The flags of Australia and New Zealand both have the British flag in the upper left corner. Does that mean Australia is not an independent country? What is the historical reason?

The heads of state of Australia and New Zealand are Elizabeth II.

Australia and New Zealand are members of the Commonwealth. According to Australian law, the British monarch, the Queen of England, is Australia’s head of state. , the Governor-General appointed by the Queen is the statutory chief executive.

Politics: The Queen of the United Kingdom is the head of state of Australia, and the Governor-General appointed by the Queen is the statutory chief executive. The Governor-General is nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the Queen. Responsible for the executive power of the federal government under the consultation of the Federal Executive Council, and is the statutory supreme chief executive. The Federal Parliament is Australia's highest legislative body, consisting of the Queen (represented by the Governor-General) and the Senate and House of Representatives. On December 17, 1992, the Australian federal government cabinet meeting decided that new Australian citizens would no longer swear allegiance to the Queen of England and her heirs.

The same is true for New Zealand

The countries with the small British flag in the upper left corner of the flag are generally countries in the Commonwealth. Among the many countries in the world, the country with such a composition of the flag There are four countries in a country, they are: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tuvalu. These four countries are all in the Australian region of the South Pacific. Because they were colonies of the United Kingdom in the past and are now affiliated members of the Commonwealth, their flags have a small British flag in the upper left corner.

The Commonwealth, also known as the Commonwealth of Nations (English: Commonwealth of Nations), is similar to the French Commonwealth and the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States. It is composed of 53 independent countries, including Most are former colonies of the British Empire.

In English, it may be expressed as the British Commonwealth of Nations or the British Commonwealth for historical reasons or to distinguish it from other federations.

The head of state of the Commonwealth is Elizabeth II, who is also the head of state of the Commonwealth Kingdom.

After World War II, the territory of the British Empire began to fall apart, and the colonies became independent from Britain. Since the 1920s, the United Kingdom began to consider giving independence to the colonies, and in 1931 it was implemented as the Statute of Westminster, at which time the Commonwealth was formally established. The establishment of the Commonwealth is based on the common historical background among the member states, allowing everyone to continue to maintain free and equal relations after independence. In 1946, the name of the association was changed from "British Commonwealth of Nations" to "Commonwealth of Nations" and it has been used ever since.

Currently most of the former British territories and colonies remain in the Commonwealth, except for the following areas:

Burma (independent in 1948)

After Ireland became independent from the United Kingdom, Was a member state. After the establishment of the Irish Republic in 1949, it left the Commonwealth.

South Yemen (independence in 1967, applied for membership after reunification)

Hong Kong’s sovereignty was transferred to the People’s Republic of China on July 1, 1997. The last region to leave the Commonwealth in the 20th century.

In 2002, the United Kingdom suspended the country’s membership in the association for one year on the grounds that the country’s rulers had despised human rights and engaged in election fraud, causing the Zimbabwean government to voluntarily withdraw from the organization in anger. .

South Africa and Fiji both withdrew and later rejoined. Pakistan was suspended from membership for four years and restored in May 2004.

Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, is a country that has no constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom, but joined as a special case in 1995. In addition, Rwanda and Cambodia have also applied to join, although their chances of being accepted are slim.

Among the member states of the Commonwealth, the gap between rich and poor is extremely obvious.

The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are developed countries, while the remaining member states are developing countries, and some are among the least developed countries in the world. Poor countries need financial and technical assistance from rich countries, while rich countries need raw materials, labor and markets from poor countries. In the past, the Commonwealth's preferential system was actually the "most favored nation" treatment within the Commonwealth. Although this system has now been abolished, the relationship of economic mutuality and mutual benefit is still prioritized within the Commonwealth. From a political and diplomatic perspective, the UK needs the Commonwealth as a stage for it to regain its power as a great power, while other member states hope to use this stage to enhance their international status. Therefore, it can be said that although the cohesion of the Commonwealth is not what it used to be, the organization will continue to exist.

There are several signs that the UK is intending to exert greater influence on the Commonwealth and strive to regain its leading role within the Commonwealth. On the one hand, the Blair government has strengthened economic assistance to poor and backward member states of the Commonwealth, and at the same time, it has used British values ??to reorganize the internal order of the Commonwealth. Recently, the UK used "trampling on human rights" as an excuse to encourage the EU and the United States to impose sanctions on Commonwealth Zimbabwe. This is an example. However, the effect of doing so can only be counterproductive. If you really want to reunite the Commonwealth, you may have to adhere to the principle of "equality of status."