The 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference is held in Brunei from Oct 20 to 23.
Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China, leads the Chinese prosecutorial delegation to attend the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference in Brunei.
Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) of China, led the Chinese prosecutorial delegation to attend the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference (CAPGC) held in Brunei from Oct 20 to 23. Hosted by the Attorney General’s Chambers of Brunei, the conference adopted the theme "Protecting Children in the Digital Age: Harmonizing Legal Frameworks and International Cooperation".
At the opening ceremony, Datin Seri Paduka Hajah Nor Hashimah binti Haji Taib, Attorney General of Brunei, and Ying delivered addresses, followed by a plenary session. Ying, together with heads of prosecutorial delegations from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, Paul Lam Ting-kwok, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, and Tong Hio Fong, Prosecutor General of the Public Prosecutions Office of the Macao Special Administrative Region of China, delivered keynote speeches at the session.
In his opening address, Ying noted that this year marks the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the 35th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations. He said that under the strategic guidance of leaders of China and ASEAN countries, China-ASEAN cooperation has forged ahead steadily with strong momentum and yielded fruitful outcomes.
Ying emphasized that China's SPP has always attached great importance to the operation and development of the CAPGC mechanism and has continued to expand cooperation areas, enrich cooperation content, deepen exchanges and mutual learning, strengthen personnel training, and advance judicial collaboration with prosecutorial organs of ASEAN countries, yielding a series of pragmatic results.
He stated that Chinese prosecutorial organs stand ready to work with their counterparts in ASEAN countries to thoroughly implement the important consensus reached between the leaders of China and ASEAN countries as well as the Plan of Action to Implement the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2026-30).
He called on both sides to deepen mutual trust, pursue common development, jointly promote exchanges and mutual learning in law enforcement and administration of justice, and enhance law enforcement and judicial capacity, so as to contribute prosecutorial efforts to building a peaceful, secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable shared home and to fostering a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
"Child protection knows no borders, and digital governance cannot operate in isolation. Enhancing child protection in the digital era is a highly important and urgent task for the international community and calls for our shared responsibility," Ying stressed in his keynote speech.
He pointed out that today's children, as "digital natives," grow up in the digital age and live in cyberspace. Technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) bring boundless opportunities for children's growth while posing unprecedented risks and challenges. The cross-border nature of cyberspace, easy access to AI applications, and the covert features of cybercrimes have driven a marked rise in cyberbullying, online fraud, privacy leakage, and other harms that seriously undermine children's physical and mental health, he added.
Ying said China places high priority on protecting minors by forming a sound legal system, rolling out special campaigns, expanding international cooperation, and steadily advancing institutional development for protecting children's rights and interests in the digital age.
He added that Chinese prosecutorial organs actively respond to new circumstances and challenges in online protection for children. They punish crimes against minors committed online, such as sexual molestation, bullying and fraud, in accordance with the law, and continuously strengthen prevention and governance of juvenile delinquency in cyberspace, Ying noted. Through the performance of prosecutorial duties, they also advance the governance of the online environment concerning minors, and strengthen minor protection in cyberspace, he added.
He also said that Chinese prosecutorial organs actively participate in international law enforcement and judicial exchanges and cooperation on the protection of minors, and work with all parties to build a legal shield for minors' healthy growth.
"Nations vary in national conditions and challenges, yet we share the same needs, goals and responsibilities for protecting children in the digital age," Ying said. He said prosecutorial organs of China are willing to further strengthen coordination with their counterparts in ASEAN countries to intensify crackdowns on cross-border cybercrimes involving minors, and enhance sharing of case leads and coordination in case investigations to develop a coordinated response to crime and its underlying causes.
Ying stressed that both sides should deepen exchanges and mutual learning, share legal frameworks, judicial practices, and governance experience concerning minor protection, and promote the alignment of regional judicial standards and governance rules for child protection. He also called for strengthening capacity building, fully leveraging the China-ASEAN Prosecutors Exchange and Training Base, and sharing experience in digital technology-assisted judicial case handling, so that all parties can jointly shoulder judicial responsibilities for child protection in the digital era.
Following thorough discussions, heads of all participating prosecutorial delegations signed the Joint Statement of the 16th CAPGC. The statement fully affirmed the close ties and solid foundations underpinning relations between China and ASEAN member states. It calls for enhanced coordination between the legal frameworks of China and ASEAN countries, based on mutual respect for national sovereignty and judicial jurisdiction and adherence to the principles of international law. It also urges deepening cooperation in areas such as criminal judicial assistance, exchange and mutual learning of judicial practices, prosecutor exchanges and training, and legal publicity and education, aiming to jointly advance and safeguard peace, security, stability, and prosperity for China and ASEAN member states.
On the sidelines of the conference, Ying held separate working meetings with Nor Hashimah binti Haji Taib; Chea Leang, Prosecutor General of Cambodia; Mohd Dusuki bin Mokhtar, Attorney General of Malaysia; Thida Oo, Attorney General of Myanmar; Lucien Wong, Attorney General of Singapore; Nelson de Carvalho, Prosecutor General of Timor-Leste; Nguyen Huy Tien, Prosecutor General of Vietnam; Narendra Jatna, Deputy Attorney General of Indonesia; Bounthanh Bounthavilay, Deputy Prosecutor General of Laos; and Chart Chaidejsuriya, Deputy Attorney General of Thailand.
Ying Yong and Datin Seri Paduka Hajah Nor Hashimah binti Haji Taib, Attorney General of Brunei, jointly sign a new memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China and the Attorney General's Chambers of Brunei.
On the sidelines of the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, Ying Yong meets with Chea Leang, Prosecutor General of Cambodia.
On the sidelines of the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, Ying Yong meets with Mohd Dusuki bin Mokhtar, Attorney General of Malaysia.
On the sidelines of the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, Ying Yong meets with Thida Oo, Attorney General of Myanmar.
On the sidelines of the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, Ying Yong meets with Lucien Wong, Attorney General of Singapore.
On the sidelines of the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, Ying Yong meets with Nelson de Carvalho, Prosecutor General of Timor-Leste.
On the sidelines of the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, Ying Yong meets with Nguyen Huy Tien, Prosecutor General of Vietnam.
On the sidelines of the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, Ying Yong meets with Narendra Jatna, Deputy Attorney General of Indonesia.
On the sidelines of the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, Ying Yong meets with Bounthanh Bounthavilay, Deputy Prosecutor General of Laos.
On the sidelines of the 16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors-General Conference, Ying Yong meets with Chart Chaidejsuriya, Deputy Attorney General of Thailand.
Ying thanked the offices of the prosecutors-general of all participating countries for their consistent efforts and valuable contributions to refining the CAPGC mechanism and congratulated them on their achievements in prosecutorial reform and development. He noted that comprehensive law-based governance is a fundamental strategy of the Communist Party of China in governing the country and a principle enshrined in China's Constitution.
He emphasized that Chinese prosecutorial organs are committed to handling every case with high quality and efficiency, serving the country's overall interests, delivering justice for the people and upholding the rule of law, faithfully performing their duties as the country's legal supervision organs, strengthening prosecutorial oversight and safeguarding fairness and justice, so as to support and serve Chinese modernization through the high-quality development of prosecutorial work.
Ying also noted that China and ASEAN countries are writing a new chapter of solidarity and self-reliance, which brings about broad prospects for the CAPGC mechanism. He reiterated that Chinese prosecutorial organs stand ready to work with their counterparts in ASEAN countries to fully implement the important consensus reached between the leaders of China and ASEAN countries, carry forward traditional friendship and deepen strategic mutual trust.
He called on both sides to expand prosecutorial exchanges across all aspects, deepen cooperation, and jointly harness the rule of law to safeguard regional stability, serve regional development and improve people's wellbeing, in a bid to contribute prosecutorial strengths to building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
Prosecutors-General of ASEAN countries expressed admiration for China's achievements in advancing the rule of law and prosecutorial work, and lauded China's contributions to the sustained development of the CAPGC mechanism. They said they hoped to deepen friendly exchanges and mutual learning with Chinese prosecutorial organs, continuously strengthen pragmatic cooperation on combating transnational crimes, criminal judicial assistance, digital development and personnel exchange and training, continuously enhance prosecutorial capacity, and jointly safeguard the stability and development of China and ASEAN countries.
Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah received heads of all delegations attending the conference. Ying and Nor Hashimah binti Haji Taib jointly signed a new memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the SPP of China and the Attorney General's Chambers of Brunei.
Chen Shaochun, Chinese Ambassador to Brunei; Paul Lam Ting-kwok; Tong Hio Fong; Zhang Yi, Chief Prosecutor of the Hainan Provincial People's Procuratorate; Gu Tinghai, Chief Prosecutor of the Chongqing Municipal People's Procuratorate; and Zhang Xiangjun, Chief Prosecutor of the Yunnan Provincial People's Procuratorate, attended relevant events.
