Hong Kong ombudsman vows to step up international ties, use of mediation

December 5, 2024

Hong Kong will step up international collaboration and its use of mediation to handle complaints against the government, the ombudsman has told an inaugural global summit being held in the city.

A mainland Chinese official at the event on Tuesday also called for respect for different approaches between governments and more exchanges to strengthen the governance of administrations.

Hong Kong Ombudsman Jack Chan Jick-chi said cross-border collaboration facilitated opportunities for mutual learning.

“By fostering collaboration and sharing knowledge among fellow ombudsmen, we can learn from each other and be wiser and smarter,” he said in his opening remarks at the International Ombudsman Summit.

“I am delighted that after the summit today, we will sign memorandums of understanding with eight fellow ombudsman organisations from all over the world to foster international cooperation.

“We look forward to our enhanced cooperation and communication.”

The Office of the Ombudsman said it would sign the deals with its counterparts from Canada’s Ontario and Hawaii in the United States, as well as South Korea, Indonesia and Slovakia, among others.

The three-day event began on Monday with a welcome dinner and ends on Wednesday with social programmes. Tuesday’s summit was held at the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

Chan said that he had spearheaded three new strategy directions: increasing the use of mediation to address complaints; bolstering cooperation between departments to resolve complex issues faced by the public; and fostering a positive culture towards complaints.

He said these initiatives were being implemented to promote efficient and people-oriented public administration.

“The use of mediation to resolve complaints involving minor or null maladministration, coupled with the promotion of multi-agency collaboration provides a solid ground for complainants and government departments or public organisations involved to develop a healthy relationship and explore mutually satisfactory solutions in a speedy manner,” he said.

“While handling cases through traditional investigation can often take months, mediation can resolve disputes within a short span [of time], as short as within one day from my experience.”

City leader John Lee Ka-chiu said at the summit’s closing ceremony on Tuesday evening that the memorandums of understanding between Hong Kong’s Office of the Ombudsman and other such organisations worldwide spoke of new and revitalised international ties and the opportunities they would create for everyone.

“This welcome spirit reflects a shared commitment to the values and principles that resounded throughout today’s summit. Allow me to congratulate each and every one of the signatories,” he said.

Lee also noted that he fully supported the office’s three new strategic directions.

Cai Wei, the director general of the Department of International Cooperation of the National Commission of Supervision of the People’s Republic of China, put forward three suggestions to further enhance the cooperation and exchanges globally.

He urged officials to respect equality and inclusiveness, noting that jurisdictions had different legal frameworks and supervision systems as a result of their own history, cultures and stages of development.

“We should therefore respect diversity in civilisations and development models, and the right of each other to explore and choose one’s own supervision system that fits the real context,” he said.

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