The Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok, attended the Third Yangtze Delta Region, Shandong and Hong Kong Ports and Immigration Management and Co-operation Symposium in Shanghai for two consecutive days since yesterday (July 21). He engaged in in-depth discussions about ports and immigration management and co-operation with representatives of the Exit and Entry Administration of the People's Republic of China, immigration inspection and exit-entry administration authorities, as well as the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the public security authorities of Shanghai Municipality, and Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Shandong Provinces.
The Symposium was organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) in Shanghai (SHETO) with the aim of optimising immigration management co-operation by building an exchange platform for harnessing the collective wisdom of the various participating immigration inspection and exit-entry administration authorities as well as the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the public security authorities. Adhering to the spirit of friendly co-operation, the participating authorities sent a total of 50 representatives to participate in this Symposium, focusing their discussions on two main themes: "Promoting professional mobility to support high-quality development" and "Preventing and combating immigration-related crimes to maintain national stability and prosperity", jointly exploring new opportunities for port co-operation in order to provide strong support for the optimisation of and innovations in regional immigration management.
Mr Kwok stated at the Symposium that regional co-operation and development are fundamental requirements for promoting high-quality development to which the country attaches importance. Promoting professional exchanges across regions and breaking down geographical barriers are precisely in line with major national policies. Mr Kwok also emphasised that the ImmD will fully support the talent attraction and retention measures taken by the HKSAR Government, actively take forward various talent admission schemes, and generate new impetus for Hong Kong's diversified development. At the same time, the ImmD will continue to shoulder the responsibility of safeguarding national security with strong determination, guard tightly the country's southern gateway, and contribute to the country's development and Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.
In her speech, the Director of the SHETO, Mrs Laura Aron, pointed out that the Yangtze Delta and Shandong Province, like Hong Kong, are among the most economically active regions in the country with outstanding openness to foreign trade and innovation capabilities. The SHETO will continue to maintain close exchanges and co-operation with various provincial and municipal authorities, working together to contribute to high-quality development.
The Deputy Director General of the Department of Chinese Citizens Exit and Entry Administration, Exit and Entry Administration of the People's Republic of China, Ms Wang Ling, attended the exchange meeting and emphasised the importance to fully utilise the "1+2 co-ordination mechanism" among the Mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions on the immigration policy; to stay true to the letter and spirit of the principle of "one country, two systems"; to work together to promote immigration policies under the "one country, two systems" policy; to maintain the implementation of the holistic approach to national security and maintain immigration order; and to firmly implement the people-centered philosophy of development, supporting and serving the Chinese-style modernisation by promoting officials' communication and modernising immigration control work.
Representatives from all participating authorities expressed that this Symposium enhanced mutual understanding and provided new ideas and directions for promoting regional co-operation and development.
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