Media

HKU to hold workshop on Global Governance, Underground Economy and its Impact on Human and Health Security in East Asia

14 Jun 2013

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) will hold a conference tomorrow (June 15, Saturday) on Global Governance, Underground Economy and its Impact on Human and Health Security in East Asia.

The one-day conference will provide a forum for the public, HKU staff and students as well as experts from East Asia to exchange views on the development and growth of the various illicit industries in the region. Topics to be discussed include black market trade of human organs in China, human smuggling, exploitation of fishery resources in South China Sea, shadow banking and cross border capital flow in southern China, and the impact of China’s online underground economy in East Asia.

Over the course of the last two decades, East Asia has been rocked by scandals associated with melamine milk powder, poisonous “lead”-laced toys, “drainage” oil, pesticide tainted crops and livestock fed with excessive growth stimulants. There are now fake food products of every nature, ranging from the more ubiquitous imitations of processed food products like Shark Fin and Bird Nests to the more innovative fake “tofu” and “eggs”. The underground economic activities in China are responsible for existence of many other harmful products. It is estimated that counterfeit or substandard drugs are responsible for around 300,000 deaths annually in China alone. Glycerin-substituted cough medicine has been traced to large factories in China that allegedly killed more than a hundred children in Africa. Chinese Triads and Japanese Yakuzas are smuggling psychoactive drugs, illegal migrants and sex slaves worldwide. Everyday, numerous trucks carrying illegally-obtained resource such as timber, fishery products, animal parts and other contraband cross national borders in East Asia.

As these illicit industries pose unprecedented transnational risks for the countries involved, they generate tremendous concerns for government officials, law enforcement, public health communities and local citizens. At the conference, experts from various disciplines will address the impact of these illicit industries on health and security and consider the challenges these activities have for global governance and sustainable development.

The workshop is organized by the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, and sponsored by the HKU Knowledge Exchange Impact Project Fund and the HKU 82’ Alumni Green Fund.

Media representatives are welcome to join the Conference. Details are as follows:

Date: June 15, 2013 (Saturday)
Time: 9.15am to 5.30pm.
Venue: Arts Faculty Conference Room, Room 4.36, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus.
Program: http://www.japanese.hku.hk/news/images/20130615.pdf

For enquiries please contact Ms Lolo Yu, (Tel: 39177192 / Email: loloyu@hku.hk )  School of Modern Languages and Cultures , or Ms Melanie Wan, Communications and Public Affairs Office, HKU (Tel: 2859 2600 / Email: melwkwan@hku.hk ).