Latest news with #intergovernmental
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong hits a high with global legal body, but now comes the hard part
Hong Kong made a groundbreaking move on Friday when it became the headquarters for a new intergovernmental mediation body but the unit's real tests will be in the types of substantive cases it handles and whether more countries will join the convention, experts have said. While the China-led International Organisation for Mediation launched on Friday with 33 signatories, and the conspicuous absence of major Western countries, leading lawyers said they expected more nations would join once the body's work was promoted. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was front and centre at a high-level ceremony for countries to formally sign as founding members of the organisation. Many of them are part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a push by Beijing to link economies into a China-centred trade and development network. The bulk of them are African states, such as Algeria, Ethiopia and Cameroon, alongside five Asian nations, including Pakistan, Laos and Indonesia, five from Latin America and the Caribbean, five from Oceania and two from Europe. All are generally considered to be developing countries. Asked about the participating countries, former justice minister Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah stressed that each one was an equal entity that should not be judged as 'big or small'.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
‘Transcend zero-sum mindsets': global legal body set up in Hong Kong
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP's journalism by subscribing . New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended a signing ceremony in Hong Kong on Friday morning to mark the establishment of the world's first intergovernmental legal body focused on mediation. Police deployed about 100 officers, including some from their counterterrorism unit, for the event. High-level representatives from nearly 60 countries and about 20 global organisations attended the ceremony at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Wan Chai. Renovation works are being carried out at the old Wan Chai Police Station, where the International Organisation for Mediation will have its headquarters. The site is expected to open by the end of this year or the beginning of 2026. Officials and legal experts have said that the new organisation will boost the city's standing as an international legal hub. Follow our live blog below for the latest updates from the ceremony. More from our coverage: Reporting by Jess Ma, Natalie Wong, Willa Wu, Harvey Kong and Joshua Kwok.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's global legal ambitions get a boost with a new world body
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to attend a signing ceremony in Hong Kong on Friday morning to mark the establishment of the world's first intergovernmental legal body focused on mediation. Police have deployed about 100 officers, including some from their counterterrorism unit, for the event. High-level representatives from nearly 60 countries and about 20 global organisations will attend the ceremony at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Wan Chai. Renovation works are being carried out at the old Wan Chai Police Station, where the International Organisation for Mediation will have its headquarters. The site is expected to open by the end of this year or the beginning of 2026. Officials and legal experts have said that the new organisation will boost the city's standing as an international legal hub. Follow our live blog below for the latest updates from the ceremony. More from our coverage: Reporting by Jess Ma, Natalie Wong, Willa Wu, Harvey Kong and Joshua Kwok.
