Tag Archives: China

     The 2023 District Council Ordinary Election will be held this Sunday (December 10). The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) today (December 7) called on electors to actively participate in the election and elect the District Council members they prefer and trust who will represent them to build a better community. At the same time, the REO reminds electors again on the following points to note when they cast their votes:
 
(1) Electors should check carefully the allocated polling station as specified on the poll card received, which is attached with a detailed location map of the polling station, and vote at the relevant polling station on the polling day (except for electors registered to vote at Near Boundary Polling Stations). Electors who have not yet received their poll card should contact the REO as soon as possible at 2891 1001 for details;
 
(2) Electors are required to vote during the polling hours. Polling hours for District Council geographical constituencies (DCGCs) and District Committees constituencies are from 8.30am to 10.30pm and from 8.30am to 2.30pm respectively. Electors will not be allowed to vote after the polling hours. Dedicated polling stations have different specified polling hours;
 
(3) When casting votes, electors must bring the original of their Hong Kong identity card or other recognised proof of identity (see Annex for details) to facilitate the verification of their identity by the staff for issuing ballot papers; and
 
(4) DCGC electors must pay particular attention that they can only vote for one candidate (to stamp only one tick in the designated circle opposite the name of the preferred candidate), otherwise the ballot paper will be deemed as invalid.
 
     In addition, the REO pointed out that according to the existing provisions in the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (ECICO), it is an offence to engage in the illegal conduct of inciting another person not to vote, or to cast an invalid vote (including casting a blank vote), by activity in public during the election period. Upon conviction, the offence warrants a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine of $200,000. The ECICO has an extraterritorial effect. Law enforcement agencies will strictly enforce the law and bring offenders to justice even if the offence takes place outside Hong Kong. As such, members of the public must strictly abide by the law to prevent themselves from falling afoul of the law inadvertently, so that the election can be conducted in a fair, just and clean manner. read more

     A woman who went missing in Sham Shui Po has been located.      Jiamthong Sanom, aged 62, went missing after she left her residence at Tai Hang Tung Estate on December 1 afternoon. Her family ma… read more

     The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB), the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province and the People’s Government of Zhuhai Municipality today (December 7) jointly held the Hong Kong Sub-forum of the 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Fair for Trade in Services. The Sub-forum facilitated exchange of views on promoting high-quality development of the financial services industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
 
     With “High-quality Development of Finance in the GBA” as the theme, the Sub-forum covered keynote speeches and a round-table discussion. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui; the Director-General of the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, Mr Zhang Jinsong; the Mayor of the Zhuhai Municipal Government, Mr Huang Zhihao; and the Director General of the Guangdong Financial Supervisory Authority, Mr Yu Haiping, delivered speeches.
 
     Speaking at the Sub-forum, Mr Hui said that Hong Kong’s financial services industry has been receiving strong support from the country. “As an international financial centre of our country, Hong Kong can play a leading role in the arena of finance in the GBA, and strengthen complementary and mutually beneficial co-operation with other GBA cities, thereby enhancing the efficiency and ease of capital flow within the GBA. This is conducive to facilitating our country’s efforts in enhancing the capability of finance to serve the real economy, internationalising Renminbi, and deepening the reform and opening up of the financial markets,” he said.
 
     The Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province and the People’s Government of Zhuhai Municipality collaborated with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute to host the 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Fair for Trade in Services from December 6 to 8. The Fair included events held in three places (with the main venue in Zhuhai and sub-forums in Hong Kong and Macao). About 150 participants from the financial regulatory bodies, industry organisations and the financial sector of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao attended the Hong Kong Sub-forum held at AsiaWorld-Expo.

          

     Young persons in custody (PICs) at Pik Uk Correctional Institution (PUCI) of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) were presented with certificates at a ceremony today (December 7) in recognition of their efforts and … read more

     The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan, this afternoon (December 7) departed for Macao to attend the fifth Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Legal Departments Joint Conference, an annual meeting to discuss promoting development of the rule of law in the GBA and related issues with the legal departments of Guangdong and Macao.

     The Joint Conference was hosted by the Secretary for Administration and Justice of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, Mr Cheong Weng Chon, and attended by the Director-General of the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province, Mr Chen Xudong, and other representatives.

     At the meeting, the three parties supported the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) proposal to foster closer co-operation among arbitration and mediation institutions in the three places. Consensus was reached on the joint development of a collaborative online dispute resolution platform, which will start with information and resources sharing among these institutions in the GBA. This initiative echoes the policy initiative of the Policy Address 2022 to establish an online mediation platform in the GBA.

     The three parties agreed to develop an online dispute resolution platform together, with a view to integrating information and resources in relation to mediation and arbitration in the GBA, so as to facilitate the sharing of relevant resources in the GBA for the convenience and benefit of the public, and to promote the use of mediation, etc, to resolve disputes. It is also conducive to promoting the use of lawtech and contributing to the development of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms in the GBA.

     The conference also made good progress in advancing the “soft connectivity” of rules, systems and talents among the three places.

     On mediation and arbitration, the three parties have, on the basis of the Greater Bay Area Mediator Accreditation Standards, conducted in-depth discussions on various topics, such as the respective formulation of mediator accreditation rules of each place, the work on promoting the establishment of panels of GBA mediators and arbitrators, as well as the relevant work on the promotion and research of recognising and enforcing settlement agreements.

     On training of legal talents, they actively exchanged views on establishing a mechanism on nurturing foreign-related legal talents in the GBA. The three parties agreed to set up a working group under the Joint Conference on nurturing legal talents in the GBA to study ways to enhance collaboration on this front in the three places to fully capitalise on the GBA’s unique advantage of “one country, two systems and three jurisdictions”.

     Noting that the GBA has an important strategic position in the new development setting of the country, Mr Cheung stressed that a better interface of the legal systems and rules as well as the connection of talents in the GBA will not only assist in promoting the rule of law development in the GBA, but also further facilitate Hong Kong’s integration into the overall development of the country. Meanwhile, the development of rule of law in the GBA will require a large pool of foreign-related legal talents, and strengthening the development of the rule of law in foreign-related affairs will ensure the high-level opening up of the GBA to the outside world, and continuously enhance its legal services as an international brand.

     He pointed out that the DoJ will set up a dedicated office and an expert group to take forward the policy initiative in the Policy Address 2023 to establish the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy. This is in support of the country’s work in advancing the rule of law in foreign-related affairs, leveraging Hong Kong’s bilingual common law system and international status.

     Also, the DoJ is actively preparing to establish a standing interface platform with the Supreme People’s Court as a high-level, regular and institutionalised official channel to take forward the research and practical work on judicial and legal matters relating to the GBA.

     The GBA Task Force, led by Mr Cheung, will continue to focus on strengthening the mechanisms for mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters, and facilitating the convergence of legal practices in the GBA, so as to promote the launch of more measures for the convenience and benefit of the public.

     Mr Cheung said, “As an important establishment in promoting high-level institutional development in the GBA, the Joint Conference, which is held face-to-face for the first time today since the resumption of normalcy, means a lot. I firmly believe that the sincere co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao under the Joint Conference will bring forth stronger collaboration among the legal sectors of the three places, deepening and strengthening the development of the rule of law in the GBA.”

     Mr Cheung will return to Hong Kong in the evening. read more