Portal:China/Selected article/7

The flag of Hong Kong is red with a stylised, white, five-petal Bauhinia × blakeana flower in the centre. The red colour on this regional flag is the same as that on the national flag. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region flag was adopted on 16 February 1990, and received formal approval from the Preparatory Committee on 10 August 1996. The flag was first officially hoisted on 1 July 1997, in a historical ceremony marking the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the PRC. The precise use of the regional flag is regulated through laws passed by the 58th executive meeting of the State Council held in Beijing. The former colonial flag was used from 27 July 1959, to 30 June 1997, when Hong Kong was under British rule. It was a blue Union Jack ensign with the Hong Kong coat of arms on a white disk centred on the outer half of the flag.