Record of the 23rd APCCA
The opening ceremony of the conference was preceded by a welcome reception in the Congregation Hall of the Hong Kong Scout Centre. The ceremony itself was conducted at the conference venue – the Gordon Wu Hall of BP International House. The guests of honour were escorted into the hall by a piper and speeches were made by Mr Kelvin SY Pang, Commissioner of the Hong Kong SAR Correctional Services Department and the Honourable Ms Elsie Leung Oi-sie GBM, JP, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong SAR.
Welcome Remarks by Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Kelvin S Y Pang, CSDSM, JP at the Opening Ceremony
The Honourable Elsie Leung, Secretary for Justice,
The Honourable Ambrose Lee, Secretary for Security,
Mr Adi Sujatno, Director General, Directorate General of Corrections, Indonesia,
Dr Morgan and Mrs Morgan,
Distinguished delegates and guests,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
As Confucius, the great Chinese teacher, has said “It is a great pleasure to welcome friends from afar”, so I have much pleasure, as the host of this conference, in welcoming you to the Opening Ceremony of the 23rd Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators today.
On behalf of the conference, I wish to thank the Honourable Miss Elsie Leung, the Secretary for Justice and the Honourable Mr Ambrose Lee, the Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, for being here this morning. Your presence signifies the strong support the Hong Kong SAR Government has given to this conference.
This is the third time the APCCA has taken place in Hong Kong. You will recall that the formation of the APCCA arose from a series of far-sighted discussions in 1979 amongst a number of prison chiefs in the Asia-Pacific region and the Director of Australian Institute of Criminology, whose visionary eyes saw the need for regular meetings of correctional administrators in the region to exchange ideas, share experiences and discuss matters of common concern. Twenty-three years ago, i.e., in the year 1980, Hong Kong had the honour of hosting the inaugural conference. Today, building on the strength of cohesion and commitment among members, the APCCA has become a healthy young adult with strong credentials. We set up the APCCA Fund in 1997 to receive voluntary contributions from members to support the Conference. We established a permanent secretariat in 2001 to handle conference business between annual meetings. And we signed the Joint Declaration in Bali, Indonesia last year to put this regional grouping on a more formal and professional footing.
As a founding member of the APCCA, the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department is delighted to see the APCCA grow from strength to strength. The Department is privileged to contribute to its management by serving as the APCCA Fund Administrator, co-hosting the Conference Secretariat with the Singapore Prison Service, and taking up the role of Governing Board Chair for the current year. In so doing, the Department has benefited from the professional sharing and networking opportunities provided by the APCCA. We will continue to leverage on this regional forum in our endeavour to achieve the Department’s Vision of being an internationally acclaimed correctional service.
In closing, I would like to thank Dr Neil Morgan and his wife Irene for agreeing to serve as Rapporteur and Co-rapporteur of this Conference. With their professional assistance, I am sure that a high quality record of the conference will be produced for our reference. I also wish to thank the Organising Committee for their hard work in making this Conference possible. Last but not least, may I offer the services of myself and my staff, particularly the liaison officers and those working with the in-house secretariat, to ensure that you have all the tools and facilities you might need in order to make this Conference a success. After a day’s hard work at the Conference, remember to take time out to enjoy Hong Kong. Thank you.
Speech by Secretary for Justice, Ms Leung Oi-sie, GBM, JP at the Opening Ceremony
Secretary for Security Mr Ambrose Lee,
Commissioner Mr Kelvin Pang,
Director General of Directorate General of Corrections, Indonesia, Mr Adi Sujatno,
Dr Neil Morgan and Mrs Morgan,
Distinguished delegates and guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to have been invited to officiate at the opening ceremony of the 23rd Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators. This is the third time this conference has been held in Hong Kong and the first time since the reunification with China in 1997. Some 25 jurisdictions are represented here today, and I have no doubt that all of those attending will benefit enormously from the sessions and the exchanges. I warmly welcome all the delegates on behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Hong Kong’s Correctional Services Department enjoys a fine reputation at the
international level, and one that is richly deserved. The Department has, in many areas, pioneered the latest techniques in the treatment of offenders, and the range of its facilities is considerable. It is well able to cope with the needs of particular offenders, no matter how demanding these may be in physical, linguistic, dietary, or other terms.
The contribution the Department makes to our criminal justice system is profound. It advises courts on the viability of various sentencing opinions. It provides a host of programmes to those committed to its care. After-care services of the highest quality are arranged in order to facilitate the successful reintegration into society of those who have paid their debt to society. The staff of the Department are all highly trained and forward looking, and keen to tap into the latest thinking at the international level.
The Correctional Services Department is firmly wedded to the notion that wherever possible punishment should be combined with rehabilitation. Progressive modes of dealing with those sentenced by the courts are deployed to the extent that this is feasible and in the interests of the community and the offender. During your visit I hope you will have the opportunity to see something of the operation not only of our traditional prisons, but also of those dedicated institutions which place the emphasis of their programmes upon the particular needs of individual offenders.
The ways in which training centres, drug addiction treatment centres, detention centres, reformatory schools and rehabilitation centres operate all reflect the importance which we in Hong Kong attach to the reform of offenders, particularly those who are young and who can more easily be pointed in the proper direction for the future. It cannot be right to regard the rehabilitation of the young offender as a consideration distinct from the protection of the public. The two things are intrinsically linked. The criminal justice system must aim to rehabilitate young offenders in particular, not least because reformation of that type removes the danger to the public from those who are not yet hardened in criminal ways.
The debate over whether punishment or rehabilitation best serves the interests of the community is as old as the criminal justice system itself. Prison systems must surely seek to ensure that those who pass through are better persons when they leave than when they enter, and are thus less of a threat to society. Hong Kong is fortunate to have in place a penal system which keeps inmates gainfully occupied, and which seeks thereby to develop responsibility, teamwork and, perhaps most importantly, confidence. Most inmates in due course will face the challenge of reintegration into society, and if that is to be successful they must be properly prepared.
These are important concepts, and not all agree on the best way forward. Different societies may have different needs. The APCCA has for over 20 years provided those concerned with the treatment of offenders in the Asia and Pacific Region with a valuable forum in which to exchange ideas and experiences, and to identify the most effective strategies for the future. As each of you applies your various perspectives to the issues under consideration this week, you will, I know, be interested to learn more of the way in which the penal system of Hong Kong has evolved in a constructive and enlightened way in recent times.
I wish you all a successful conference. I hope as well that you have the time to see something of Hong Kong and to learn more of our role as Asia’s World City. It is with pleasure that I now declare this conference open.
After the speeches concluded, the APCCA symbols were formally handed over from Mr Adi Sujatno, leader of the Indonesian delegation, to Mr Kelvin Pang. The symbols are a Fijian war club and an Indian brass lamp. The Fijian war club may be associated with aggression and violence but its significance is that it is a sign of peace, harmony and civilisation when it is surrendered to another person. The Indian brass lamp is a symbol of learning and enlightenment. Together, these two symbols embody the enduring values of the APCCA.
The Conference was also honoured by the presence at the opening ceremony and the welcome dinner on the Monday evening, of the Honourable Mr Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong IDSM, JP, Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong SAR. Mr Lee delivered the following speech at the welcome dinner:
Welcome Speech by Secretary for Security, Mr LEE Siu-kwong, IDSM, JP, at Welcome Dinner
Good evening Commissioner Pang,
Distinguished delegates and guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to welcome you to this evening’s dinner in honour of all delegates and guests attending the 23rd Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators.
Hong Kong is honoured to play host to this important event. The presence of some 100 delegates from over 20 countries at this year’s conference underscores the determination of correctional administrators in the Region to establish stronger ties and closer co-operation with each other for the betterment of the services that each provides.
Being Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, I am in no doubt as to the importance of correctional services to the safety and internal security of a community, which in turn have a direct bearing on social stability and economic prosperity. As senior professional correctional managers, therefore, you have a key role to play in contributing to the well-being of your countries through shaping your countries’ policies and practices pertaining to the treatment of offenders.
Managing offenders is never an easy task. Operating today in a fast‑changing environment, we cannot assume that old methods will always solve new problems and meet new challenges. And I believe it is for this main reason that you gather annually at the APCCA for inspirations and the cross-fertilisation of new ideas.
You have a five-day conference, with a heavy agenda and visit programme. While the formal sessions are of course important, experience from international conferences of this type tells us that insights and co-operation opportunities frequently crop up in the corridors or through informal exchanges of views at social functions. Therefore, I hope you will find this welcome dinner and other social activities hosted by my Correctional Services colleagues both enjoyable and fruitful. I hope you will also find time in the evenings to enjoy Hong Kong’s beautiful night scenes. To those who can afford the time to stay longer, don’t miss the chance to enjoy our city’s shopping and many other tourist attractions and take home wonderful memories of Hong Kong, Asia’s World City.
Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome also some of our local community leaders who are here this evening and who have volunteered so much of their time and effort in helping with offender rehabilitation. In Hong Kong, we place much emphasis on community partnership in helping offenders to turn over a new leaf. Without this community partnership, our rehabilitation work would not be half as successful. I would like, therefore, to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to those involved and to thank them for their contribution.
So, without further ado, let me wish you all an enjoyable evening and a most successful conference in the next few days. Thank you.