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Public Holidays and Bank Holidays for Hong Kong

The list of Hong Kong bank holidays, national holidays and public holidays for 2010, comes from the Q++ Worldwide Public Holidays Database, the professional source of international public holidays long trusted by the world's foremost diary publishers. The information on this page is provided for private, non-professional, use. Qualified professionals can license data for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and beyond. For details, please visit our licensing information page or

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15 Feb 2010 (RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong-Hong Kong) Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, has announced that he would discuss the need for a review of days-in-lieu for public holidays, with Labour and Welfare Secretary, Matthew Cheung. • 09 Jan 2010 (South China Morning Post-Hong Kong) Hong Kong lawmaker, Chan Kam-lam, has announced that he would move a Legislative Council motion next Wednesday demanding that the Hong Kong SAR government make Confucius' Birthday a new annual public holiday. • 25 Apr 2009 (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government-HKSAR) The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has released its official list of 2010 public holidays to be observed in Hong Kong. • 06 Aug 2008 (Bloomberg) Earlier this morning, the level 8 cyclone warning was raised in Hong Kong, in expectation of cyclone Kammuri's passage later in the day. In response, the government of Hong Kong closed government offices and schools for the day. • 23 Apr 2007 (Asia News) For the first time, yesterday, Beijing has stated that it was in support of replacing one of Hong Kong's 3 Easter-related public holidays with a public holiday to mark Confucius' birthday. • 23 Oct 2006 The birth of China's ancient philosopher Confucius could become a public holiday in Hong Kong, according to media reports Tuesday. Hong Kong is considering shortening the three-day Easter break by one day in order to make way for the celebration of Confucius' birth later in the year. • 08 Jul 1999 (Government Information Centre-Hong Kong) Hong Kong's Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, has introduced a Resolution under Section 6(1) of the General Holidays Ordinance, in the Legislative Council, purporting to make December 31, 1999, a one-off public holiday. • 21 May 1999 (Xinhua News Agency) Tomorrow, for the first time ever, Hong Kong will observe Buddha's Birthday as an official public holiday. • 09 Sep 1998 (RTHK Radio 3-Hong Kong) The Hong Kong Legislature has endorsed a government bill making May Day and Buddha's Birthday new annual public holidays in Hong Kong, in replacement of the August 17, Sino-Japanese War Victory Day, and the October 2, day after National Day. • 08 Jul 1998 (Legislative Council-Hong Kong) The House Committee of Hong Kong's Legislative Council has passed in first reading the Holidays (Amendment) Bill 1998 which provides for a new Schedule of general holidays for 1999 onwards. • More News Updates For the full version of the summarized news items above, and older news items not displayed above, go to the Hong Kong public holidays news and updates page, or worldwide public holidays news and updates page, or subscribe to one of our free email newsletters.

Governing Law: Official public holidays in Hong Kong are regulated by the General Holidays Ordinance (Chapter: 149, Gazette Number: 35 of 1998), which came into effect starting in 1999, and replaced or amended the Holidays Ordinance (1997 and 1998) Sections 2(2) and (3) and 3(1) and (2). (Cap. 534). • Statutory Holidays: The Employment Ordinance, Cap. 57 (Statutory Holidays) of Hong Kong's labour legislation earmarks 12 of the general public holidays as statutory holidays. This legislation, apart from specifying which holidays must be paid to employees, also mentions that employees have the option, in agreement with their employer, to choose between Christmas Day (December 25) and Dongzhi (Winter Solstice according to the Chinese Solar Calendar, around the 22nd of December) as one of their 12 statutory holidays, although Dongzhi is not one of the official public holidays in Hong Kong. • Ching Ming: The case of the Ching Ming public holiday, which can on occasion fall on the same date as one of the Easter-related holidays, is addressed by the 1998 General Holidays Ordinance. • Sunday is not a work day. Public holidays falling on a Sunday are generally moved to the following Monday. • Saturday is not an official day off; however, many companies give their employees the whole day or half a day off. • 2008 Olympics: Although, officially taking place in Beijing, a rash of equine diseases and substandard quarantine procedures in China forced Beijing to hand the equestrian events to Hong Kong, which has a well-established racing circuit. Hong Kong is planning to spend up to US$20 million to stir up Olympic fever, and is planning to set up two large television screens in parks on both sides of Hong Kong's harbor where people could follow the Beijing Games. • Hong Kong International Codes HK and HKG (2 and 3-letter ISO3166 codes) and .hk (ICANN national top-level internet domain). • Other Sources of Information The following specialized websites are also a good source of Hong Kong information and news: Hong Kong Monetary Authority (Hong Kong central bank), ASI Hot Spots (security-related world events: terrorist threats, political strife, strikes, criminal activity, aviation incidents and health outbreaks), CIA World Factbook (Hong Kong maps, demographics and economic statistics), the IFES (information covering upcoming elections, referenda, electoral structures and voter participation in Hong Kong), and Wikipedia (includes Hong Kong commemorative dates that are not necessarily public holidays).

Religion of Specific Business Contacts : Some of the business contacts that you may be trying to meet in Hong Kong, may belong to a religious group that is not common in Hong Kong, and therefore which is not included in the above list of public holidays or bank holidays. To be safe, you should also verify that no major religious holidays coincides with any planned business trip to Hong Kong. For more information, see our pages on the religious calendars of the world.

Disclaimer
In many parts of the world, holidays are subject to arbitrary, last minute, changes by local authorities. While every effort has been made to present an accurate list of 2010 bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays for Hong Kong, we cannot accept any responsibility for any error or omission in the data presented above. You are therefore advised to verify the above dates with the embassy or consulate of Hong Kong, before planning any trip to Hong Kong. For last-minute updates to worldwide public holidays, visit our blog or subscribe to our free email newsletters.