A clean society vital to Hong Kong’s development, survey finds
2011-5-24
Most people considered maintaining a clean society was vital to Hong Kong’s overall development, the latest ICAC opinion survey revealed.
According to the 2010 ICAC Annual Survey, 96.3 per cent of the 1,500-odd respondents agreed that keeping Hong Kong free of corruption was important.
Many of them believed that it would help uphold fairness and justice, maintain stable development and attract foreign investments.
The survey was conducted in October and November in 2010 by an independent polling agency commissioned by the ICAC, using face-to-face household interviews to gauge a deeper understanding of the public’s perception and concerns over the corruption problem through a number of scenario-type and open-ended questions.
“Keeping a close tab on the public’s pulse amidst social and economic changes is vital to the ICAC in mapping out and implementing its work strategies,” said an ICAC spokesman.
According to the 2010 survey, the public at large disdained corruption. On a 0-10 point scale, with 0 representing total rejection and 10 representing total acceptance of corruption, the poll registered a mean score of 1.3.
In the survey, respondents were also asked to indicate their level of acceptance on six different scenarios.
These scenarios relate to a civil servant awarding a contract to a relative without proper declaration of interest; an owners’ incorporation chairman accepting a gift for awarding a renovation contract; a restaurant operator bribing government officers for turning a blind eye to its hygiene condition; a policeman accepting advantages from a vice establishment operator; a merchan diser accepting illegal rebates; and a salesperson making over-claims of commissions.
The survey found that a vast majority of the respondents, ranging from 86% to 99.1%, considered all six scenarios unacceptable.
The survey also gauged respondents’ concerns over the corruption problem in various sectors.
Of the respondents, 21.3 per cent considered corruption in the construction and engineering industry worthy of greatest concern, followed by the real estate sector (16.9 per cent), law enforcement departments (15.3 per cent) and the finance and banking se ctor (10 per cent).
These sectors were selected mainly because they involved frequent sub-contracting and large amount of project funds, making them more susceptible to corruption, and affected people’s livelihood.
Meanwhile, the 2010 survey found that 97.1 per cent considered the ICAC deserving their support while 75.9 per cent indicated their willingness to report corruption.
Seventy-one per cent of respondents perceived corruption as uncommon in Hong Kong as compared to 59.9 per cent in 2009.
When asked about their actual experience, an overwhelming majority of 97.4 per cent said they had not come across corruption in the past 12 months.
While 87.4 per cent considered the ICAC’s anti-corruption work effective, 58.7 per cent suggested that the Commission strengthen its publicity and education work, particularly for students, civil servants and young people, to enhance their awareness and understanding of the corruption problem.
“We will closely monitor the graft situation and take the survey findings as a valuable reference in fine-tuning our education strategies to ensure they can effectively address public concerns,” the spokesman said.
According to the 2010 ICAC Annual Survey, 96.3 per cent of the 1,500-odd respondents agreed that keeping Hong Kong free of corruption was important.
Many of them believed that it would help uphold fairness and justice, maintain stable development and attract foreign investments.
The survey was conducted in October and November in 2010 by an independent polling agency commissioned by the ICAC, using face-to-face household interviews to gauge a deeper understanding of the public’s perception and concerns over the corruption problem through a number of scenario-type and open-ended questions.
“Keeping a close tab on the public’s pulse amidst social and economic changes is vital to the ICAC in mapping out and implementing its work strategies,” said an ICAC spokesman.
According to the 2010 survey, the public at large disdained corruption. On a 0-10 point scale, with 0 representing total rejection and 10 representing total acceptance of corruption, the poll registered a mean score of 1.3.
In the survey, respondents were also asked to indicate their level of acceptance on six different scenarios.
These scenarios relate to a civil servant awarding a contract to a relative without proper declaration of interest; an owners’ incorporation chairman accepting a gift for awarding a renovation contract; a restaurant operator bribing government officers for turning a blind eye to its hygiene condition; a policeman accepting advantages from a vice establishment operator; a merchan diser accepting illegal rebates; and a salesperson making over-claims of commissions.
The survey found that a vast majority of the respondents, ranging from 86% to 99.1%, considered all six scenarios unacceptable.
The survey also gauged respondents’ concerns over the corruption problem in various sectors.
Of the respondents, 21.3 per cent considered corruption in the construction and engineering industry worthy of greatest concern, followed by the real estate sector (16.9 per cent), law enforcement departments (15.3 per cent) and the finance and banking se ctor (10 per cent).
These sectors were selected mainly because they involved frequent sub-contracting and large amount of project funds, making them more susceptible to corruption, and affected people’s livelihood.
Meanwhile, the 2010 survey found that 97.1 per cent considered the ICAC deserving their support while 75.9 per cent indicated their willingness to report corruption.
Seventy-one per cent of respondents perceived corruption as uncommon in Hong Kong as compared to 59.9 per cent in 2009.
When asked about their actual experience, an overwhelming majority of 97.4 per cent said they had not come across corruption in the past 12 months.
While 87.4 per cent considered the ICAC’s anti-corruption work effective, 58.7 per cent suggested that the Commission strengthen its publicity and education work, particularly for students, civil servants and young people, to enhance their awareness and understanding of the corruption problem.
“We will closely monitor the graft situation and take the survey findings as a valuable reference in fine-tuning our education strategies to ensure they can effectively address public concerns,” the spokesman said.