Legal Tales | How a trip to Paris showed that in Hong Kong, nothing is impossible

The Department of Justice, led by Secretary for Justice Paul Lam SC, hosted a seminar this month in Paris, titled “Hong Kong Legal Services – Gateway to China and Beyond”.

The speakers included French lawyers living and working in Hong Kong, as well as French business leaders who have invested and managed part of their Asian operations from Hong Kong.

Also participating were Hong Kong solicitors and barristers, including Eva Sit SC, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, and myself.

Hong Kong has been home to a strong French business presence for a long time. This, of course, includes various French luxury brands established here, many of which derive close to 30 per cent of their revenue from the Chinese market.

There are also major French banks, technology firms, green energy and engineering enterprises, and utility companies that use Hong Kong as a springboard to access the mainland Chinese and wider Asian markets.

In turn, this is reflected by a significant French community in Hong Kong and a well-established school that produces excellent results in the French Baccalaureat examinations.