Global recognition of Hong Kong's anti-corruption system
Hong Kong is internationally renowned for her pioneering role in the fight against corruption.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
"One of the best known specialised anti-corruption institutions - the Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption - was established in 1974. The Commission has contributed significantly to Hong Kong's success in reducing corruption. Inspired by this success story, many countries around the world ... decided to establish specialised bodies to prevent and combat corruption." (OECD, Executive Summary, Specialised Anti-Corruption Institutions: Review of Models, 2008)
United Nations Development Programme
" ... the successful models of ... Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (established in 1974); ... (was) widely considered to be effective in reducing corruption ..." (United Nations Development Programme, Practitioners' Guide: Capacity Assessment of Anti-Corruption Agencies, October 2011)
World Bank
"In 1974 Hong Kong introduced an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)... It has been remarkably effective: today Hong Kong SAR, China, ranks in the top 20 worldwide of Transparency International's corruption perceptions index". (World Bank, World Development Report: Governance and the Law, January 2017)
"The ICAC takes a comprehensive approach towards corruption that addresses not only misconduct by public officials and bribery by private companies, but also fraud and corruption in the context of purely private transactions ... the Hong Kong Ethics Development Center (HKEDC)*, established under the umbrella of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), provides many materials and supports training activities targeting small and medium-size enterprises ... Having a government agency directly involved in the dissemination of business ethics is quite exceptional worldwide and reflects the very strong policy of prevention implemented in Hong Kong." (World Bank, Fighting Corruption in East Asia: Solutions from the Private Sector, August 2003)
* Renamed as the Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Centre (HKBEDC) in 2015
Transparency International
"Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was one of the very first anti-corruption commissions and has been identified as a success story and seen as a model to follow by many governments setting up anti-corruption commissions." (Anti-Corruption Helpdesk, Transparency International, Best Practices For Anti-Corruption Commissions, March 2013)
"ICAC has established a strong reputation for thorough investigations, successful prosecutions and a tough crack down on large scale corruption." (U4 Helpdesk, Transparency International, International Good Practice in Anti-Corruption Legislation, February 2010)
Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC)
" ... Hong Kong from the beginning has focused on developing the institutions needed to fight corruption ... The ICAC has not just fought individual cases of corruption; it has changed the system itself to make it more difficult for corruption to take root." (PERC, Asia's Anti-Corruption Agencies, September 2014)