Special administrative region

Special administrative regions (SARs) are regions within Mainland China that have their own governments separate from the rest of China. As a result of this, they enjoy a high degree of freedom. The two SARs are Hong Kong and Macau, both were European colonies that got transferred to China during the 1990s.

Special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China 中華人民共和國特別行政區 (Chinese) 中华人民共和国特别行政区 (Chinese) Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó tèbié xíngzhèngqū (Pinyin) Jūngwàh Yàhnmàhn Guhngwòhgwok dahkbiht hàngjingkēui (Cantonese Yale romanisation) Regiões administrativas especiais da República Popular da China  (Portuguese)
Macau and Hong Kong in Pearl River Delta in southeastern China
Standard Chinese (in Traditional characters), English (in HK), Cantonese (de facto in HK and Macau), Portuguese (in Macau)
Demonym(s)	Chinese
2 S.A.R.s Hong Kong Macau
Government	One country, two systems
• Party leader & Head of State	Xi Jinping
• Head of Central government	Li Keqiang
• Head of National congress	Li Zhanshu
• Chief Executive of Hong Kong	Carrie Lam
• Chief Executive of Macau	Fernando Chui
Area
• Total
Population
• 2014 estimate	7,858,800
• Density
Currency	Hong Kong dollar Macanese pataca
Date format	yyyy年m月d日 or yyyy-mm-dd or dd/mm/yyyy (CE; CE-1949)

special administrative region(s)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	特別行政區
Simplified Chinese	特别行政区
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū - IPA [tʰɤ̂.pjě ɕǐŋ.ʈʂə̂ŋ.tɕʰú] Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Dak6bit6 Hang4zing3keoi1 - IPA [tɐ̀k̚.pìːt̚ hɐ̭ŋ.tsēːŋ.kʰɵ́y] - Yale Romanization Dahkbiht Hàngjingkēui
Portuguese name
Portuguese	regiões administrativas especiais pronounced: [ʁɨʒiˈõɨʃ ɐdminiʃtɾɐˈtivɐʃ (ɨ)ʃpɨsiˈaiʃ]

Due to their new addition to the territory of China, Article 31 of the Chinese Constitution forms the legal foundation for the territories, as opposed to Article 30 which establishes the rest of China's territory.

Government System

The term used to refer to the government of Hong Kong and Macau is the phrase, "One country, two systems", coined by Deng Xiaoping in which the territories would be part of one country (China) but use two different systems of government (Hong Kong and Macau basic law) instead of the Communist system of the Chinese national government. This was done to prevent protest of the new government and a loss of freedom that citizens may attribute it to.