Among those attending the ceremony were Director-General of Guangdong Public Security Department (PSD), Mr Liang Weifa, and Secretary for Security of Macao, Mr Cheong Kuoc Va. Officers of the Liaison Office for Police Co-operation of the Ministry of Public Security in Hong Kong and Macao were also present.

During the 14th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Tripartite CID Heads Meeting held in Hong Kong in April last year, Guangdong PSD came up with an innovative idea of setting up an electronic communal information sharing platform to enhance exchange of information, efficiency of case investigation and prevention of crime among the three places.

Over the past year, members of a tripartite working group have been discussing proactively under the principle of mutual understanding and support. After discussion, the three parties finally reached a consensus on the legal framework, content, network infrastructure and system security of the platform.

During the 15th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Tripartite CID Heads Meeting held in Macao in April this year, demonstrations were made on the technical development of the platform. Having acknowledged the development of the platform, the three parties also agreed to sign an MOU, laying the blueprint and direction for the project's development.

The Commissioner said in the signatory ceremony that ECISP was an effective platform for the tripartite police authorities to share information and enhance crime investigation and prevention. With compliance to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and relevant local legislations, tripartite police authorities would share among themselves police information (including crime trends, On-line Police Symposium, Hyperlinks to the Public Legislation Database and Police Public Homepage, Liaison Activities and Crime Investigation).

The Commissioner noted that the MOU is an important milestone, marking a new phase of development.

The Director-General of Guangdong Public Security Department, Mr Liang Weifa, pointed out that ECISP gave a concrete form to the strengthening of the police co-operation mechanism. It showed that tripartite police authorities could keep pace with the global policing development trend. In addition to describing the MOU as a major step of Guangdong police to implement "Framework for Development and Reform Planning for Pearl River Delta Region", Mr Liang hoped the tripartite police authorities would fully utilise the platform in their daily operations so as to co-operate more closely and thoroughly to crack cross-boundary criminal activities for creating a peaceful and harmonious living environment for the three places.

After the signatory ceremony, the tripartite working group members will further discuss content details and other technical issues.

CP with Mr Liang (centre) and Mr Cheong at the MOU signing ceremony