The Commonwealth is a combination of Britain and an independent former British colony or dependent country. After World War I, Britain was frightened by the rising colonial national liberation movement and adjusted its relations with other members of the former British Empire. 1926 The Internal Relations Committee of the British Empire Conference proposed that Britain and Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, which became autonomous republics from colonies, are "members of the Commonwealth in free association", and "have equal status in all aspects of internal affairs and foreign affairs, and are not subordinate to each other, and can only be United in the spirit of loyalty to the British king". 193 1 year, the Westminster act legally confirmed this point, and the Commonwealth was formally established. From 65438 to 0947, India and Pakistan declared their independence and joined the Commonwealth. 1949, India became a republic and elected its own head of state. Since then, members of the Commonwealth have evolved from the principle of loyalty to the king of England to "accepting the king of England as a symbol of free association of independent member States", and the king of England is the "head of the Commonwealth".
The Commonwealth has no authority, and Britain and its member States send high commissioners to represent diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level.
The headquarters and permanent institutions of the Commonwealth are located in London, and its organizational bodies are: 1, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting; Meetings are usually held every two years. It was held in London before 1966, and it was held in member countries in turn from 1966, presided over by the head of the host government. The meeting does not adopt a resolution, and the general principles announced by the meeting are not binding on the participating countries. 2. Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the Asia-Pacific Region; 1978 will be held every two years to discuss regional issues of common concern. 3. Commonwealth Ministerial Meeting; Including annual ministerial meetings and irregular meetings. 4. Commonwealth Secretariat; Founded in 1965, it is responsible for consultation and exchange among member States. 5. Commonwealth Foundation; Established in 1966. In addition, there are some professional organizations in the Commonwealth, such as Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Commonwealth Press Union, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council, Commonwealth Sports Federation, Commonwealth Art Association and so on. At present, most former British territories and colonies remain in the Commonwealth, except the following areas:
Myanmar (1948 independence)
Ireland was a member state after its independence from Britain. 1949 After the establishment of the Republic of Ireland, it left the Commonwealth.
South Yemen (1967 independence)
Hong Kong returned to China on July 1997, and was the last region to leave the Commonwealth in the 20th century.
In 2002, Zimbabwe was suspended from the association for one year by Britain on the grounds that its rulers despised RQ and cheated in the general election, which led the Zimbabwean government to voluntarily quit the organization in anger.
In February 2003, the 34th Commonwealth Summit was held in Abuja, Nigeria. During the meeting, Zimbabwe officially announced its withdrawal from the Commonwealth. It was decided that the Commonwealth Summit in 2005 and 2007 would be held in Malta and Uganda respectively. In May 2004, the Commonwealth decided to resume Pakistan's membership, which had been suspended for more than four years.