Here's Teemu Ruskola on Vimeo talking about his new book, Legal Orientalism. Having seen parts of it before, I can highly recommend it as brilliant and provocative, even though I don't agree with all of it. Certainly anyone writing about…

Secretary for Security TK Lai says the Government has constantly asked the Philippine government to follow up on the Manila hostage tragedy.

He told lawmakers today the Government has contacted the Philippine Consulate General 21 times since 2012 to follow up on the requests of victims and their families, which include a formal apology, compensation, holding officials accountable for mishandling the incident, and measures to ensure the safety of tourists.

The Government has also repeated the requests on various occasions, such as at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation meeting held in September last year, during which the Financial Secretary met with the President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines and reiterated the requests.

Since the incident, the Government has provided assistance to the victims and their families, including medical treatment and psychological support.

The Security Bureau has also designated an officer to communicate with representatives of the victims' families to answer their needs. 

The Government understands the public is still dissatisfied with the Philippine government’s refusal to admit responsibility, and will continue to follow up on the incident.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Prof KC Chan welcomed the Legislative Council's passing of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2013 today.

The bill enables Hong Kong to enter into tax information exchange agreements with other jurisdictions, and enhance the existing exchange of information (EoI) arrangements under comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements.

Prof Chan said the bill's passage signifies a major step forward in enhancing tax information exchange and bringing Hong Kong on par with the international standard on tax transparency and co-operation.

The Global Forum on Transparency & Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development has recommended Hong Kong put in place a legal framework for entering into agreements, which is crucial for it to prepare for the Phase 2 peer review of the Global Forum on jurisdictions' compliance with the international EoI standard in September.

Up to now, Hong Kong has signed 29 comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements and the signatories include 11 of its top 20 trading partners.

"With the passage of the bill, we would enhance the existing EoI arrangement in terms of the coverage of tax types and the limitation on disclosure of information."

Prof Chan said the legislative changes passed enable Hong Kong to meet the prevailing international standard and address the local community's concerns on privacy and confidentiality.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption received 3,932 graft complaints last year, down 2% on 2011.

Announcing the results of the ICAC’s 2012 Annual Report at the Legislative Council today, member of the council and the Advisory Committee on Corruption Christopher Chung said among the complaints, 74% were made by people who identified themselves, and 75% could be further pursued.

Although graft complaints against government departments increased 7% to 1,192, Mr Chung said there was no sign of a resurgence of syndicated corruption.

Corruption complaints involving public bodies increased 12% to 257 but the number of prosecutions remained relatively low, he said.

Private sector corruption complaints decreased 7% to 2,483.

The commission’s special election taskforce investigated 1,604 complaints alleging vote-rigging in relation to the 2011 District Council Election. While 55 people were prosecuted, investigations did not reveal evidence of rampant vote planting, he said.

ICAC Commissioner Simon Peh said his officers are committed to striving for effective law enforcement in the face of modern challenges.

On the law-enforcement front, the person-based and case-based conviction rates in 2012 were 78% and 84%.

To provide support to investigators dealing with increasingly sophisticated financial fraud cases facilitated by corruption, the ICAC Operations Department’s Forensic Accounting Group conducted examinations of 85 cases in connection with over 21,594 transactions during the year, with an aggregate sum of approximately $4.8 billion.

The Computer Forensic Section processed 120 terabytes of data contained in digital devices seized in investigations.

The ICAC Complaints Committee also submitted its annual report to the Legislative Council today.

In 2012, the committee received 19 complaints comprising 57 allegations against the ICAC and its officers. Fifty-three per cent were related to misconduct, 28% neglect of duties, and 14% abuse of power, while the remaining 5% related to inadequacies in ICAC procedures.

The committee considered investigation reports on 22 complaints comprising 66 allegations. Two allegations in two complaints, involving a different ICAC officer in each case, were found to be substantiated. The two officers have been given appropriate advice.

Global private equity giant KKR says it has reached final closing of its Asian II Fund of $6 billion. This is the largest pan-Asian private equity fund ever raised, according to a company statement. The Asian II Fund marks the firm’s third successful fundraising in the region, following its $4 billion regional fund in 2007 […]

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