Commissioner welcomes Beijing's Interpol success

POLICE Commissioner Eddie Hui Ki-on yesterday welcomed China's success in winning the right to stage next year's annual gathering of international police chiefs.

The Interpol conference will take place next October in Beijing, a venue sure to focus world attention on the mainland's crippling crime problems.

Mr Hui, who is attending an Interpol meeting in Rome, was considered an influential player in moves to harness delegates' support for China's uncontested nomination.

Three nations - Egypt, Turkey and India - have indicated their desire to host the 1996 forum.

This reflects Interpol's growing importance in engineering policy debate and direction in world crime affairs.

Speaking only hours after the vote, Mr Hui said the Chinese faced a huge task in successfully hosting the conference.

'It is quite a big job,' Mr Hui said of the need to cater for 1,000 leading police figures from 150 nations.

'Since China joined Interpol in the 1980s it has been quite involved in a number of important ways.

'In fact, China indicated last year that it wanted to be a host and, before this conference started, everyone was aware of that.' One of the most significant commitments made at the Rome meeting was the compilation of a world crime chart.

This will involve Hong Kong and other member nations sending progressive statistical reports to the Interpol Secretariat, based in Lyons, France, to help build up a picture of world crime trends and, in particular, the trade in narcotics.

Members agreed it was vital to produce an annual publication of statistics to focus global attention on world crime trouble spots.

'Of course, there was a need to discuss the financial and administrative aspects of Interpol,' Mr Hui said of the five-day conference.

'But one of the important issues was the drug situation in the world. It is continuing to escalate and we are no different in terms of the effect it is having on our community.' Other matters discussed at the forum included international terrorism, economic and commercial crimes and counterfeiting.

Mr Hui, who is joined on his first overseas trip by Interpol superintendent Alan Yu Mun-wah, has already visited Britain.

Late yesterday, he departed for Lyons, where he will be appraised of the Interpol Secretariat's work.