CityU co-develops first Hengqin-Macao joint laboratory for data flow security and compliance governance
The Faculty of Data Science (FDS) of City University of Macau (CityU), together with Macao Maia Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Maia Technology”) and MaxBroadTech (Zhuhai Hengqin) Technology Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as “MaxBroadTech”), initiated the establishment of the “Joint Laboratory for Data Flow Security and Compliance Governance.” A signing ceremony of the collaboration agreement was recently held at the Taipa campus. The three-party agreement was signed by Professor Zhou Wanlei, vice rector of CityU and dean of the FDS; Choi Si Wai, general director of Maia Technology; and Bai Zhiyong, representative of MaxBroadTech.
The joint laboratory will integrate the research and industrial resources of all parties to tackle key challenges in testing technologies of cross-border data security compliance, dynamic risk monitoring of encrypted data flows, and multimodal intelligent auditing algorithms. Through academia-industry collaboration and innovation, the initiative aims to support key industries in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area), such as cross-border e-commerce, healthcare, and international trade—in overcoming technical bottlenecks, while fostering deeper integration of research outcomes with regional economic development.
Vice Rector Zhou Wanlei emphasized in his remark that the joint laboratory would serve as a pivotal platform for Macao’s integration into the national digital strategy, meaning that this “government-industry-academia-research-application” collaborative model would contribute to the appropriate economic diversification of Macao. He regarded this partnership not only set a benchmark for cross-border data flows in the Greater Bay Area but also would leverage international exchange platforms to share China’s wisdom, offering a “Greater Bay Area” model for global digital governance.
Vice Rector Zhou also said that the tripartite laboratory would be the hub to build an international cooperation network extending to countries engaged in the Belt and Road Initiative and Portuguese-speaking countries. He introduced that the laboratory would organize regular events such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao summits for data governance and the cross-border technology exchange sessions in response to China’s “Digital Silk Road” initiative, promoting mutual recognition of data security standards at the international level and exploring China’s solutions for cross-border data flows.
General Director Choi Si Wai emphasized that the joint laboratory would help enterprises overcome their challenges in using data effectively by establishing standardized technologies and risk prevention systems, providing compliance support for smart city development and cross-border e-commerce applications. He mentioned that the laboratory plans to develop a blockchain-based system for cross-border data certification and a federated learning privacy computing platform to connect technology, industry and market, thereby maximizing the value of data elements.
Choi also noted that future research would focus on developing network and data security technologies dedicated to cross-border e-commerce, as well as cross-border data storage and regulatory platform based on multi-party computation to work in accordance with both Data Security Law of China and Personal Data Protection Act of Macao, while promoting collaborative innovation in cross-border e-commerce and live streaming commerce sectors in the Greater Bay Area.
Other attendees from FDS included Chris Chu Chia-Wei, program coordinator of Bachelor of Computer Science, and Max Kuok Weng Tak, program coordinator of master’s program.
Source: Macao Daily News
