Closing remarks by SJ at 11th Asia and Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors
Following are the closing remarks by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at the 11th Asia and Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) today (November 29):
Dear friends of IAP, delegates, distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to speak to all of you again at this closing session of the 11th Asia and Pacific Regional conference of the IAP. I trust that we have all had a long day today and also yesterday engaging in fruitful discussions and exchanges.
To mark the conclusion of the professional programme of our conference, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude for your participation and contribution over the past two days. My deepest gratitude must also go to the IAP for hosting this year's regional conference in Hong Kong. It is certainly an honour for Hong Kong to be organising the conference this year, 20 years after we last did the same in 2004. I sincerely hope that we have not failed your expectations on us. And of course, I must thank each and every member of the delegation from the Supreme People's Procuratorate of PRC led by the First Deputy Prosecutor General Tong Jianming, whose presence demonstrates the strong support of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong.
My dear friends, your valuable insights and sharing of experiences and best practices will no doubt pave the way for future efforts for further improving the already high standards of criminal justice in each of the jurisdictions we represent, in particular, in the area of combating technology crimes. This is indeed the main intent and purpose of this conference. However, this is not the only purpose. In my view, an equally important, if not more important, purpose is that it gives us the chance to see and speak to one another face to face. Apart from attending the professional and social programmes of the conference, I understand that many side meetings have been arranged between the delegates from different jurisdictions. For example, my colleagues and I had a very fruitful meeting with the delegation of Vietnam led by the Deputy Prosecutor General on Wednesday.
I always believe that, in order that international co-operation can be truly effective having regard to the fact that we come from very different backgrounds and legal systems, it is essential to build rapport, and to develop a relationship of mutual trust and confidence, among prosecutors around the world at a personal level. And this requires us to see and speak to one another as often as possible in the hope that we can call each other true friends.
It is also necessary to remember that, no matter how constructive this conference is, it is unrealistic and virtually impossible to canvass all relevant issues in depth. To put the matter in context, this conference should be regarded as a major step in a continuous process to foster international co-operation to tackle technology crimes via the platform of IAP. I am therefore very interested in learning various latest developments and future plans of IAP mentioned at the opening ceremony of the conference.
In this respect, I wish to reiterate that the Department of Justice of Hong Kong is fully committed to strengthening international co-operation in the fight against crimes, and in particular, by participating more proactively in the work of IAP in future. Apart from taking part and hosting conferences whenever opportunities arise, there is one area that I wish to highlight. As I understand, one of the important objectives of IAP is capacity building via the Global Training Academy which, among other things, holds webinars on various topics from time to time. The Department of Justice of Hong Kong has just established the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy (HKILTTA) a few weeks ago in early November. The HKILTTA aims at organising and co-ordinating capacity building programmes concerning different areas of the law, in particular, those of international interests, not only for legal professionals in Hong Kong, but more importantly, those from other parts of China and the rest of the world. I can see that there is huge potential for collaboration between the Global Training Academy of IAP and the HKILTTA.
I said at the welcome dinner that 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. I have to confess that I am in fact more ambitious. I also hope that, when you leave Hong Kong, you will also be convinced that Hong Kong has remained to be a place which enjoys a higher degree of the rule of law based on our common law system under the principle of "one country, two systems", and that our determination to maintain and enhance the rule of law is stronger than ever.
In the 2024 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, Hong Kong ranks the 6th in East Asia and the Pacific, and the 23rd out of 142 countries and jurisdictions globally. It is most noteworthy that Hong Kong ranks the 10th worldwide in the factor of "absence of corruption", and the 9th in the factor of "order and security". These remarkable achievements reflecting both perception and reality are clearly attributable to the existence of fair and effective prosecution services in Hong Kong. And I wish to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues in the Prosecutions Division for their dedication and hard work, including in the organisation of this conference.
Although the professional programmes have come to an end, this is not yet the conclusion of the conference. I am sure that you are all now looking forward to the cultural visit to the Hong Kong Palace Museum this afternoon after lunch, and to get to know more about Hong Kong and the Chinese culture. This will be followed by a farewell reception at Sky 100 on the 100th floor in the International Commerce Centre, which is the tallest building in Hong Kong. We have chosen that particular place in order to make the point that this conference signifies that international co-operation under IAP has reached a new height. And to those of you who will have to go home and are unable to join the remaining social programmes, I wish you all safe travels back home.
On this note, I very much look forward to seeing and speaking to you again soon either in Hong Kong or elsewhere. Thank you very much.
Closing remarks by SJ at 11th Asia and Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees
The four-month-long inaugural Chinese Culture Festival (CCF) concluded after bringing together over 4 000 artists from more than 150 outstanding local and Mainland art groups and associations from different provinces and cities to stage over 250 performances and activities in Hong Kong, covering music, dance, Chinese opera and multimedia, film screenings, exhibitions, talks, a carnival and other related extension activities. More than 900 000 participants joined the Festival online and offline.
The CCF, presented by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and organised by the Chinese Culture Promotion Office under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), aims to promote Chinese culture and enhance the public's national identity and cultural confidence. The opening programme, dance drama "Five Stars Rising in the East", started with full houses for two performances, followed by the "Encountering Chinese Culture" carnival held at Sha Tin Town Hall and New Town Plaza, which attracted over 10 000 participants. The Carnival not only extended the charm of Chinese performing arts from the theatre to the community but also allowed members of the public to experience a number of intangible cultural heritage items and workshops with festive characteristics to appreciate the richness of Chinese culture.
In addition, more than 20 free performances of "Chinese Culture for All: A Special Performance Series", covering music, dance and opera performances with Chinese characteristics, open rehearsals and film screenings, were organised during the Festival. These performances attracted over 7 000 students and teachers as well as members of the community, allowing them to experience the profound heritage of Chinese culture and boost their cultural confidence.
The LCSD's signature project, the Chinese Opera Festival (COF), has become a core part of the CCF from this year, widening the audience base and providing diverse forms of extension activities. In addition to talks, meet-the-artists sessions, masterclasses, exhibitions and film shows, the North Road Bangzi and Shandong Liuzi opera plays, both of which are Intangible Cultural Heritage regional opera genres, as well as film screenings of Shao opera adapted from the classical tale "Journey to the West", are newly featured this year. To engage more young audiences, this year's COF introduced a new guided appreciation activity called "Chinese Opera En Route to Campus". In collaboration with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, an outreach team was formed to visit 10 primary, secondary and special schools to introduce different Chinese opera genres, including Peking opera, Kunqu and Cantonese opera, through demonstrations and interactions with students, offering them chances to explore Chinese culture. A demonstration performance of a Peking opera excerpt was held at the Foyer of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, which received an enthusiastic response from citizens and visitors.
The CCF also serves as an important platform to showcase the achievements of artists in the creative transformation and development of traditional Chinese culture in the way of preserving precious traditional values while keeping abreast of the times. For example, the dance drama "Five Stars Rising in the East" interpreted the profound cultural connotation of a cultural relic as well as the scenes of 1 000 years of exchanges and integration of Chinese culture by using innovative dance languages; "Cyrano de Bergerac" - A Cantonese Opera Interpretation was an adaptation of a French classic piece of the same title, demonstrating the eclecticism of Cantonese opera, most notably in the hybrid mix of East and West; "Loong Legacies: Arts, Design & IP Product Exhibition and Talks" showcased the reinterpretation of cultural connotations of "Loong" through various forms of artworks.
Many CCF programmes also demonstrated the spirit of cultural inheritance. "Legacy and Vision: Conversations with Chinese Cultural Masters", co-organised with the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Hong Kong Member Association, featured acclaimed masters in the art industry to speak on their respective areas of expertise in culture and arts; "The Concert of Drum Music Art Ensemble of Jiangzhou, Shanxi and their Hong Kong Inheritors" invited local young performers who had travelled to Jiangzhou of Shanxi to learn the drum music to join the performance. During the COF, a number of masterclasses on Kunqu opera were organised for interested parties, and performers of the Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Centre visited the Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong for exchanges with young students.
This year, Shanghai was designated as the "City-in-Focus" of the inaugural CCF. The LCSD invited the Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company and the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra to come to Hong Kong with strong line-ups to present their outstanding productions. The Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Shanghai Museum co-organised an exhibition on the Chinese art of scent. An exchange display of intangible cultural heritage of traditional craftsmanship and handicraft arts from Jiading District of Shanghai was held at the Foyer of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre to showcase the unique charm of Shanghainese culture and promote exchanges between Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The grand finale of the stage programme, dance drama "Mulan", was a new interpretation of the well-known story of taking one's father's place in the army. The two performances were met with enthusiastic applause from full houses. In conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals 2024, the inaugural CCF concluded joyfully in a spirit of reunion.
A review video highlighting the fabulous programmes under the inaugural CCF, as well as online replays of selected exhibitions, talks and masterclasses, are now available on the CCF website. Interested parties can visit www.ccf.gov.hk/en/online-programme/.
During the Festival period, participants' views were collected through questionnaires. Over 90 per cent of the participants gave satisfactory or above ratings to the CCF programmes. When asked about whether the CCF had enhanced their understanding of and interest in Chinese culture, over 85 per cent of the respondents indicated that it had. The LCSD expresses gratitude to the local cultural industry, institutions and community organisations as well as the Mainland cultural organisations, including the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Hong Kong Member Association, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, the Hong Kong Dance Company, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, the Center for China Shanghai International Arts Festival, the Shanghai Museum, the China Performing Arts Agency Productions Limited, and more, for their unwavering support in organising and promoting the inaugural CCF, and looks forward to continued support and participation from stakeholders across different industries and members of the public in the second edition of the CCF. The Festival will continue to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages of enjoying strong national support while maintaining unparalleled connectivity with the world under the principle of "one country, two systems", thereby showcasing fine traditional Chinese culture in Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges, and fulfilling the mission of going global and bringing in diverse arts and cultures. It will also strive to promote Chinese culture and patriotism education while enhancing national identity among Hong Kong people through diverse arts and cultural forms.
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
