The Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing was held at the University of Hong Kong from November 27 to 29. Mrs Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive, Mr Nicholas Yang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, and Ms Annie Choi, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology attended the opening ceremony of the Summit.

At the Summit, scientists and researchers, technology experts, as well as the ethicists from all around the world debated the potential benefits and risks of human genome editing. In her opening speech, Mrs Lam said, 'Hong Kong is an ideal place for holding this Summit, given our goal to become an international innovation and technology hub, an ambition with strong support from the Central Government. And biotechnology, I'm pleased to note, is among the key areas we are focusing on.'

In view of the significance of genome medicine in screening, diagnosis and precision medicine, Mrs Lam announced in the Policy Address last year the establishment of a steering committee to lead the study on strategies for developing genomic medicine in Hong Kong. She added that, to enhance the clinical application of genomic medicine, one of the steering committee's recommendations to conduct a large-scale genome sequencing project in Hong Kong. This project will also promote innovative research on genomic medicine through the establishment of genome data of local population, testing infrastructure and talent pool.