National flag: it is a horizontal rectangle with an aspect ratio of 2:1. This is a "meter" flag, which consists of a dark blue background and red and white "meters". The red cross with a white border in the national flag represents St George, the patron saint of England, St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland and St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. This flag was made in 180 1, and it was formed by overlapping the original English white red plus ten flags, the Scottish blue and white cross flag and the Irish white red cross flag.
National emblem: the national emblem of Britain. The central pattern is a coat of arms, and the upper left corner and lower right corner of the shield are three golden lions with a red background, symbolizing England; In the upper right corner is a red lion standing on the golden ground, symbolizing Scotland; In the lower left corner is the golden harp on the blue ground, symbolizing Ireland. On both sides of the coat of arms are a lion wearing a crown representing England and a unicorn representing Scotland. There is a motto written in French around the coat of arms, which means "evil is rewarded with evil, and evil with evil"; There is a guardian medal hanging at the bottom, and the ribbon says "God has God, I have rights". At the top of the coat of arms is a gold and silver helmet inlaid with jewels, an imperial crown and a crowned lion.
National anthem: "God Bless the Queen" (if the incumbent is a male monarch, the national anthem is changed to "God Bless the King").
National flower: rose
National bird: red-breasted pigeon
National stone: diamond
Science Festival: 183 1 year, held once a year.
Science Week: 1994, held every March.
State dignitaries: Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne on1February 6, 952, and was crowned on June 2, 953; Lord Owen of Lerg, Speaker of the House of Lords, served as Speaker of the House of Lords from June 65438 to May 0997; Michael Martin, Speaker of the House of Commons; Prime Minister Tony Blair took office in May 1997 and was re-elected in June 2006.
Physical geography: 244 1 0,000 square kilometers (including inland waters), England 1 304 square kilometers, Scotland 78,800 square kilometers, Wales 20,800 square kilometers, Northern Ireland 1 0,465,438 square kilometers. An island country in western Europe. It consists of the island of Great Britain (including England, Scotland and Wales), northeastern Ireland and some surrounding islands. It faces the European continent across the North Sea, the Dover Strait and the English Channel. Its land borders Ireland and the United States. Total length of coastline11450km. The whole territory is divided into four parts: the plains in southeast England, the mountains in the middle and west, the mountains in Scotland, the highlands in Northern Ireland and the mountains. The main rivers are Severn River (354 km) and Thames River (346 km). Lake Neuer in Northern Ireland (396 square kilometers) ranks first in the country. It has a maritime temperate broad-leaved forest climate, which is mild and humid all year round. Generally, the highest temperature does not exceed 32℃, the lowest temperature is not lower than-10℃, and the average temperature 10 is 65438+4 ~ 7℃ in October and 13 ~ 17℃ in July. It is rainy and foggy, especially in autumn and winter. The average annual precipitation is about 1000 mm. The annual precipitation in the northern and western mountainous areas exceeds 1600 mm, and it is less than 800 mm in the central and eastern areas. It is the driest in March-June and the wettest in September-1month.
Population: 58.83 million (July 2000), including 49.3 million English, over 565.438 million Scots, 2.9 million Welsh and10.7 million Northern Irish. The official and common language is English. Welsh is also spoken in northern Wales, and Gaelic is also spoken in the northwest highlands of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Residents mostly believe in Protestantism, mainly divided into the Church of England (also known as the Anglican Church, whose members account for about 60% of British adults) and church of scotland (also known as the Presbyterian Church, with 660,000 adults). In addition, there are Catholic churches and larger religious groups, such as Hinduism, Judaism and Islam.
Capital: London; Population: 7.285 million (1999). The hottest month is July and the general temperature is 13℃-22℃. The coldest month is 65438+ 10 month, and the general temperature is 2℃-6℃.
Administrative Districts: It is divided into four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England is divided into 43 counties, Scotland has 29 districts and 3 special administrative regions, Northern Ireland has 26 districts and Wales has 22 districts. The parliaments of Scotland and Wales and their administrative bodies are fully responsible for local affairs, while foreign affairs, national defense, overall economic and monetary policies, employment policies and social security are still controlled by the central government. London is called "Greater London", with 32 independent administrative districts and 1 "City of London". District councils are responsible for the main affairs of each district, but they work with the mayor of Greater London and the Council to deal with matters involving the whole of London. In addition, Britain has 12 dependency.
Tower of London bridge
Brief history: Iberians, cyclists and Celts from the Mediterranean came to Britain one after another in BC. 1-Southeast England was ruled by the Roman Empire in the 5th century. After the Romans retreated, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in Northern Europe invaded and settled in succession. In the 7th century, the feudal system began to form, and many small countries merged into seven kingdoms and competed for hegemony for 200 years, which was called the "Anglo-Saxon era". In 829, King Egbert of Wessex unified England. It was invaded by the Danes at the end of the 8th century, and from 10 16 to 1042, it was a part of the Danish pirate empire. The Duke of Normandy crossed the sea to conquer England in 1066 after the short-term rule of the English king. 12 15 King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta and his kingship was suppressed. From 1338 to 1453, Britain and France fought a "hundred-year war", and Britain won first and then lost. 1588 defeated the Spanish "Armada" and established maritime hegemony. /kloc-the bourgeois revolution broke out in 0/640. 1649 may 19 announced the establishment of the * * * Republic. 1660 restored the dynasty, 1668 witnessed a "glorious revolution" and established a constitutional monarchy. England 1707 merged with Scotland, 180 1 merged with Ireland. /kloc-from the second half of the 8th century to the first half of the 9th century, it became the first country in the world to complete the industrial revolution. /kloc-the 0/9th century was the heyday of the British Empire. 19 14 years, the occupied colony was11times larger than the mainland, and it was the first colonial power, claiming to be "imperial". It began to decline after the First World War. Britain established Northern Ireland in 1920, and allowed South Ireland to break away from the rule of 192 1 922 and establish an independent country. 193 1 year promulgated the Westminster act, which forced the autonomous territories to be independent in internal affairs and diplomacy, and the colonial system of the British empire was shaken. In World War II, the economic strength was greatly weakened and the political status declined. With the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, the British colonial system collapsed in the 1960s. 1973 65438+ 10 joined the European body in October.
Big Ben in London
Politics: The British Constitution is different from the constitutions of most countries. It is not an independent document, but consists of statutory law, customary law and convention. There are magna carta (12 15), habeas corpus (1679), bill of rights (1689), and parliamentary law (191,etc. Scotland has an independent legal system. The political system is constitutional monarchy. The king is the head of state, the highest judicial officer, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the "supreme leader" of the Anglican Church. Formally, he has the right to appoint and dismiss prime ministers, ministers, senior judges, military officers, governors of various territories, diplomats, bishops and senior clergy of the Anglican Church. He also has the power to convene, stop and dissolve parliament, approve laws, declare war and make peace, but the real power lies in the cabinet. Parliament is the highest judicial and legislative body, consisting of the king, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The upper house (the House of Lords) is composed of royal descendants, hereditary nobles, newly appointed nobles, judges of the Court of Appeal, archbishops and church bishops. In June, 1999, 1 1, the house of lords reform bill was passed. Except for 102, more than 600 hereditary nobles lost their qualifications as members of the House of Lords. Non-politically appointed members of the House of Lords will be recommended by a special royal committee. The House of Commons is also called the House of Commons. Members are elected by universal suffrage, and the electoral system of small constituencies with the most votes is adopted. The term of office is five years. But the government can decide to hold an election in advance. The government implements the cabinet system, and the leader of the political party who won the majority of seats in the parliamentary elections is appointed by the Queen as the prime minister and forms a cabinet, which is responsible to the parliament.
Political Party: (1) Labour Party: the ruling party. Founded in 1900, formerly known as the Labor Representative Committee, it was renamed as its current name in 1906. The Party came to power at 1945- 195 1, 1964- 1970, 1974- 1979. He won the general election in 1997 and came to power again after the general election in June 2006. In recent years, the Labour Party has been more inclined to the interests of the middle class and alienated from the trade unions. After Blair was elected as the leader of the Labor Party, he put forward the slogan of "New Labor Party, New Britain" politically, canceled the fourth clause on public ownership in party constitution, and advocated reducing government intervention, strictly controlling public expenditure, maintaining stable macroeconomic growth and establishing a modern welfare system economically. It advocates actively participating in international cooperation, taking a positive attitude towards European integration, joining the euro and maintaining special relations with the United States. Party member, with nearly 400,000 people, is the largest party in Britain. (2) Conservative Party: the main opposition party. Formerly known as the Tory Party founded in 1679, it was renamed in 1833. The party was in power for four consecutive times from 1979 to 1997, and became the dominant political party in Britain in the 20th century. /kloc-0 was defeated by the Labour Party in May 1997 and June 2000/kloc-0. The supporters of the Conservative Party generally come from the business and wealthy classes and advocate a free market economy. By strictly controlling money supply and reducing public expenditure, we can reduce inflation. Advocate restricting trade union rights and strengthening "law" and "order". In recent years, he put forward "compassionate conservatism" and paid attention to social problems such as education, medical care and poverty. Emphasis is placed on safeguarding British sovereignty, opposing "federal Europe" and joining the euro, advocating the establishment of "Atlantic identity" and strengthening the special relationship between Britain and the United States. Emphasize that NATO remains the cornerstone of British security and defense. There are more than 300,000 people in party member. (3) Liberal Democratic Party:1March 1988 was composed of the majority of the former Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party that supported the merger with the Liberal Party. It advocates continuing to maintain the cooperative relationship with the Labor Party, pushing the Labor Party to implement the proportional representation system in local elections and lower house elections, and adopting a more "progressive" policy than the Labor Party on issues such as public services, social justice and environmental protection. At present, party member Party has about 654.38 million+party member, making it the third largest party in Britain. In addition, other political parties in Britain include: Scottish National Party, Plaid Party and some political parties in Northern Ireland, such as Ulster United Party and democratic unionist party. Social Democratic Party, Labour Party, Sinn Fein Party, etc.
The circular reading room of the British Museum.
Justice: There are three different legal systems: England and Wales are common law systems, Scotland is civil law system, and Northern Ireland is a legal system similar to England. The judicial system is divided into two systems: civil courts and criminal courts. In England and Wales, civil courts are divided into county courts, high courts, civil courts of appeal and houses of lords. Criminal trial institutions are divided into local courts, criminal courts, criminal divisions of appeal courts and the House of Lords. The highest judicial organ in Britain is the House of Lords, which is the final appellate body for civil and criminal cases. 1986 set up the royal prosecutor's office, which is subordinate to the national government agency and is responsible for accepting all criminal cases submitted by the police authorities in England and Wales. The Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General are the main legal advisers of the British government, representing the royal family in some domestic and international cases.
Economy: Britain is a developed capitalist country. Its gross domestic product ranks among the best in western countries. The proportion of British manufacturing industry in the national economy has declined, and it still occupies a leading position; The proportion of service industry and energy is increasing, among which commerce, finance and insurance are developing rapidly.
A new financial center in the east London docklands.
In 2000, the British economy ranked fourth in the world and became the largest overseas investor in the world for the second consecutive year. Private enterprises are the mainstay of the British economy, accounting for more than 60% of GDP. The service industry accounts for two-thirds of GDP, while the manufacturing industry only accounts for one-fifth. The country with the richest energy resources is also the country that mainly produces oil and natural gas in the world. The main energy sources are coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear energy and hydropower. During the period of 1999, the daily output of crude oil and liquefied natural gas reached 2.9 million barrels (about 3.84110,000 tons), ranking ninth in the world. By the end of 1999, the total output of crude oil reached a historical record, reaching 23.31000 billion tons and the total output of natural gas1490 billion cubic meters. Britain is the first country in the world to meet its 26 million users of electricity and natural gas. By the end of 1999, the electricity consumption of the whole society reached 70 10/00000 kilowatts, of which nuclear power plants supplied1300000 kilowatts. The British coal industry has been completely privatized. The forest area is 2.7 million hectares, accounting for about 65,438+00% of the British mainland: about 8% in England, 65,438+07% in Scotland, 65,438+04% in Wales and 6% in Northern Ireland. The main industries are: mining, metallurgy, chemical industry, machinery, electronics, electronic instruments, automobiles, aviation, food, beverages, tobacco, textiles, papermaking, printing, publishing and construction. Britain attaches importance to the research and development of new and renewable energy. Britain has developed nuclear energy for decades, and there are currently 14 nuclear power plants for power generation. Manufacturing accounts for about 20% of GDP, with more than 4 million employees, accounting for 14.4% of the total employed population. Service industry, including financial insurance, retail, tourism and business services (providing legal and consulting services, etc.). ) has developed rapidly in recent years. Tourism is one of the most important economic sectors in Britain. From 65438 to 0999, the output value of tourism reached 64 billion pounds; As far as tourism revenue is concerned, Britain is the fifth largest tourist country in the world, accounting for 4. 5% of the world's tourism revenue. The main tourist attractions are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Brighton, Greenwich, Stratford, Oxford and Cambridge. Britain is the fifth largest trading country in the world, accounting for 5. 6% of world trade. Imported products mainly include: food, fuel, raw materials, clothing, shoes, electronic machinery and equipment, automobiles, etc. Export products mainly include: petroleum and related products, chemical products (mainly medicines), food, tobacco, beverages (whisky, etc. ), machinery and equipment, etc.
The Royal British Artillery Regiment marched into Moore Street.
Military: The time for building the army is about1mid-7th century. The queen is the nominal supreme commander of the British army. The highest military decision-making body is the "National Defense and Overseas Policy Committee", which is chaired by the Prime Minister and includes the ministers of national defense, foreign affairs, interior affairs and finance. When necessary, the chief of staff of the national defense and the staff of the three armed services will attend the meeting as nonvoting delegates. The Ministry of National Defense is the executive organ of national defense, the administrative department of the government and the highest military command organ. Britain is a founding member and a major member of the NATO group, with independent nuclear power. The core of national strategy is to actively participate in world affairs and safeguard Britain's international status; Relying on and using NATO's collective defense forces to defend the security of Europe and Britain and expand Britain's influence in Europe; Actively strengthen ties with Commonwealth countries and protect their extensive overseas interests. 1After the Labour government came to power in May 1997, the national defense policy was adjusted; Continue to rely on NATO's collective defense force as the basis of British security; Maintain a strong conventional force; Maintain a nuclear deterrent; Emphasis is placed on building the army by quality, building a joint rapid reaction force, focusing on improving the rapid response capability of the British army to various crises and emergencies, and striving to safeguard the strategic interests of the traditional British sphere of influence in Europe and overseas. The voluntary military service system is implemented, and the service period ranges from 3 years, 6 years, 9 years, 12 years, 15 years, and the longest is generally 22 years.
Education: The compulsory education system of 5- 16 years old shall be implemented. 1998/ 1999 fiscal year, education expenditure accounted for 4.9% of GDP. Students in public schools are exempt from paying tuition fees. Private schools have better teachers and teaching equipment, but the fees are high, and most of the students are rich children. Famous institutions of higher learning include Oxford University, Cambridge University, London School of Economics and Political Science and Edinburgh University.
Editors of the Reuters Institution are at work.
Press and publication: The per capita sales of British newspapers are more than that of any developed country. There are about 1350 newspapers and 7,000 weekly magazines in China: Daily Express, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Daily Star, Sun, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Independent and Times. There are mainly three news agencies: (1) Reuters: founded in 1850, one of the world's important news agencies, headquartered in London. (2) News Alliance: Founded in 1868, it is jointly operated by four companies, namely, PA News, PA Sports, PA Search and PA Data Design, to provide public relations and investment information for enterprises in the UK and Canada. (3)AFX News Co., Ltd.: jointly operated by AFP and the Financial Times, it provides information and services to European financial and business circles, and has set up branches in 12 countries in Europe, the United States and Japan, with its headquarters in London. BBC Internet Radio was established at 1922. The company has five domestic radio stations and 1 foreign radio stations, broadcasting programs to countries all over the world in 43 languages. BBCTelevision began broadcasting TV on 1936. There are two stations: BBC 1 which mainly broadcasts news, religion, sports, opera and children's entertainment programs, while BBC2 mainly broadcasts music, art, comedy, education and some special programs. There are also five digital channels for paying users. The Radio Authority is responsible for approving and managing the services of all independent radio stations and supervising the quality of programs and advertisements. The Independent Television Commission is responsible for approving and supervising the services of commercial television stations, and has independent television stations (Channel 3), Channel 4 and Channel 5. ITV program 1955 started broadcasting 24 hours a day, facing the whole country. One third of the time is devoted to news, and the rest is devoted to sports, comedies, games and movies. Mainly sponsored by advertising. Channel 5 starts in March 1997. With the rapid development of the Internet, all major newspapers and televisions have online editions, among which BBC Online is the most visited website.
City Hall Building on Queen Victoria Square in Birmingham
Diplomacy: Britain is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, one of the five major nuclear powers in the world, and an important member of international organizations such as the European Union, NATO, Commonwealth and Western European Union. We advocate strengthening relations with the United States, attach importance to developing relations with other big countries, and strive to improve relations with China, Russian, Japanese and other big countries. Strive to maintain contact with Commonwealth countries and maintain and expand its influence in developing countries. Actively participate in global affairs, maintain a strong national defense force, and emphasize free trade. Strengthen international cooperation on environmental protection, human rights and development. Make human rights the core of its foreign policy.
Relations with China: 1950 65438+ 10 announced the recognition of People's Republic of China (PRC). 1954 June 17 China and Britain reached an agreement on the exchange of agents. On March 1972 and 13, the two countries signed a joint communique to upgrade their diplomatic relations to the ambassadorial level. 1982 In September, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited China as the first incumbent British Prime Minister. 1984 12. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited China again and signed a Sino-British joint statement on the Hong Kong issue with China leaders.