Privacy Policy
Last updated: 29 October 2026.
1. Who we are and what this notice covers
This notice explains how Sino International Professional Advisory Council Limited (“SIPAC”, “we”, “us”) collects, uses, shares and protects personal data. SIPAC is a company incorporated in Hong Kong. Our registered office is Room 38, 27/F., EGL Tower, No. 83 Hung To Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
It applies when you:
- visit www.sipac-network.com (the “Site”);
- contact us or ask about membership;
- register for, attend or speak at a SIPAC event, including the Sino-International Law Forum (SILF);
- receive news and updates from us.
We handle personal data in line with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) of Hong Kong. Where we process personal data in connection with activities in mainland China, we also follow the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China. Other data protection laws may apply depending on where you are.
2. Personal data we collect
| When | What we collect |
|---|---|
| You contact us or ask about membership | Name, organization, position, email address, phone number, and what you tell us in your message |
| You register for an event, such as SILF (delegate details) | For each delegate: title, name as shown in the passport, name on badge, Chinese name (optional), position, organization, type of organization, jurisdiction, country or region of practice, email address, WeChat ID (optional), dietary requirements, accessibility needs (optional), cities attending, intercity travel plans, planned arrival date, interest in optional tours and law firm visits, and whether a visa invitation letter is needed, with nationality |
| You register for an event (registration and billing details) | Billing contact name and email, invoice address, tax or VAT number and purchase order reference (optional), payment method, topics of interest and how you heard about the event (optional), and your consent choices |
| You request a visa invitation letter | Passport details (such as passport number, date of birth and passport expiry date), which we request separately by email |
| You pay us | Invoice and payment records. Card payments are handled by our payment provider through the link on our invoice. We do not receive or store your full card details. |
| You attend an event | Attendance records, photographs and video recordings |
| You visit the Site | Technical data such as IP address, browser type, device, pages viewed and time spent, collected through server logs and cookies (see section 10) |
When a colleague or assistant registers delegates on your behalf, we receive your details from them. The person registering confirms that each delegate has agreed to share their details with us for this purpose. We may also confirm professional details, such as your position and firm, from public sources like your firm’s website.
3. Sensitive personal data
Some details we ask for at events are sensitive, because they can reveal health information, religious belief or identity:
- Dietary requirements, such as halal, kosher or a food allergy;
- Accessibility or mobility needs;
- Passport details, needed only for a visa invitation letter.
These details are optional, except where you need the related service. We use them only to arrange catering, accessible venues and transport, and visa invitation letters. We share dietary and accessibility details only with the venues, caterers and transport providers who need them, and passport details only in the invitation letter we send to you. You can ask us to update or delete them at any time, but we may then be unable to meet that need.
4. How we use personal data
We use personal data to:
- process event registrations, confirm places and send joining instructions;
- issue invoices, take payment, handle refunds and keep accounting records;
- organize the event, including badges, seating, catering, coach transfers, law firm visits and optional tours;
- prepare visa invitation letters when you ask for one;
- verify member rates and eligibility, including the jurisdiction rules for non-member registration;
- answer your enquiries and manage membership;
- produce a delegate list for registered participants (see section 6);
- record and report on our events, including photographs and video (see section 6);
- send news about SIPAC events and activities, if you agree (see section 7);
- run, secure and improve the Site;
- comply with legal, tax and regulatory duties, and establish or defend legal claims.
Where a law requires a legal basis, we rely on what is needed to perform your registration or membership, our legal obligations, our legitimate interest in running and improving our events and services, or your consent.
Do you have to give us your data? Fields marked as required on our forms are needed to process your registration or enquiry. Without them we cannot complete it. All other fields are optional.
5. Who we share personal data with
We do not sell personal data. We share it only as needed, with:
| Recipient | What they receive | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Venues, hotels and caterers | Names, organization, dietary and accessibility needs | To host the Forum, lunches and receptions |
| Coach and car transport providers | Names, travel plans and WeChat ID, where given | To run SIPAC-arranged transfers |
| Law firms hosting visits, and tour operators | Names, position, organization | Only if you register interest in a visit or tour |
| Our payment, accounting, email and website service providers | What they need to provide their service | To invoice, take payment, send emails and run the Site |
| Our professional advisers and auditors | As needed | For legal, tax and audit purposes |
| Other registered participants | Name, position, organization and country or region | In the delegate list, to help delegates connect, unless you ask not to be listed |
| Government, courts or regulators | As required | Where the law requires it |
Service providers act on our instructions and must keep your data confidential and secure.
Transfers outside Hong Kong. Our events take place in mainland China, so we share delegate data with venues, hotels, transport providers and visit hosts there. Some of our service providers store data in other countries. Data protection laws in those places may differ from Hong Kong’s. Where we transfer data, we take reasonable steps, including contractual commitments, so that it is protected to a standard similar to this notice. By registering for an event in mainland China, you agree that your data will be shared with recipients there for the purposes above.
6. Events: delegate list, photography and filming
Delegate list. We share a delegate list with other registered participants to help delegates connect. It shows each delegate’s name, position, organization and country or region only. We never include email addresses or WeChat IDs. If you prefer not to be listed, tell us when you register or at any time by emailing events@sipac-network.com.
Photography and filming. Our events are photographed and filmed. Images and recordings may appear in SIPAC reports, on the Site, in newsletters and on our social media, including WeChat and LinkedIn. If you do not want to appear, tell the registration desk on arrival or email events@sipac-network.com. We will do our best to respect your choice, but cannot guarantee that you will not appear in general crowd shots.
7. News and direct marketing
With your consent, we use your name, email address, organization and position to send you news about SILF and other SIPAC events, programs, publications and membership. We will not use your personal data for direct marketing without your consent, and we will not provide it to anyone else for their own marketing.
You can withdraw consent at any time, free of charge, by using the unsubscribe link in any email or by writing to admin@sipac-network.com. Service messages about an event you have registered for, such as invoices and joining instructions, are not marketing and will continue.
8. How long we keep personal data, and how we protect it
We keep personal data only as long as we need it for the purposes in this notice, or as the law requires:
| Data | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Passport details for visa invitation letters | Deleted within 30 days after the event |
| Dietary and accessibility details | Deleted within 3 months after the event |
| Other event registration details | 2 years after the event, then deleted or anonymized |
| Invoices, payment and accounting records | At least 7 years, as Hong Kong tax law requires |
| Enquiries and membership correspondence | 2 years after our last contact, or for the duration of membership |
| Marketing preferences | Until you unsubscribe, plus a record of the opt-out so we do not contact you again |
| Event photographs and video | Kept in our archive as a record of our events |
| Site logs | Up to 12 months |
Security. We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data from unauthorized access, loss or misuse. These include encrypted connections to the Site, restricted access for staff who need the data, and confidentiality obligations for our staff and service providers. No transmission over the internet is completely secure, but we work to protect your data and will act promptly if a security incident occurs.
9. Your rights
You have the right to:
- ask whether we hold personal data about you, and request a copy;
- ask us to correct data that is inaccurate;
- withdraw consent you have given, for example to marketing or to our use of sensitive data, without affecting what we did before;
- opt out of direct marketing at any time.
Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to ask us to delete your data, restrict or object to its use, receive it in a portable format, or receive an explanation of how we handle it. This includes individuals covered by the laws of mainland China, the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom.
To use any of these rights, email admin@sipac-network.com with your name, the event or service concerned and your request. We may need to verify your identity. We aim to respond within 40 days. We may charge a reasonable fee for providing a copy of your data, as Hong Kong law allows, and will tell you the amount first.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong, or the data protection authority where you live.
10. Cookies, children, other websites and changes
Cookies. The Site uses cookies and similar technologies that are needed for it to work, for example to remember your language choice or save progress on a form. We also use Google Analytics, through Google Tag Manager, to understand how visitors use the Site. Google Analytics sets cookies and sends usage information, such as pages visited and approximate location, to Google, which may process it outside Hong Kong. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, or use Google’s browser add-on to opt out of Google Analytics. Some parts of the Site may not work properly without cookies.
Children. Our services are intended for legal and business professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18.
Other websites. The Site and our emails may link to websites we do not control. Their own privacy policies apply.
Changes to this notice. We may update this notice from time to time. We will post the new version on this page with its date and, for significant changes, tell registered delegates and members by email.
11. Contact us
For questions or requests about personal data, contact:
Sino International Professional Advisory Council Limited
Room 38, 27/F., EGL Tower, No. 83 Hung To Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Email: admin@sipac-network.com
For questions about an event registration, contact events@sipac-network.com.