TNAG-0747-FCO40-951-Visits-of-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-officials-to-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 112

CONFIDENTIAL

to provide us with information on internal developments in Hong Kong, reported by somebody who is sensitive to UK political requirements. It may be in the Governor's mind that, if this use of the Political Adviser is satisfactory, there will be no need for a grade 4 "Chef du Cabinet"

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Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC):

Mr Jack Cater CBE JP

ICAC was set up in 1974 following the public outcry that followed the Peter Godber case in 1973. It has three departments:

Operations Department responsible for investigating alleged offences against the various anti-corruption ordinances;

Corruption Prevention Department

responsible for examining

the procedures of government departments and public bodies to eliminate anything that might be conclusive to corruption;

Community Relations Department responsible for a programme of education aimed at changing public attitudes towards corruption.

The Operations Department is the largest and inevitably its work attracts most attention. Nearly half the complaints it has investigated have been against the police, which is why the police have tended to feel victimized, This led to the attack on ICAC's headquarters last October by a group of disgruntled off-duty police.

ICAC does not initiate prosecutions: this is the responsibility of the Attorney-General.

Although there are many people in Hong Kong who believe that corruption is worse than ever, particularly since last November's amnesty, this is not the view of Mr Cater. He believes that his organization has identified all the major corruption syndicates and has taken action against those involved. But he does not deny that there is still a good deal of corruption going on, and he certainly does not believe that ICAC's task is anywhere near completed.

Mr Cater is due to succeed Sir Denys Roberts as Chief Secretary later this year: he is aware of this, though it is not yet public knowledge, pending completion of the formal process of obtaining approval for his appointment. As a successor to Mr Cater in his present job, the Governor has expressed a preference for a Judge of the High Court, Justice Yang Ti-liang. We have indicated our agreement with this proposal but we do not know whether the Governor has yet approached Justice Yang.

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CONFIDENTIAL