Mainland visit a great success
Commissioner Mr Tsang Yam-pui led a Force delegation on a five-day visit to the Mainland. The delegation arrived in Beijing on the evening of June 8, and held working group meetings with senior Public Security Officials the following morning. In the afternoon, Mr Tsang met the Minister of Public Security, Mr Zhou Yongkang, in Zhongnanhai.
The working group agenda included anti-terrorism measures, joint police training and co-operation, the use of information technology in law enforcement, and the problems of cross-boundary crime. The Beijing officials were also briefed on the Force role in the War Against SARS.
Speaking after the meetings, Mr Tsang said that the Force would be holding a joint anti-terrorism exercise with the Guangdong authorities by the end of the year and that Guangdong and Hong Kong would work out concrete plans and timetables for exchanges on training. There had also been a sharing of information on drug trafficking and an agreement to collaborate closely on counter-measures.
On cross-boundary crime, Mr Tsang said that while there had been no significant increase in cross-boundary commercial crime, the subject had been discussed. Of greater immediate concern, said Mr Tsang, was that the overall number of criminal cases involving two-way permit holders had increased by 22.9 per cent in the first quarter of this year as compared to the same period last year. Prostitution by two-way permit holders was particularly alarming, because the number of Mainland women arrested for that offence had actually surged by 80 per cent in the first four months of this year as compared to the same period last year.
The decision to issue Guangdong residents with multiple-entry visas and relax the requirement to travel in groups could increase cross-boundary crime. However, said Mr Tsang, it had been agreed that Deputy Commissioner (Operations), Mr Lee Ming-kwai, would co-ordinate the setting up of an inter-departmental database on the criminal records and illicit activities of two-way permit holders which would subsequently be maintained by the Immigration Department and shared with Mainland counterparts.
On June 10 the delegation travelled to Shanghai where they had meetings with Shanghai Public Security Bureau (PSB) Director, Mr Wu Zhiming, and his senior staff. Shanghai recently established an Interpol Office and it was agreed that Hong Kong and Shanghai should open a direct communication channel on a 24-hour basis in a boost to fight against cross-boundary crime. Hitherto, the Force only had direct contact with their Guangdong counterparts and communications with Shanghai (and other provinces) was via Beijing.
The two sides would communicate by telephone, e-mail and fax whenever necessary and there would be a formal meeting between senior officers at least once a year. Mr Tsang believed the new arrangements would result in closer cross-boundary co-operation in the fight against economic and organised crime. Mr Wu agreed, noting that the two cities had much in common, especially in the financial sector, and that closer, direct communication would enhance their joint fight against crime.
On June 11, the Force delegation arrived in Guangzhou and then travelled to Panyu County where they met with Guangdong PSB officials. The two sides held further and more detailed discussions on their cooperation in the fight against cross-boundary crime.
Guangdong PSB Deputy Director, Mr Zheng Shaodong, and Mr Tsang agreed to step up joint efforts to prevent illegal firearms being brought into Hong Kong, and to strengthen co-operation in the fight against drug trafficking.
The two law enforcement agencies agreed to establish a database on ballistics identification, and to send forensic firearms experts from the two forces to relevant conferences and training courses to enhance their professional capabilities.
Mr Zheng also agreed to prevent Mainlanders with Hong Kong criminal records from re-entering the territory as soon as the new database on their records was up and running.
The final working meeting was with Shenzhen PSB officials on June 12. After the meeting Mr Tsang announced that there would be more frequent meetings by their respective liaison officers and that there would be a review of the efficacy of the recently established Shenzhen-Hong Kong Land Boundary Police Co-operation Scheme. Under the Scheme, visitors to Hong Kong or Shenzhen could report crimes after they had returned to their homes and rest assured that they would be properly investigated by the other side. To date, some 326 requests for assistance had been received - most of which involved allegations of theft.
Mr Tsang passed on two warnings to Hong Kong visitors from Shenzhen PSB Director Mr Li Feng. Mr Li warned that unlicensed taxi drivers operating in vehicles disguised as genuine taxis were involved in robbing their clients. Police have so far arrested 41 people involved in 116 cases. He also warned that some gangs used attractive young women to lure men to apartments where they can be robbed. Shenzhen Police recently smashed seven such syndicates preying on male visitors.
CP Mr Tsang Yam-pui and his team meet with Guangdong PSB officials