<P> Ireland had withdrawn its participation in the Commonwealth in the 1930s, attending its last Commonwealth governmental heads' meeting in 1932 . However it continued to be regarded by the Commonwealth as a Commonwealth member until it declared itself a republic, on 18 April 1949 . It is the only country whose membership terminated without any declaration withdrawing from the organisation . Instead, it was (with its own tacit support) excluded from the organisation under the rules then applicable . </P> <P> South Africa was barred from continuing as a member after it became a republic in 1961, due to hostility from many members, particularly those in Africa and Asia as well as Canada, to its policy of racial apartheid . The South African government withdrew its application to remain in the organisation as a republic when it became clear at the 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference that any such application would be rejected . South Africa was re-admitted to the Commonwealth in 1994, following its first multiracial elections that year . </P> <P> The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 ended the colony's ties to the Commonwealth through the United Kingdom . The government of Hong Kong, as a special administrative region of China, did not pursue membership . Hong Kong has nevertheless continued to participate in some of the organisations of the Commonwealth family, such as the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (hosted the Commonwealth Lawyers Conference in 1983 and 2009), the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (and the Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and Procedures), the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel . </P> <P> The Commonwealth's objectives were first outlined in the 1971 Singapore Declaration, which committed the Commonwealth to the institution of world peace; promotion of representative democracy and individual liberty; the pursuit of equality and opposition to racism; the fight against poverty, ignorance, and disease; and free trade . To these were added opposition to discrimination on the basis of gender by the Lusaka Declaration of 1979, and environmental sustainability by the Langkawi Declaration of 1989 . These objectives were reinforced by the Harare Declaration in 1991 . </P>

Is hong kong a part of the commonwealth