Singapore, China reaffirm anti-drug stance during top official's visit
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MR ANDY TSANG.
Leaders from Singapore and China reaffirmed both nations' zero-tolerance stance on drugs in a meeting earlier this week when Mr Andy Tsang Wai Hung, Deputy Commissioner of China's National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC), visited Singapore.
The Home Team Academy said yesterday that Mr Tsang had met Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam and other Home Team leaders, as part of his visit to the academy from Monday to Thursday as its Distinguished Visiting Fellow.
Mr Tsang said of the meeting with Mr Shanmugam: "We agreed that the global and regional drug situation continues to be a serious problem, and that both Singapore and China should continue to work together to tackle the drug scourge.
"The meeting provided a good opportunity for us to discuss the enhancement of bilateral drug control and law enforcement cooperation measures."
In April this year, Mr Tsang was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the NNCC, which is China's paramount anti-drug body.
He had served as Hong Kong Police Force Commissioner from 2011 to 2015, during which the 2014 Occupy Central protests took place.
He is currently a delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's political advisory body.
In June this year, he was nominated by China as its candidate for the position of executive director of the Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
As part of his visit here, Mr Tsang shared his views with Home Team officers on the global drug problem and China's challenges and strategies to deal with it.
China, he said, will focus on international cooperation, rehabilitation and greater action against the prevalence of materials used to produce drugs.
The academy's chief executive Clarence Yeo said the fellowship programme is a key platform for Home Team officers to meet eminent personalities who are experts in safety and security.
"Through this programme, we aim to establish long-lasting and fruitful relationships with our fellows, and enable our Home Team officers to keep abreast of the latest global developments related to the work that they do to keep Singapore safe and secure," he added.