Speech by DSJ at LawTech Conference "The AI Era: Shaping the Legal Landscape in the 21st Century" under Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 (with photo/video)
Following are the opening remarks by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at the LawTech Conference "The AI Era: Shaping the Legal Landscape in the 21st Century" under Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 today (December 5):
The Honourable Mr Justice Lok (Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, Mr David Lok), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. Welcome to the Main Stage LawTech Conference today. It is appreciated that so many of you have chosen to join us today despite the difficult circumstances in our community, and stand ready to engage thoughtfully with the challenges and opportunities that lawtech and artificial intelligence bring to the legal profession.
The inaugural Hong Kong LawTech Fest 2025 helps to bring together legal practitioners, technology providers, experts, academics, and policymakers to explore the fast-evolving intersection of law and AI, and to showcase the latest innovative products and services shaping legal practices. The LawTech Fest features a dynamic blend of exhibition, live demonstrations and consultations, and expert dialogues. As Hong Kong embraces the transformative AI era, with lawtech and AI reshaping the delivery of legal services, we hope that the LawTech Fest would provide a platform for attendees to discover cutting-edge solutions, stay ahead of trends, expand professional network, and gain actionable insights to advance innovation in their own legal practice.
The theme of today's conference, "The AI Era: Shaping the Legal Landscape in the 21st Century", sits at the heart of an important dialogue about the future of our legal system. Lawtech and AI are transforming legal practice, enhancing efficiency, accessibility, and quality in delivering legal services. By automating routine tasks such as legal research, document drafting and review, these technologies allow legal professionals to focus on high-value activities, such as strategic decision-making and client relationship management. Moreover, lawtech and AI solutions enable more effective data management and analysis, facilitate informed decision-making, and provide predictive insights. This technological integration also improves access to legal resources, enabling individuals and businesses to obtain quality legal support more easily and affordably. As we navigate through the increasingly complex legal and regulatory landscape, it is vital that we address these frequently asked questions: How can we integrate AI professionally and responsibly into our legal practice? What are the risks and ethical implications that we must consider? And most importantly, how can we ensure that technology can act as a complement to human touch, which remains pivotal in the practice of law? Today's conference examines in a timely manner the opportunities and risks associated with AI's growing role in legal practice.
The DoJ (Department of Justice) is steadfast in its commitment to foster innovation and the integration of technology in the legal industry. To promote the development of lawtech, we established the Consultation Group on Lawtech Development in January this year, and invited the industry and various stakeholders to jointly study and formulate policy measures related to lawtech.
This year, we launched the LexGoTech Roundtable Series and successfully organised three roundtables. Through the roundtables, we have gathered solicitors, barristers, arbitrators, legal educators, in-house counsel and government lawyers - a diverse group of professionals who are the vital pillars of Hong Kong's legal services delivery - to exchange views and experiences on the opportunities and challenges that lawtech and AI present to the legal profession in Hong Kong. Today, I would like to announce the release of the LexGoTech Roundtables Report. The Report summarises the insights gained from the Roundtable Series. More details will be discussed in the 2025 final round of the Roundtable Series taking place here on this stage later this afternoon.
Additionally, the DoJ launched the Survey for LawTech Service Providers in Hong Kong in October. We are now analysing the valuable feedback, which we believe would significantly shape the future steps in our lawtech/AI development strategies.
Going back to today's programme, we are very honoured to have the Honourable Mr Justice Lok to deliver a keynote speech on lawtech and the future of law and justice. Following that, we will have an interactive "LawTech Guess Who" game, during which we will explore the advantages of using AI in legal practice, while highlighting the importance of human input and oversight. Next, we will have the LexGoTech Roundtable Series - 2025 Final Round, during which we will share key findings gathered from our earlier roundtables. On the basis of these findings, seasoned practitioners will exchange insights on the opportunities and challenges we face as we integrate technology into legal practice. I look forward to hearing our distinguished speakers' insightful sharing.
Ladies and gentlemen, as we navigate through the AI era, we should bear in mind that our ultimate goal is not just to adopt technology for the sake of progress, but to harness its power in ways that uphold the principles of justice, fairness, and integrity. Technology is a powerful tool, but it cannot replace human qualities such as empathy, judgment and integrity, which remain essential in legal practice. Only with an open and responsible mindset will we be able to grasp the opportunities brought by lawtech and AI and transform the challenges into benefits. On this note, I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to all speakers, participants, Consultation Group members and colleagues who have worked tirelessly to make this meaningful event and the DoJ's lawtech initiatives possible. I wish you all a fruitful and inspiring discussion today. Thank you.
Speech by DSJ at LawTech Conference "The AI Era: Shaping the Legal Landscape in the 21st Century" under Hong Kong Legal Week 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
FEHD releases fourth batch of gravidtrap indexes for Aedes albopictus in May
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (May 21) released the fourth batch of gravidtrap indexes and density indexes for Aedes albopictus in May, covering 12 survey areas, as follows:
District |
Survey Area |
May 2026 |
First Phase Gravidtrap Index |
First Phase Density Index |
Eastern |
Shau Kei Wan and Sai Wan Ho |
9.1% |
1.4 |
Islands |
Tung Chung |
2.0% |
1.0 |
Kowloon City |
Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan |
6.7% |
1.5 |
Tai Po |
Tai Po East |
2.2% |
2.0 |
Tai Po West |
15.5% |
1.0 |
Tuen Mun |
Tuen Mun South |
9.1% |
1.4 |
District |
Survey Area |
May 2026 |
Area Gravidtrap Index |
Area Density Index |
Central and Western |
Kennedy Town and Shek Tong Tsui |
16.8% |
1.3 |
Eastern |
Chai Wan |
15.4% |
1.0 |
North Point and Quarry Bay |
18.9% |
1.4 |
Southern |
Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau |
20.8% |
1.7 |
Sha Tin |
Sha Tin Town Centre and Fo Tan |
18.3% |
1.4 |
Tsuen Wan |
Tsuen Wan Town |
6.9% |
2.3 |
The fourth batch of gravidtrap indexes for Aedes albopictus in May includes First Phase Gravidtrap Indexes covering six survey areas and Area Gravidtrap Indexes covering six survey areas. Among which, six survey areas recorded gravidtrap indexes above 10 per cent, while Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau in Southern District recorded a gravidtrap index above 20 per cent. Meanwhile, the gravidtrap indexes of six survey areas, namely Kennedy Town and Shek Tong Tsui in Central and Western District; North Point and Quarry Bay in Eastern District; Shau Kei Wan and Sai Wan Ho in Eastern District; Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau in Southern District; Tai Po East in Tai Po District; and Tuen Mun South in Tuen Mun District, have recorded a decrease as compared to the indexes recorded in the last survey period, reflecting the progress of relevant mosquito control work.
With reference to the data from the past few years, the gravidtrap indexes start to rise from April or May every year. The actual timing and extent of the rise are affected by factors like weather conditions and rainfall. The average temperature and rainfall recorded in April this year were higher than those in the same period last year, creating favourable conditions for mosquito growth and breeding. As a result, the rise in gravidtrap indexes occurred earlier this year. With the increase in rainfall in May, the gravidtrap indexes are expected to rise further.
For survey areas which recorded indexes exceeding 10 per cent, in accordance with the mechanism implemented by the FEHD in response to the chikungunya fever (CF) situation (i.e. strengthening mosquito control work in areas with a gravidtrap index between 10 per cent and 20 per cent, instead of 20 per cent or above under the original mechanism), the FEHD is collaborating with relevant departments and stakeholders to identify locations with high mosquito infestations and carry out intensive and targeted mosquito control measures. The FEHD has initiated two prosecutions against the relevant construction site contractors following the discovery of mosquito breeding at construction sites in Tai Po District and Southern District. Moreover, following the discovery of stagnant water or stagnant water containers in a park, a construction site, a private housing estate, a clinic and a private premises in Tai Po District, Central and Western District, as well as Southern District, the FEHD has issued five statutory notices to the responsible persons-in-charge, requiring the clearance of such items within a specified timeframe. The FEHD, the relevant departments and stakeholders are following up on the mosquito control work, and will also organise exhibitions, distribute leaflets and posters, and notify residential estates that have subscribed to the gravidtrap Rapid Alert System, advising property management agents and residents to stay vigilant and work together in taking mosquito prevention and elimination measures. In addition, the FEHD will strengthen the monitoring of the gravidtrap index in the areas to review the effectiveness of the mosquito control work.
Public participation is crucial to the effective control of mosquito problems. The FEHD appeals to members of the public to continue to work together in strengthening personal mosquito control measures, including:
tidy up their premises and check for any accumulation of water inside the premises;
remove all unnecessary water collections and eliminate the sources;
check household items (those placed in outdoor and open areas in particular), such as refuse containers, vases, air conditioner drip trays, and laundry racks to prevent stagnant water;
change water in flower vases and scrub their inner surfaces thoroughly, and remove water in saucers under potted plants at least once a week;
properly cover all containers that hold water to prevent mosquitoes from accessing the water;
properly dispose of articles that can contain water, such as disposable meal boxes and empty cans; and
scrub drains and surface sewers with alkaline detergent at least once a week to remove any mosquito eggs.
Starting in August 2025, following the completion of the surveillance of individual survey areas, and once the latest gravidtrap index and the density index are available, the FEHD has been disseminating relevant information through press releases, its website and social media. It aims to allow members of the public to quickly grasp the mosquito infestation situation and strengthen mosquito control efforts, thereby reducing the risk of CF transmission.
Following recommendations from the World Health Organization and taking into account the local situation in Hong Kong, the FEHD sets up gravidtraps in districts where mosquito-borne diseases have been recorded in the past, as well as in densely populated places such as housing estates, hospitals and schools to monitor the breeding and distribution of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which can transmit CF and dengue fever. At present, the FEHD has set up gravidtraps in 62 survey areas of the community, with a surveillance period of two weeks. During the surveillance period, the FEHD will collect the gravidtraps once a week. After the first week of surveillance, the FEHD will immediately examine the glue boards inside the retrieved gravidtraps for the presence of adult Aedine mosquitoes to compile the Gravidtrap Index (First Phase) and Density Index (First Phase). At the end of the second week of surveillance, the FEHD will instantly check the glue boards for the presence of adult Aedine mosquitoes. Data from the two weeks of surveillance will be combined to obtain the Area Gravidtrap Index and the Area Density Index. The gravidtrap and density indexes for Aedes albopictus in different survey areas, as well as information on mosquito prevention and control measures, are available on the department's webpage (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pestcontrol/dengue_fever/Dengue_Fever_Gravidtrap_Index_Update.html#).
FEHD releases fourth batch of gravidtrap indexes for Aedes albopictus in May Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
FEHD releases fourth batch of gravidtrap indexes for Aedes albopictus in May Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
FEHD releases fourth batch of gravidtrap indexes for Aedes albopictus in May Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
FEHD releases fourth batch of gravidtrap indexes for Aedes albopictus in May Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
FEHD releases fourth batch of gravidtrap indexes for Aedes albopictus in May Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
