The 8th Law Forum of Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong

The 8^th Law Forum of Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong, jointly held by the School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, the Guangdong Law Society and the Faculty of Law, University of Macau, and hosted by the Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law at City University of Hong Kong (CityU), took place on 7  March 2024 at the Connie Fan Multi-media Conference Room in CityU and has been brought to a successful close.

Group photo of the officiating guests and other participating legal experts and scholars

The opening ceremony was hosted by Professor WANG Jiangyu, Director of the Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law at City University of Hong Kong. The officiating guests attending the opening ceremony included Mr. ZHANG Sujun, Vice President, China Law Society; Prof. LEE Chun Sing, Provost and Deputy President, City University of Hong Kong; Ms. Heidi CHUI, Council Member and Vice-Chairlady of the Greater China Legal Affairs Committee, The Law Society of Hong Kong; Mr. Io Cheng TONG, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Macau; Mr. Richard KHAW Wei-kiang, Co-Chair of Standing Committee on Mainland Affairs, Hong Kong Bar Association, and Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court; Mr. ZHANG Feng, Deputy Director, Legal Department, Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Mr. HUANG Wenping, Vice President, Guangdong Law Society.

About seventy legal scholars and professionals participated in the Forum. They were from various university law schools and legal institutes, including Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong; School of Law, City University of Hong Kong; Faculty of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Faculty of Law, University of Macau; School of Law, City University of Macau; Faculty of Law, Macau University of Science and Technology; School of Law, Sun Yat-sen University; Law School, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics; School of Law, Guangdong University of Technology; School of Law, Guangdong University of Finance; School of Law, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies; School of Health Management, Southern Medical University; Law School, Jinan University; Law School, Shenzhen University; GuangDong Academy of Social Sciences; Guangdong Law Society; Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, to name but a few.

Group photo of the participants in the keynote speech session

The forum was themed “High-Level Rule of Law Ensuring High-Quality Development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area in the New Era”. The keynote speech session was hosted by Professor DING Chunyan, Associate Dean of School of Law, City University of Hong Kong, with speeches by Professor MO Jihong, Director of the Institute of International Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Professor JIANG Chaoyang, Director of Centre for Constitutional Law and Basic Law Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Macau; Professor GUO Tianwu, expert from Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies, and School of Law, Sun Yat-Sen University; and Ms Ada CHUNG Lai-ling, Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong, focusing on important topics related to building the rule of law in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The Forum included four seminars focusing on the following sub-themes respectively: (1) Rule of law in Hong Kong and Macau; (2) Legal cooperation and harmonization in the GBA; (3) Legal protection for regional economic integration in the GBA; (4) Legal and regulatory issues pertaining to cross-border data flow in the GBA. These issues were of great significance for deepening the legal cooperation among the three regions. Through discussion and debate, the Law Forum generated significant impact and provided a good opportunity for the exchange of information and views among participants from the three regions.

Photo of Seminar 1

Seminar 1 focused on the theme of rule of law in Hong Kong and Macau. It was moderated by Professor WANG Yu, Associate Director of Centre for Constitutional Law and Basic Law Studies, University of Macau, and had presentations from Professor ZHU Guobin, Director of Public Law and Human Rights Forum of CityU School of Law; Professor DAI Jitao from Law School, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics; Professor ZHU Shihai from Faculty of Law, Macau University of Science and Technology; Lecturer LU Shiyao from School of Law, Guangdong University of Technology; Professor MO Ran, Associate Dean of School of Law, Guangdong University of Finance. Professor LIANG Yuxia, Dean of School of Law and Politics, Guangzhou College of Applied Science and Technology, and Professor HUANG Tao from CityU School of Law provided comments at the end.

Photo of Seminar 2

Seminar 2 focused on the theme of legal cooperation and harmonization in the GBA. It was moderated by Professor HUANG Hui from Faculty of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and had presentations from Professor Ip Kuai Peng, Vice Rector of City University of Macau; Professor ZHANG Liang, Dean of School of Law, Sun Yat-sen University; Professor WANG Jiangyu, Director of the Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law at CityU School of Law; LI Xiongfeng, Deputy Secretary General, South China International Arbitration Center (HK); XU Yingbiao, postdoc from the Law Institute of China Law Society; Professor LIU Yunsheng, Dean of Law School, Guangzhou University. MAO Delong, Director of the Management Committee of Guangdong Yinglong law firm; and LI Ke, Senior Instructor in Faculty of Law, University of Macau provided comments at the end.

Photo of Seminar 3

Seminar 3 focused on the theme of legal protection for regional economic integration in the GBA. It was moderated by Professor JIANG Wuzhen, Dean of Law School, South China University of Technology, and had presentations from Professor ZOU Pingxue, Director of the Center for Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, Shenzhen University; Professor CHAN Chi Hin, Associate Professor from CityU School of Law; KONG Wa, Senior Instructor  and Deputy Director of Centre for Constitutional Law and Basic Law Studies, University of Macau; Professor ZHU Yikun, Director of the Institute of One Country, Two Systems and Basic Law, Jinan University; Professor ZHAO Jingchen from Law School, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics; Professor YAN Linya from School of Marxism, Sun Yat-Sen University. ZHOU Lianhe, researcher from GuangDong Academy of Social Sciences, and WANG Xin, lecturer from School of Law, Guangdong University of Finance provided comments at the end.

Photo of Seminar 4

Seminar 4 focused on the theme of legal and regulatory issues pertaining to cross-border data flow in the GBA. It was moderated by Professor CAI Zhenshun from School of Law, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and had presentations from Ines LEE, Senior Legal Counsel in the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong,; SONG Weili, President of Guangzhou Internet Court; Professor Lü Qunrong from School of Health Management, Southern Medical University; Professor DENG Shibao from Law School, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics; Professor TAN Xiao from School of Law, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies; CHEN Xiaofeng, Senior Advisor in Guangdong Menghai Law Firm. DUAN Liqiong, Senior Judge from Guangzhou Internet Court, and Professor DING Chunyan, Associate Dean of CityU School of Law provided comments at the end.                  

The closing ceremony of the Forum was hosted by Professor WANG Yu, Associate Director of Centre for Constitutional Law and Basic Law Studies, University of Macau, and had concluding remarks delivered by JING Yan, Vice President and Secretary-General of Guangdong Law Society.