Following is the speech by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at the closing session of the 15th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference today (September 23):
The Honourable Prosecutor General Mr Ying Yong (Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate), your Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to speak to all of you again at the Closing Session of the 15th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference. I trust all of you would agree that we have had a very fruitful day exchanging ideas, sharing insights and fostering professional connections.
As our conference comes to a close, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your active participation and contribution. May I sincerely thank all the ASEAN member states as well as the People's Republic of China, the host country and motherland of Hong Kong, once again for agreeing to host this important and meaningful conference here for the first time. It is certainly an honour for Hong Kong. And I hope that we have not disappointed you. I would also like to thank each and every member of the delegation from the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China led by Prosecutor General Ying Yong, whose presence shows the strong and unwavering support of the Central People's Government towards Hong Kong.
There is no doubt that, for China and ASEAN to continue to prosper and move forward, we need to effectively suppress international criminals. This is undoubtedly a challenging task in particular in this technological age. And it certainly cannot be fought by individual jurisdictions separately. It is only through working together and learning from each other that we can collectively move forward to face, tackle and overcome the new challenges. Today's presentations by delegates from the participating jurisdictions have shown us that, despite the differences in our respective legal systems, we actually share many similar principles and practices in combating international crime. But, at the same time, they are things less familiar to us which we may learn from each other. I am sure that our valuable exchanges today will facilitate future efforts to further improve the already high standards of criminal justice in each of our jurisdictions.
One of the keys to effective and successful international cooperation in this respect is to establish rapport among prosecutorial and other related officials in different jurisdiction, and to enhance their mutual understanding, trust and confidence. There is perhaps no better way to achieve this crucial objective other than for us to meet and speak to each other face to face. This conference has given us a wonderful opportunity to do exactly this.
Having said that, it is unrealistic to consider, let alone resolve, all the relevant issues in detail at this conference. This conference should be regarded as an essential step in a continuous process to foster international cooperation and collaboration against transnational crimes. Let us continue to build on what we have achieved, foster synergies that not just add our individual strengths but multiply them, and strengthen our united front against international crimes.
I look forward to seeing you again very soon, and certainly at the next China-ASEAN Prosecutor-General Conference. To all my friends from the Mainland and overseas, notwithstanding the typhoon, I wish all a very pleasant stay in Hong Kong and a safe trip home. Thank you very much!
Ends/Tuesday, September 23, 2025