ICAC enjoys high level of public support
2000-7-18
An overwhelming majority of the public continue to support the work of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) while a growing number of people believe the corruption situation would improve next year, the latest ICAC opinion poll showed.
Announcing major findings of the ICAC Annual Survey 2000 today (Tuesday) at a press conference, ICAC's Director of Community Relations Rosanna Ure said 98.7 per cent of the 1,500-plus respondents polled in March and April felt the ICAC deserved their supp ort.
While more than 80 per cent of the respondents believed the ICAC would keep corruption reports confidential, 70.4 per cent considered the ICAC impartial in its investigations. Similar findings were recorded last year.
As much as 83 per cent of the respondents said they would not tolerate corruption in both the government and business sectors –'96 similar to last year's findings.
"We are pleased to see that the great majority of the respondents continue to indicate their intolerance of corruption. Such an attitude will help maintain Hong Kong's reputation as a clean society," said Mrs Ure.
Although the number of people who thought corruption was common this year edged up 5.8 percentage points to 42.1 per cent, those who thought corruption would increase next year dropped 18 percentage points to 20.9 per cent, Mrs Ure added.
On the performance of the ICAC's anti-corruption work, 60.2 per cent of the respondents described it as “effective”, a slip of 10.9 percentage points; 34.3 per cent considered it “average”, an increase of 12.8 percentage points. Only two per cent said the ICAC was “ineffective”.
About 41.2 per cent of the respondents said the ICAC posed sufficient deterrence to the corrupt, a drop of 8.5 percentage points from last year.
Mrs Ure noted that the public, affected by pay freeze, salary cut and “negative assets” in the past year, had expected more from the Government.
Such public sentiment has influenced to some degree their evaluation of the work of the ICAC, which is viewed as part of the Government, she added.
Mrs Ure said a considerable number of respondents had cited "the ICAC had resolved many cases" as the main reason why they thought the ICAC was effective.
“To us, successful investigation is like a two-edged sword. While it could have a deterrent effect on prospective offenders, it may also lead some respondents to wonder if there were still many corruption cases yet to be uncovered," she said.
“This may be part of the reason why they feel that the ICAC's anti-corruption work still has room for improvement in terms of effectiveness.”
She noted that in the months leading up to the survey, extensive media reports on ICAC operations such as a string of construction scandals had inevitably given the public an impression that corruption had yet to be eradicated.
Having noted respondents' concerns that more could be done on the education and publicity front, Mrs Ure said the ICAC has made it a policy to review its publicity and education strategies on a regular basis.
Citing corruption prevention work for the construction industry as an example, Mrs Ure said that a task force had been set up in April to offer training for industry practitioners and formulate a long-term plan together with professional bodies to heighte n anti-corruption awareness of the industry.
The ICAC will also render full assistance to the Housing Department through its representative on the Anti-corruption Strategy Steering Committee to be set up by the Department in formulating long-term anti-graft policies.
With the implementation of the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme (MPF) at the end of this year, the ICAC would organize a seminar on professional ethics for MPF service providers in August as well as participate in a series of promotional activities organiz ed by the Mandatory Provident Fund Authority.
Mrs Ure stressed that the ICAC would spare no effort to maintain Hong Kong's reputation as a clean city through its three-pronged approach.
Announcing major findings of the ICAC Annual Survey 2000 today (Tuesday) at a press conference, ICAC's Director of Community Relations Rosanna Ure said 98.7 per cent of the 1,500-plus respondents polled in March and April felt the ICAC deserved their supp ort.
While more than 80 per cent of the respondents believed the ICAC would keep corruption reports confidential, 70.4 per cent considered the ICAC impartial in its investigations. Similar findings were recorded last year.
As much as 83 per cent of the respondents said they would not tolerate corruption in both the government and business sectors –'96 similar to last year's findings.
"We are pleased to see that the great majority of the respondents continue to indicate their intolerance of corruption. Such an attitude will help maintain Hong Kong's reputation as a clean society," said Mrs Ure.
Although the number of people who thought corruption was common this year edged up 5.8 percentage points to 42.1 per cent, those who thought corruption would increase next year dropped 18 percentage points to 20.9 per cent, Mrs Ure added.
On the performance of the ICAC's anti-corruption work, 60.2 per cent of the respondents described it as “effective”, a slip of 10.9 percentage points; 34.3 per cent considered it “average”, an increase of 12.8 percentage points. Only two per cent said the ICAC was “ineffective”.
About 41.2 per cent of the respondents said the ICAC posed sufficient deterrence to the corrupt, a drop of 8.5 percentage points from last year.
Mrs Ure noted that the public, affected by pay freeze, salary cut and “negative assets” in the past year, had expected more from the Government.
Such public sentiment has influenced to some degree their evaluation of the work of the ICAC, which is viewed as part of the Government, she added.
Mrs Ure said a considerable number of respondents had cited "the ICAC had resolved many cases" as the main reason why they thought the ICAC was effective.
“To us, successful investigation is like a two-edged sword. While it could have a deterrent effect on prospective offenders, it may also lead some respondents to wonder if there were still many corruption cases yet to be uncovered," she said.
“This may be part of the reason why they feel that the ICAC's anti-corruption work still has room for improvement in terms of effectiveness.”
She noted that in the months leading up to the survey, extensive media reports on ICAC operations such as a string of construction scandals had inevitably given the public an impression that corruption had yet to be eradicated.
Having noted respondents' concerns that more could be done on the education and publicity front, Mrs Ure said the ICAC has made it a policy to review its publicity and education strategies on a regular basis.
Citing corruption prevention work for the construction industry as an example, Mrs Ure said that a task force had been set up in April to offer training for industry practitioners and formulate a long-term plan together with professional bodies to heighte n anti-corruption awareness of the industry.
The ICAC will also render full assistance to the Housing Department through its representative on the Anti-corruption Strategy Steering Committee to be set up by the Department in formulating long-term anti-graft policies.
With the implementation of the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme (MPF) at the end of this year, the ICAC would organize a seminar on professional ethics for MPF service providers in August as well as participate in a series of promotional activities organiz ed by the Mandatory Provident Fund Authority.
Mrs Ure stressed that the ICAC would spare no effort to maintain Hong Kong's reputation as a clean city through its three-pronged approach.