SEE exchanges views on ecological conservation and various environmental issues with young people
The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, today (November 2) attended the Dialogue with the Secretary for Environment and Ecology session on the public day of the 19th Eco Expo Asia to exchange views on the beauty of Hong Kong's ecology and various environmental matters with some 400 young people from various schools and uniformed groups.
The event began with the screening of an extract of the documentary series "Enchanting China", produced by the Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), in collaboration with the Center for Environmental Education and Communications of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, as well as "Picturesque Bays of Hong Kong", which is the first episode of the documentary series "Beautiful Hong Kong" produced by the EEB. The documentaries showcase the contributions and achievements made by the country and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in environmental protection and nature conservation.
Through the "Picturesque Bays of Hong Kong" documentary, Mr Tse highlighted that Hong Kong is not only a highly developed city, but is also committed to conserving the natural environment. He said that Hong Kong has a total of 25 country parks, the latest of which is Robin's Nest Country Park established this year. These country parks cover over 40 per cent of Hong Kong's land area together with 22 special areas. Hong Kong also possesses a designated internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention and the Hong Kong UNESCO World Geopark, etc. This proportion surpasses many cities with economic developments similar to Hong Kong, making it an important asset.
In terms of sea area, Hong Kong has a coastline of about 1 200 kilometres and a total sea area of more than 1 600 square kilometres. Although it only accounts for less than 1 per cent of the total sea area of the country, it has numerous beautiful bays and a quarter of the country's marine species. Hong Kong is home to over 80 species of marine stony corals, more than the total sum in the entire Caribbean Sea. The bird species here exceed 580, accounting for about one-third of the country's total.
Mr Tse said, "I hope that through the 'Picturesque Bays of Hong Kong' documentary, we can learn about the beauty of the place where we live, explore and, more importantly, cherish the beauty of Hong Kong's ecosystems and work together to help conserve nature."
Young people attending the event were very interested in various environmental topics, and many of them noted the increasing frequency of extreme weather and Hong Kong's endeavours to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to combat climate change. Mr Tse said that carbon emissions in Hong Kong already peaked in 2014, and the current carbon emissions have been reduced by about a quarter from the peak. The per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Hong Kong are one-fourth of those in the United States and six-tenths of those in the European Union, showing that Hong Kong compares well with other regions in carbon reduction. Nevertheless, achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is still a great challenge. The Government is leading Hong Kong towards carbon neutrality through a range of measures, such as accelerating green and low-carbon transformation, promoting green transport and cultivating the local practice of waste reduction and recycling, as well as developing new energy sources and green scientific research industries.
Mr Tse said he hopes that through Eco Expo Asia, students can learn more about different environmental issues and integrate environmental concepts into their daily lives to practise low-carbon living, and lead Hong Kong towards a low-carbon future together.
Apart from the Dialogue with the Secretary for Environment and Ecology session, speakers from the Hong Kong Observatory, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Civil Engineering and Development Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the EPD, etc shared their environmental information and knowledge during the green seminars to raise public awareness of environmental protection.
The last day of Eco Expo Asia is a public day, which is open to all free of charge. This year's public day programme also includes guided tours, green workshops, a green market, green seminars and a free ride experience on a hydrogen fuel cell double-decker.
SEE exchanges views on ecological conservation and various environmental issues with young people Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
SEE exchanges views on ecological conservation and various environmental issues with young people Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
SEE exchanges views on ecological conservation and various environmental issues with young people Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
SEE exchanges views on ecological conservation and various environmental issues with young people Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Keynote speech by DSJ at International Ombudsman Summit 2024
Following is the keynote speech by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at the International Ombudsman Summit 2024 today (December 3):
President Qureshi (President of the Asian Ombudsman Association, Mr Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi), Ombudsman Chan (The Ombudsman, Mr Jack Chan), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour for me to join you here today at the inaugural International Ombudsman Summit 2024. Let me start with my heartfelt congratulations to the Office of the Ombudsman, Hong Kong, China, on celebrating its 35 years of distinguished services.
The theme of today's Summit is "Ombudsman in a Changing World: Learning from the Past; Preparing for the Future". I also note that my colleague from the Department of Justice will be moderating a panel discussion on Promoting Mediation and Multi-agencies Collaboration in Handling Public Complaints in the following session. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to talk about the use of mediation in Hong Kong, as we learn from the past and prepare for the future.
Learning from the past
The use of mediation has long been recognised as a cost-effective means of a dispute resolution process that encourages amicable settlement and promotes social harmony. In Hong Kong, the Government has started promoting the use of mediation since the 1980s with the Trial Mediation Scheme to settle construction disputes from 16 selected civil engineering contracts. All major public works contracts such as the Airport Core Programme have since 1989 included mediation clauses. With the Civil Justice Reform in 2009, the Judiciary has introduced mediation as a voluntary resolution process to assist parties to resolve disputes amicably, which also benefits the court by reducing the number of cases to trial with consequential savings on judicial recourses.
With the support from the Judiciary and other stakeholders, the Department of Justice has been at the forefront of mediation reform and its rapid development in Hong Kong. The Mediation Ordinance (Cap. 620), enacted in 2012, provides a regulatory framework for the conduct of mediation in Hong Kong without hampering the flexibility of the mediation process. It promotes, encourages and facilitates the use of mediation to resolve disputes and protects the confidential nature of mediation communications. To enhance settlement, Hong Kong enacted in 2017 the first standalone apology jurisdiction in Asia, that is the Apology Ordinance (Cap. 631), which is also the first amongst 56 common law jurisdictions that we have studied to protect statements of fact in an apology legislation.
To increase the awareness and the wider use of mediation, the Department of Justice launched the "Mediate First" Pledge campaign in 2009. The "Mediate First" Pledge is a non-legally binding commitment where the pledgee pledges to explore the use of mediation first before resorting to other means of dispute resolution. To date, more than 850 companies, organisations, associations and individuals have made the Pledge to "Mediate First".
The quality and standard of mediators are essential for maintaining and enhancing public confidence in the use of mediation. In 2012, the Department of Justice facilitated the establishment of the Hong Kong Mediation Accreditation Association Limited, a non statutory industry-led premier accreditation body for mediators. Today, we have over 2 200 general mediators accredited by this accreditation body from various backgrounds and expertises capable of handling a wide spectrum of cases, from big ticket arguments to community disputes.
Preparing for the future
We have laid a solid foundation for mediation to flourish in Hong Kong. Looking forward, are we prepared for the future, and what steps we have taken so far?
In furtherance of the Government's continual efforts in deepening mediation culture in Hong Kong, the Department of Justice issued a Policy Statement on the Incorporation of Mediation Clauses in Government Contracts last month (November 6). Being one of the initiatives in the Chief Executive's Policy Address last year, the Policy Statement underlines the Government's commitment to promoting the use of mediation to resolve conflicts in an amicable way. By taking the lead to incorporate mediation clauses in all government contracts, we hope to encourage private companies to include similar mediation clauses in their contracts, thereby further promoting a "mediate first" culture.
Capacity building and nurturing of talents are essential for the provision of quality dispute resolution services. As foreshadowed in the Chief Executive's Policy Address this year, the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy was officially launched in November this year. The Academy will capitalise on Hong Kong's bilingual common law system and international status to organise practical training courses, seminars, international exchange programmes to promote exchanges among talents in regions along the Belt and Road, with a view to nurturing legal talents conversant with international law, common law, civil law and national legal systems.
In addition, the International Organization for Mediation (IoMed) will have its headquarters established in Hong Kong upon adoption and entry into force of the relevant international convention. The IOMed will be the world's first intergovernmental international legal organisation dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation. We are now working with relevant government bureaux, departments and contractors to convert the historic Old Wan Chai Police Station into the headquarters of the IOMed. All the above efforts will consolidate Hong Kong's position as a regional centre for international legal and dispute resolution services.
Mediation and the Ombudsman
Amidst this evolution of mediation culture in Hong Kong, we also witness the parallel transformation of the Ombudsman. When the predecessor of the Ombudsman, the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints, was first instituted in 1989, its role was confined to investigating complaints concerning administrative actions of government departments referred by members of the legislature. With successive legislative amendment exercises in the ensuing decade, several landmark changes have been made. First, the public can lodge complaints directly to the Ombudsman. Second, the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman has been expanded beyond government departments to cover designated statutory bodies. Third, and most importantly - the Office of the Ombudsman has been established as a body corporate separate from the Government since 2001.
With its independent identity, direct interface with complainants as well as the public's trust in its impartiality, the Ombudsman is well placed to handle complaints and resolve disputes through mediation. In this regard, I am pleased to note that the Ombudsman has been an advocate of using mediation for public complaints with minor or no maladministration. In 2023/24, the Ombudsman resolved 187 complaints by mediation, and the average time taken was only 13.5 days. Feedback from complainants and participating organisations indicated that over 90 per cent of them were satisfied with the mediation service. The above figures show that mediation is indeed a cost-effective and well-received means to resolve community conflicts.
It is therefore no coincidence that the important role of Ombudsman and mediator institutions in promoting good governance and respect for the rule of law was unanimously recognised by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution passed in December 2022. I am also delighted to learn that the International Ombudsman Institute introduced the Best Practice Paper series in January 2023 on "Mediation as effective tool in complaint investigation", which provides useful guidance to facilitate wider adoption of mediation in Ombudsman institutions worldwide.
Conclusion
As a leading world city, we pride ourselves on having a clean and efficient government in Hong Kong. This has understandably created a "happy problem" for our public sector - as we continue to enhance our services, the public expects even more from us. Complaints on public services could more often be the result of unmet expectations than genuine maladministration. Being a trusted independent authority, the Ombudsman can play an even more prominent role in bridging this expectation gap between the general public and government authorities through mediation. This will certainly be conducive to our efforts in building a harmonious society.
Thank you very much.
Keynote speech by DSJ at International Ombudsman Summit 2024 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
