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E-mail China.org.cn, November 30, 2023
Phoenix TV:
We have been closely monitoring the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Could you please provide an overview of the measures taken by the MOJ to support lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao in their participation in the Greater Bay Area's development? What achievements have been made so far? Thank you.
Tian Xin:
Thank you. Just now, Minister He mentioned that the development of the Greater Bay Area has received considerable attention from lawyers in Hong Kong and Macao. Let me briefly introduce the relevant situation. In recent years, the MOJ has diligently implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. We have successively issued a series of policies and measures, including ones on the establishment of representative offices on the Chinese mainland by Hong Kong and Macao law firms, partnerships between mainland and Hong Kong and Macao law firms, participation of Hong Kong and Macao residents in mainland legal professional qualification exams and their applications for legal practice, and the engagement of Hong Kong and Macao lawyers as legal consultants in mainland law firms. These policies and measures fully harness the professional capabilities of Hong Kong and Macao law firms and lawyers, promoting better integration of the legal profession in Hong Kong and Macao into the overall development of the country and yielding significant results.
In particular, to implement the decisions and plans of the central government regarding the development of the Greater Bay Area and to support the participation of lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao in the Greater Bay Area's development, the MOJ actively promotes the pilot work of mainland practice by lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao in the Greater Bay Area. We have organized policy promotion, legal knowledge training, exam organization and implementation while also guiding the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province to ensure lawyer practice permits and management services, providing favorable conditions for lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao to practice in the nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area.
Through the collaborative efforts of all relevant parties, the pilot work has achieved results. Currently, three lawyer practice exams for the Greater Bay Area have been successfully conducted, with over 1,500 lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao registering for these exams. Among them, 372 lawyers have obtained lawyer practice licenses in the Greater Bay Area. Leveraging their expertise in Hong Kong and Macao laws, as well as in relevant foreign laws, and their proficiency in mainland laws, lawyers in the Greater Bay Area have played a professional role in handling legal affairs with foreign involvement or the involvement of Hong Kong or Macao in such areas as civil and commercial litigation and arbitration, investment, and intellectual property. They have provided high-quality and efficient legal services to support the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
This year, the MOJ promptly recommended extending the pilot period for lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao practicing in the Greater Bay Area and revising the pilot measures accordingly, and drafted relevant proposals and documents. Then the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted a decision on this matter, whereby the General Office of the State Council revised the pilot measures. With these moves, the pilot period for lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao practicing in the mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area has been extended by three years. The entry requirements for the exam have also been appropriately lowered, and the coverage of the pilot policies has been expanded, generating enthusiastic responses in the legal communities of Hong Kong and Macao.
In the future, the MOJ will continue to refine policies to open up the mainland legal service sector to Hong Kong and Macao firms and lawyers. We will explore and develop supportive measures and mechanisms for the pilot mainland practice of lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao in the Greater Bay Area, providing additional opportunities and platforms for them to practice on the mainland. We welcome more law firms and lawyers from Hong Kong and Macao to develop their businesses and careers here, actively participating in the promotion of the rule of law in the country and contributing their expertise and strength to the advancement of Chinese-style modernization. Thank you.
Chen Wenjun:
The last two questions, please.
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