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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, to a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung on transfer of sentenced persons arrangement in the Legislative Council today (May 9):
Question:
At the Legislative Council meetings on June 30 and December 1, 2004, I had asked questions on the discussions between the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the mainland authorities on the transfer of sentenced persons. In reply, the Administration said that because of differences in the legal and judicial systems of the two places and the complexity of the issues involved, the discussions had therefore not yet been completed, and both sides had agreed that the discussions should continue and hoped to reach an agreement as soon as possible. However, no agreement on the above matter has been reached so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the latest progress of the above work;
(b) of the number of meetings held with the mainland authorities since December 1, 2004, and the details of each meeting, including the meeting date, officials present, issues discussed and achievements made;
(c) of the reasons for not yet being able to reach an agreement with the mainland authorities so far and the difficulties encountered; and
(d) whether a target has been set for reaching an agreement on the matter; if not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) Discussions between the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Mainland authorities on the transfer of sentenced persons between the two places are still underway.
(b) Government officials of the two places have been exchanging views on various specific issues related to the transfer of sentenced persons, such as the conditions and procedures for transfer, through formal and informal meetings, and exchange of correspondence. No formal meeting has been held between the two sides since December 1, 2004. However, government officials of the two places continued to exchange views on the matter when they met.
(c) The Government of the HKSAR and the Mainland experts have been very serious and cautious in the discussions on the transfer of sentenced persons. Because of differences in the legal and judicial systems of the two places, both sides need to have a full understanding of the system of the other side and carry out thorough examination and deliberation of the complicated issues involved.
(d) The established policy of the Government of the HKSAR is to assist, as far as possible, sentenced persons in transferring to their places of origin so as to enable them to serve their sentences in a familiar environment free of language barrier and where their friends and relatives can visit them on a regular basis. This would be conducive to their rehabilitation. We hope to reach agreement with the Mainland on the arrangements for the transfer of sentenced persons between the two places at an early date. However, because of the complexity of the legal and judicial issues involved, it is difficult to set a definite timetable at this stage.
Ends/Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:01
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