The 15th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, hosted by the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China and organized by the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), is held in the HKSAR on Sept 23.
The 15th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference was held in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Sept 23. Hosted by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) of China and organized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the HKSAR, the conference focused on the theme of "Combating Money Laundering and Corruption, and Recovering Assets in the Technological Age".
Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of the SPP of China, led the Chinese delegation to the conference. He, together with John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, and Paul Lam Ting-kwok, Secretary for Justice of the HKSAR, delivered addresses at the opening ceremony respectively.
A plenary session was held following the opening ceremony. Ying, heads of the delegations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states attending the conference, Lam, and Chan Tsz King, Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutions Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region, delivered keynote speeches at the plenary session.
Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China, addresses the opening ceremony.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Ying said that China and the ASEAN countries are friendly neighbors with a shared future. Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and the leaders of the ASEAN countries, the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership has maintained good momentum for development, with strategic mutual trust and cooperation in various fields continuously deepening, he said.
Ying highlighted the China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference as an important meeting mechanism under the China-ASEAN framework, stressing that it plays a significant role in promoting peace, security, prosperity, and sustainable development for China and ASEAN countries.
Noting that the SPP of China attaches great importance to the operation and development of this mechanism, he said that the SPP has launched an official website for the conference and established the China-ASEAN Prosecutors Exchange and Training Base, providing important platforms for information sharing, exchanges, cooperation, and personnel training among the procuratorial bodies of China and ASEAN countries.
Chinese procuratorial organs will work together with their ASEAN counterparts to implement the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2026-30), further enhance mutual trust, pool collective strength, and promote deeper and more substantial judicial and procuratorial exchanges and cooperation, in order to contribute to the construction of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, Ying said.
John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, addresses the opening ceremony.
Lee expressed his gratitude to the SPP for hosting the conference and supporting the DOJ of the HKSAR in organizing the event. He stated that the cooperative relationship between China and the ASEAN is longstanding, and described both sides as good neighbors, good friends, and good partners.
Hong Kong, as the only bilingual common law jurisdiction under the "one country, two systems" framework, is fully capable of upholding the rule of law and serving as a center for international law and dispute resolution in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.
He noted that in the technological age, countries and regions should work together to make use of innovative technology to combat the constantly evolving methods of crime and build a future of safety.
The conference will undoubtedly promote deeper and more pragmatic cooperation among law enforcement and judicial organs in China and ASEAN countries, and enhance joint efforts to combat transnational crime, so as to better safeguard national and regional security and stability, Lee said.
Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China, delivers a keynote speech on "Combating Money Laundering and Corruption, and Recovering Assets in the Technological Age", which is the theme of the 15th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference.
In his keynote speech at the plenary session, Ying pointed out that crimes such as money laundering and bribery, carried out through virtual currencies and virtual assets, are characterized by concealment, deception, and complexity, making investigation, evidence collection, fact-finding, and asset recovery difficult.
These challenges pose new threats to combating such crimes, seriously undermining the property security of citizens in various countries and threatening financial security and social stability, he added.
Ying pointed out that strengthening international cooperation on anti-money laundering, anti-corruption, and asset recovery in the technological age has become a significant consensus in the international community.
Noting that China attaches great importance to anti-money laundering, anti-corruption, and asset recovery efforts, he said that the country has formulated and improved relevant laws, launched special campaigns, and enhanced international law enforcement and judicial cooperation to continuously improve the effectiveness of punishment and governance of crime.
He said that Chinese procuratorial organs, as the country's legal supervision bodies, are responsible for prosecuting crimes, promoting fairness of law enforcement and administration of justice, and ensuring the unified and correct implementation of national laws.
They are thoroughly practicing Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, faithfully fulfilling their statutory duties of legal supervision in line with the Constitution and the law, punishing and preventing crimes of money laundering and corruption in accordance with the law, and making all-out efforts to recover assets, Ying said.
Ying noted that Chinese procuratorates are leveraging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to enhance the quality and efficiency of case handling, and are working with relevant departments to strengthen source governance of crime during case handling. They are also committed to strengthening international exchanges and cooperation in anti-money laundering and anti-corruption. To that end, they are diligently fulfilling their criminal judicial assistance obligations and intensifying joint efforts to combat transnational money laundering and corruption, he added.
"Only by working together can we march toward a better future," Ying emphasized.
Chinese procuratorial organs are willing to work with their counterparts in ASEAN countries based on mutual respect for national sovereignty, judicial jurisdiction, and domestic laws, he said. Their goal is to jointly shoulder the responsibility of combating money laundering and corruption in the technological age, so as to uphold regional security and development and better safeguard the national interests and well-being of the people, he added.
Ying called for deepening information and intelligence sharing, establishing a regular communication and coordination mechanism, and promptly sharing information on prosecuting money laundering, corruption, and related crimes.
He also underlined the need to deepen law enforcement and judicial cooperation, strengthen judicial assistance and procuratorial cooperation, and engage in efficient and pragmatic collaboration in areas such as evidence collection, tracing criminal proceeds, asset recovery, and the investigation and arrest of fugitives, in a bid to pool their collective strength in combating crimes.
Ying also urged efforts to enhance exchange and training of procuratorial practices, and make full use of the China-ASEAN Prosecutors Exchange and Training Base to learn from each other in procuratorial expertise, case handling practices, and technical application experiences in combating crimes and asset recovery, so as to jointly improve capabilities in administering justice.
Heads of delegations of ASEAN countries, Paul Lam Ting-kwok, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Chan Tsz King, Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutions Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region, deliver keynote speeches at the plenary session.
The heads of the delegations attending the conference jointly launched the new official website of the China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference and signed a joint declaration. They reached important consensus on jointly combating transnational crimes, increasing criminal judicial assistance in money laundering and corruption-related crimes, enhancing communication, coordination, exchanges and personnel training among the counterparts, and jointly building and operating the official website for the conference.
Also present at the conference were Chen Yong, Chief Prosecutor of the Shanghai Municipal People's Procuratorate; Feng Jian, Chief Prosecutor of the Guangdong Provincial People's Procuratorate; and Yang Zhenggen, Chief Prosecutor of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional People's Procuratorate, all of whom were part of the Chinese delegation.
The heads of the delegations attending the conference pose for a group photo.
