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Public Order
Independent Commission Against Corruption
Hong Kong upholds its reputation as an international city with a clean government, a level playing field for doing business and a society intolerant of corruption. Various international studies released in 2014 recognised Hong Kong as one of the world's least corrupt places, including the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index, the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index and the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.
In operation for 40 years, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) safeguards Hong Kong's probity through a holistic strategy of enforcement, prevention and education. Its independence is guaranteed under the Basic Law.
Corruption remains well under control. The ICAC Annual Survey 2014 found that 96.9 per cent of respondents expressed support for the ICAC and only 1.5 per cent had encountered corruption in the past 12 months, while the tolerance of corruption remained low with a mean score of 1.0 (with 0 representing total rejection and 10 representing total acceptance).
In 2014, the ICAC received 2,362 corruption complaints (excluding election-related complaints), 11 per cent less than 2013. Of these complaints, 63 per cent concerned the private sector, 30 per cent concerned government departments and 7 per cent concerned public bodies.
The successful prosecution of a former senior government official and some prominent businessmen, after a 133 day trial, demonstrated that the ICAC fights corruption without fear or favour, irrespective of the background, status and position of those involved.
Enforcement
In 2014, 223 people were prosecuted for corruption and related offences, and 26 were cautioned for minor offences, on the advice of the Department of Justice. At year's end, 1,002 cases, including 35 related to elections, were under investigation. Prosecutions of major public interest included cases involving alleged corruption and misconduct by government officers, fraud and corruption involving listed companies and football match fixing facilitated by graft. Of the completed prosecutions, 87 per cent of cases resulted in convictions.
There were 51 complaints relating to the 2013 District Council By-election, 2014 District Council By-election and 2015 Rural Representative Election.
Prevention and Education
In 2014, corruption prevention guides and training packages were tailor-made for various sectors, including construction and building management. Other initiatives included seminars, a Best Practice Checklist on procurement for government departments, Sample Codes of Conduct for public bodies, and a film series on business ethics for companies engaged in cross- boundary business.
The ICAC provided free corruption prevention advice to private organisations upon request on a confidential basis, and undertook 59 detailed studies to help government departments and public bodies reduce corruption risks and strengthen internal control. Advice was offered on 526 occasions on a range of issues, including new policies, laws and procedures.
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