medal for Bravery (Gold) (金英勇勳章; postnominal
MBG) is the highest in this order. There is also
Medal for Bravery (Silver) (銀英勇勳章;
MBS) and
Medal for Bravery (Bronze) (銅英勇勳章;
MBB).
Disciplined Services and ICAC Awards
The Disciplined Services and ICAC Awards are awarded to officers of the 'disciplined formations' (similar to uniformed services elsewhere) and the
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The awardees are not allowed postnominals.
The order of precedence is listed as follows in postnominals: GBM, GBS, MBG, SBS, MBS, BBS, MBB, MH, JP.
The nomination is usually made by SAR Government departments, and evaluated by the Honours Committee. The annual Honours List is published in the Gazette of the SAR Government on the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (
1 July).
See also Justice of the peaceJustice of the Peace (太平紳士; postnominal
JP) is a title of honour given by the Government to community leaders, and to certain officials while they are in their terms of offices.
Official Justices of the Peace (官守太平紳士) is usually refer to those who is both a government official and a Justice of the Peace. The others may be referred as
Non-Official Justice of the Peace (非官守太平紳士). For a personnel who is related to the
New Territories, the
Chief Secretary for Administration may appoint him as a
New Territories Justice of the Peace (新界太平紳士).
Justices of the Peace have no judicial functions, and their main duties include visiting
prisons [
1], administering statutory declarations, to serve any advisory panels, and other functions that are imposed by the Chief Executive.
*
List of people with Hong Kong SAR honours since 1997* Other honours systems:
**
British honours system - formerly granted in
Hong Kong and ceased after
1997. Honour members can continue to carry the titles, but not officially recognized in Hong Kong by the government after
1997.
**
Australian Honours System*
Order of Precedence*
Honours and Awards --
Protocol Division of the Hong Kong SAR
*
Recipients of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Honours and Awards*
order of precedence in Hong Kong
