Scammers under leading telecom fraud syndicates in north Myanmar are handed over to Chinese custody, on January 30, 2024. Photo: VCG
The annual two sessions will take place next month in Beijing. Johnny Ng Kit-chong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a local lawmaker in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), plans to submit at least four proposals including one aimed at advancing a collaborative governance mechanism to tackle cross-border telecom fraud, the Global Times learned on Monday.
Ng outlined a series of recommended measures, including the establishment of a multi-party coordination mechanism to encourage enterprises to invest in anti-fraud initiatives. He also advocated for enhanced cross-border judicial cooperation to improve asset recovery rates, the application of blockchain technology to develop encrypted information systems, and the creation of fraud call tracing devices.
He also proposed implementing a mandatory compensation system for corporate data breaches and establishing an anti-fraud social fund to safeguard the rights of victims, according to the proposal Ng sent to the Global Times.
In a Q&A session at the Legislative Council on February 12, acting Secretary for Security of the HKSAR government Michael Cheuk unveiled that since the second quarter of 2024, there have been signs of a resurgence of Hong Kong residents allegedly being lured to Southeast Asian countries and trapped there to engage in illegal work.
From 2023 to January 2025, local law enforcement authorities have received a total of 28 request-for-assistance cases (each case involves one victim) in relation to Hong Kong residents alleged to have been detained in Southeast Asian countries and not being able to leave, 19 of whom have already returned to Hong Kong. "As for the remaining nine persons, we believe that eight are in Myanmar while one is in Cambodia," Cheuk said.
Cross-border telecom fraud involves multiple industries, including the internet, finance, telecommunications, data regulation, storage and network technology. Government departments need to collaborate with these institutions to establish a coordinated governance mechanism, Ng said.
It should also improve relevant work regulations, the Hong Kong lawmaker said. For example, in response to new situations and characteristics of telecom network fraud crimes, judicial interpretations should be adjusted promptly to resolve legal application disputes.
Also, the extradition treaty should be improved to ensure that Chinese citizens involved in crimes abroad can be brought back to China for legal prosecution, Ng noted.
"We should also strengthen judicial cooperation by fully leveraging the role of Interpol, working closely in cross-border evidence collection, arrests and asset recovery," he said.
The AFP reported on Saturday that a Myanmar ethnic militia was preparing to deport 10,000 people linked to cyber scams in the area it controls to Thailand as part of a crackdown on the illicit compounds.
Cheuk led a dedicated task force comprising members from the Hong Kong Security Bureau, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Immigration Department to Bangkok in January to follow up on relevant cases. Since then, the dedicated task force has established direct contacts with relevant Thai authorities to enhance future communication and exchange of intelligence, which aims to follow up on the cases more effectively.
Ng also proposed that law enforcement and judicial authorities should strengthen data collaboration with domestic internet service providers, making full use of big data analytics and computing technologies to facilitate data sharing.
Also, to protect people's personal information, blockchain technology can be leveraged for its immutability and security features, reducing the risk of personal data breaches, Ng noted.
