Fighting Corruption The Successful Formula

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Fighting Corruption - The Hong Kong Experience
By
Mrs. Jean Au Yeung
Assistant Director of Corruption Prevention
Independent Commission Against Corruption, Hong Kong
Presentation Paper
for
The Seminar on International Experiences on Good Governance
and Fighting Corruption
Thursday, February 17, 2000
Pimarnmek Room, 3
rd
 Floor, The Grand Hotel Bangkok

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Fighting Corruption - The Hong Kong Experience
By Mrs. Jean Au Yeung
Assistant Director of Corruption Prevention
Independent Commission Against Corruption, Hong Kong
Introduction
This paper aims to summarise the Hong Kong experience in fighting corruption in the past
twenty six years, describe the preventive efforts of the Hong Kong Independent
Commission Against Corruption, better known as the ICAC and the factors contributing to
our success, and briefly outline the way forward in meeting new challenges of the new
millennium. While the corruption problems we faced may be different and our prevention
practices are developed to suit the Hong Kong environment, it is believed that many
corruption problems in other parts of the world stem from common causes and may
respond to similar approaches.
The Battle Against Corruption
In the late 50s and 60s, corruption was pervasive in Hong Kong, in both public and private
sectors. To the general public, corruption was an open secret and a recognised way of life.
Syndicated corruption existed in law enforcement agencies and some government services
were offered at a price. For example, in the Police Force, corruption was run as a business
with large syndicates formed to collect “black money” systematically in return for
covering vice operations. A bribe to Immigration officials could expedite an application
for a visa or a passport. The installation of a telephone line could also be speeded up by
offering a bribe to the staff of the franchised public utility company. Illegal commission
in the business sector was commonplace. Then, the Government seemed powerless to do
anything about it.

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However, the time for change arrived in the early 70s. Hong Kong was then undergoing
significant economic and population growth. In the process of rapid social and economic
developments, Hong Kong has to grapple with numerous problems, and corruption was a
serious problem that the public were getting sick of. The fleeing from Hong Kong of a
senior police officer who faced prosecution for corruption was the straw that broke the
camel’s back and it triggered off a storm of public protests and prompted a public inquiry.
The principal recommendation from that inquiry was to establish a dedicated, independent
and powerful agency to deal with corruption, with its Commissioner directly responsible
to the then Governor. The Independent Commission Against Corruption, or ICAC for
short, was born in 1974.