The Honours and Awards System
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Honours and Awards System was introduced since the establishment of the HKSAR on 1 July 1997 to give recognition to persons who have made an outstanding contribution to Hong Kong, or have rendered distinguished and devoted community or public service to Hong Kong, or who have personally excelled in their respective fields. Honours and awards are also given to individuals for acts of bravery which deserve public recognition. Contribution made outside Hong Kong may also be recognised if fully justified.
Types of Honours and Awards
Honours and awards are given to individuals in recognition of their significant contribution to Hong Kong or dedicated public and community service. Honours and awards are also given to individuals for acts of bravery which deserve public recognition. Types of honours and awards can be seen in the following link:
Nominations of Honours and Awards
Nominations for honours and awards are normally made by bureaux and departments. In submitting nominations for honours and awards, Directors of Bureaux and Heads of Departments are advised to take community views into consideration. To widen the trawl of nominations, bureaux and departments are encouraged to seek nominations from non-government organisations under their purview. In addition, members of the public are welcome to submit nominations. Nominations submitted will be referred to the relevant bureaux or departments for processing. The form for community nomination can be found in the following link:
Nominations from the Community
The Honours and Non-official Justices of the Peace Selection Committee
The Honours and Non-official Justices of the Peace Selection Committee (the Selection Committee) is appointed to shortlist nominations of honours and awards, as well as nominations for appointment as Non-official Justices of the Peace (JPs), for recommendation to the Chief Executive. Recommendations for honours and awards and appointment of Non-official JPs are approved personally by the Chief Executive. Two Sub-committees, namely the Minor Honours Sub-committee (Civil Servants) and the Minor Honours Sub-committee (General Public) are set up to assist the Selection Committee in shortlisting nominations. The terms of reference, membership and related information of the Selection Committee can be found in the following link:
The Honours and Non-official Justices of the Peace Selection Committee
Honours List
The annual Honours List is normally published in the Government Gazette on the HKSAR Establishment Day (1 July) to announce the names of the honours and awards recipients of the year. Honours Lists of Long Service Medals for the disciplined services and the ICAC are published in the Government Gazette separately. The Honours Lists since 1997 can be found in the following link:
Forfeiture Mechanism
To maintain the integrity of the HKSAR Honours and Awards System, a forfeiture mechanism has been put in place to examine the suitability of an award recipient in holding his/her honour(s) continuously. In the event that an award recipient's actions raise the question of whether he/she should be allowed to continue to hold the honour(s), such as conviction of an offence resulting in imprisonment for one year or more, whether suspended or not, or he/she has behaved in a manner which has brought serious disrepute to the Honours and Awards System, etc., consideration will be given on forfeiture of his/her honour(s). Administration Wing will process cases that have come to their knowledge for invoking the forfeiture mechanism. Each forfeiture case is to be approved personally by the Chief Executive. The forfeiture will be promulgated in the Government Gazette with the name of the award recipient removed from the Honours List and his/her medal(s)/certificate(s) retrieved.
Press Releases
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