Opening remarks by SJ at welcome dinner of 11th Asia and Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors
Following are the opening remarks by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at the welcome dinner of the 11th Asia and Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) today (November 27):
Vice President of the IAP First Deputy Prosecutor General Tong Jianming, Secretary General of the IAP Mr Roel Dona, Attorneys General, Prosecutors General, Mr Grenville Cross, delegates, ladies and gentlemen:
Good evening. Welcome to Hong Kong. I wish to extend my gratitude to each and every one of you for joining this welcome dinner, which marks the commencement of the 11th Asia and Pacific Regional Conference of the IAP. This evening, we have representatives of prosecutorial agencies and organisations from around 30 jurisdictions; and of course, friends and colleagues from Hong Kong. In particular, we are deeply honoured to be joined by a number of very special and important guests, to whom I feel obliged to extend a personal warm welcome.
First, we are most honoured to be joined by the Vice President of the IAP, Mr Tong Jianming. Mr Tong is the First Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China. Key officials of the IAP are also present: they include the Secretary-General of the IAP Mr Roel Dona, the General Counsel Ms Shenaz Muzaffer, the Executive Director Ms Janne Holst Hubner, and the Executive Administration Manager Mr Benn van Alphen.
Last but certainly not the least, Mr Grenville Cross, SC. Mr Cross, as most of you know, served as Director of Public Prosecutions of the Department of Justice from 1997 to 2009. In 2008, Mr Cross was awarded the Certificate of Merit of the International Association of Prosecutors at the IAP's 13th Annual Conference in Singapore. It was indeed Mr Cross who led the Prosecutions Division of the Department of Justice of Hong Kong into the IAP's organisational membership back in 2001. Grenville, we are truly delighted to have you with us tonight.
For those of you coming from the Mainland and other places outside Hong Kong, I hope all of you have made a smooth and enjoyable journey here. No matter whether this is the first time you come here or not, I hope that, by the end of the conference, you will be convinced that Hong Kong has remained to be a lively and vibrant international city where the East and the West meet.
You may wonder why we have chosen to host this welcome dinner in this restaurant at the Happy Valley Racecourse of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. This is, of course, not because I wish to encourage any gambling even though you are most welcome to try your luck for fun later. There are indeed some much more serious reasons. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has a very long history. It was founded back in 1884 shortly after the British occupied Hong Kong. When China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, by adopting the principle of "one country, two systems", in order to reassure people both here in Hong Kong and outside Hong Kong that people here may maintain the same lifestyle as before, one guarantee given by the Central People's Government is that "horse-racing shall continue", "馬照跑舞照跳". Indeed, not only that horse racing has continued, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has thrived. It is now the largest taxpayer in Hong Kong, the largest community benefactor and one of the city's major employers. More importantly, its Charities Trust is one of the world's top 10 charity donors. The point that I wish to make is that the Hong Kong Jockey Club serves as one of the best examples to demonstrate the successful implementation of the principle of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong.
Tonight, we have the privilege of enjoying this welcome dinner in the beautiful setting of the Millions restaurant that offers stunning views of the Happy Valley Racecourse. We are here at a most optimal time, as races are generally held on Wednesday evenings. I believe that tonight's races will begin very shortly. I am sure that you are all very excited to experience the thrill of horse racing in person at this unique venue, characterised by an ambience which serves as a reminder of the vibrancy of urban life in Hong Kong.
Ladies and gentlemen, this evening serves as an opportunity for us to catch up with old friends and perhaps to make new friends. It is meant to be a relaxing and exciting warm up exercise for the conference which will start formally tomorrow morning.
So without further ado, let the welcome dinner begin. I wish you all a very enjoyable evening of good food, good conversation, good fun and good luck. Thank you very much.
Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH), in collaboration with relevant government departments, today (November 27) conducted a public health exercise, code-named "Amazonite", to enhance its response capabilities in dealing with a human case of avian influenza infection, and to strengthen the execution and co-ordination abilities of the DH and relevant departments in response to a human case of avian influenza, in order to enhance awareness among stakeholders on the handling of public health emergencies.
The exercise consisted of two parts. The ground movement exercise today was held at the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market. Under the exercise simulation, the CHP had received a notification from the Hospital Authority (HA) about a woman with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus infection, and commenced epidemiological investigations immediately. The investigations revealed that the patient was a chicken stallholder at a wet market. The CHP co-ordinated with relevant departments to conduct on-site investigations and risk assessment, and implement control measures at the patient's residential building, the market where she worked, the wholesale poultry market, and related chicken farms. The ground movement exercise tested the capability of the CHP and relevant departments to carry out investigation and control measures, which included contact tracing and prescription of prophylactic antiviral therapy; chicken, environmental and sewage sampling; culling of chickens and disinfecting environmental. Approximately 30 personnel from four government departments participated in this ground movement exercise, along with over 30 experts from the Mainland, Macao and Singapore health authorities, who were invited to attend as observers.
The expert observers also attended the exercise briefing held at the CHP in the morning before the ground movement exercise, and visited the Lai Wan Market in the afternoon after the ground movement exercise to learn about the design features of new-style poultry stalls in the market.
The first part of the exercise, conducted on November 7, was a table-top exercise in which four relevant government departments and the HA discussed and co-ordinated the response measures required in a simulated scenario when a local human case of avian influenza A (H5N1) was reported in Hong Kong.
"This exercise provided a valuable opportunity for relevant government departments and the HA to test the response capabilities of stakeholders in the handling of a human case of avian influenza. The DH has held 30 similar exercises in the past, simulating the situation with cases such as measles, plague, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola virus disease to enhance the community and healthcare personnel's awareness of possible epidemics, and keep them alert and prepared," the spokesman for the CHP said.
Avian influenza is caused by influenza A viruses that mainly affect birds and poultry, such as chickens or ducks. Some avian influenza viruses can infect and spread to other animals, such as mammals, as well. Humans mainly become infected with avian influenza virus through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated environments.
"According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and health authorities outside Hong Kong, as of November 2024, more than 900 human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) have been reported worldwide. So far this year, an increasing number of related cases were reported globally than previous years, with most of them reported from the United States. Locally, avian influenza is one of the statutory notifiable infectious diseases in Hong Kong. Since 1997, a total of 22 human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) have been recorded in Hong Kong, among which seven had died. The most recent case was recorded in 2012. Although there is no evidence of genetic mutations in the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus that are associated with increased infectivity among people, the WHO has indicated that the global mortality rate of human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in the past 20 years has exceeded 50 per cent. We shall stay vigilant and get prepared to prevent and combat the disease," the spokesman said.
For more information on avian influenza, the public may visit the CHP's thematic page on avian influenza.
Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Exercise "Amazonite" enhances Government's response to human case of avian influenza Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
