Hong Kong’s police chief has pledged to ramp up collaboration with Asean countries to fortify the force’s role as a “superconnector” in law enforcement, as the city gears up to host Interpol’s top annual meeting in November for the first time.
Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming, who worked at Interpol’s Lyon headquarters as a criminal intelligence officer between 2012 and 2013, said the high international standing of the force could help foster ties.
“Hong Kong’s position hasn’t changed over the years; it’s ranked high. We hope to link up different places for cooperation, using our past experience and international position to deepen connections,” Chow said in a recent media interview.
In his capacity then as deputy commissioner (operations), Chow attended Interpol’s general assembly in Glasgow in November 2024 and secured China’s bid to host the 94th annual meeting of the international police organisation’s governing body in Hong Kong.
It will be Hong Kong’s first time hosting the event, in which 196 member country representatives gather to discuss international policing issues and foster collaboration.
Chow said after winning the bid in 2024 that the event was an opportunity “for China to reaffirm our commitment and dedication to international cooperation, and to fostering our lasting partnership with the global police community”.
In a recent media interview, Chow said preparation work for Interpol’s general assembly had already begun with a three-tier organisation framework led by the chief secretary at the top level.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung would chair the second tier, while Chow would lead the third with various working groups within the force organising the conference.
The commissioner also attended Interpol’s general assembly in Marrakech, Morocco, in November last year, where he held meetings with his counterparts from various countries.
“Aligning with current global crime trends, we have maintained robust contact with many countries, but we would now expand our ties with Asean countries or those in the Belt and Road Initiative,” Chow said, describing these nations as “important partners” in the fight against cross-border crimes.
During the meeting in Marrakech, Chow met with law enforcement agency representatives from 15 countries across Asia, Europe and Oceania to discuss collaboration against transnational crimes and other projects.
These countries include Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.
During the interview, the police chief had named Cambodia and Vietnam as two countries that the force would seek to boost collaboration with.
Chow said he travelled to Vietnam to meet with the deputy minister of home affairs earlier last year to discuss how the country’s relationship with Hong Kong could be deepened, while also starting preliminary discussions with representatives for Cambodia.
He also revealed that the force’s cross-border anti-scam platform Frontier+ – which has 10 member countries – would be joined by three more jurisdictions, namely South Africa, Dubai and Brunei.
The alliance, which provides a platform for freezing funds and intelligence exchange on cross-border scams, had conducted a joint crackdown that intercepted more than HK$157 million (US$20 million) and arrested 1,800 people across seven Asian jurisdictions in June last year.
The commissioner said technological developments had sped up the outflow of suspected criminal funds and suspicious scam messages from one jurisdiction to another, often within a matter of seconds.
“For crime crackdowns and policing cooperation, we all understand that problems aren’t localised any more, but rather international,” Chow said.
International cooperation would be pivotal to tackle this increasingly fluid risk, Chow said.
To further fortify the city’s role as a “superconnector” among law enforcement agencies, Chow said Hong Kong police officers had taken up leadership roles at international levels for cybercrime and financial investigations.
Since June last year, the chief superintendent of the force’s cybersecurity and technology crime bureau has been chairing Interpol’s cybercrime expert group, consisting of more than 170 experts from law enforcement agencies and the private sectors across 73 countries and regions.
The group’s next meeting is also slated to be held in Hong Kong in February this year.
Chow added that the force’s financial intelligence investigation bureau had been active in international anti-money-laundering and terrorism financing platforms as expert assessors to evaluate other jurisdictions.
The force also has three secondment posts to Interpol, with two at its Lyon headquarters and one at the Singapore office. Hong Kong officers undertake posts in financial crime and technology crime there. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
