ICAC statement
2016-1-27
The ICAC today (Wednesday) makes the following statement in relation to the 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by the Transparency International (TI), which ranks Hong Kong the 18th least corrupt place among 168 countries/territories:
In the 2015 CPI, Hong Kong’s score has improved by one point from 74 in 2014 to 75 in 2015. Notwithstanding the slight drop in the ranking of one place, the improvement in the overall score indicates that Hong Kong’s corruption situation has remained stable, without any sign of deterioration. The community continues to be served by a clean civil service and businesses continue to enjoy a level playing field.
The CPI is a poll of polls based on 12 international/regional opinion surveys, which reflects the perception of respondents rather than the actual corruption situation in a particular country or territory. In assessing Hong Kong’s situation, the index makes reference to seven of those international/regional surveys.
The slight drop of Hong Kong’s 2015 CPI ranking should be read alongside the significant improvement in the overall scores of some other countries. While no further information on the advancement of those places is available, improvement in Hong Kong’s score could have been narrowed by recent high profile cases which might have influenced public perception of the corruption situation in Hong Kong.
Other than the improvement in the overall score from 74 in 2014 to 75 in 2015, individual scores in the seven Data Source Organisations used by TI in assessing Hong Kong’s situation either improved or remained unchanged, reflecting that the probity situation in Hong Kong remains sound and sustainable.
The culture of probity is deeply rooted in the society. According to the 2015 ICAC Annual Survey, only 1.3 per cent of the respondents said they had come across corruption in the past 12 months, 0.2 percentage point lower than the previous year, showing a very low level of corruption in the community.
The ICAC also remains effective in fighting corruption. In 2015, the number of persons convicted rose by 24 per cent, while the person-based and case-based conviction rates both maintained at high levels of over 80 per cent, exerting deterrence in the community.
The prosecution of individual former government officials and senior executives of listed companies highlighted the importance as well as the effectiveness of Hong Kong’s anti-corruption regime – a community strongly defying corrupt behaviour and a robust ICAC determined to fight corruption rigorously and impartially, regardless of the background, status and position of the persons involved.
While those cases might have paradoxically affected people’s perception, a number of international surveys continued to rank Hong Kong among the cleanest places in the world -
- In the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2015 released by the International Institute for Management Development, Hong Kong was ranked the 15th in the component “bribing and corruption”, six places higher than previous year’s 21st. Hong Kong’s score improved significantly from 2014’s 6.48 to 7.31 on a scale of 0-10.
- In the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016, respondents generally considered Hong Kong’s business environment clean. Only 0.2% of the respondents/organisations considered corruption one of the problematic factors for doing business in Hong Kong.
- The Rule of Law Index 2015 released by the World Justice Project ranked Hong Kong the 10th in “absence of corruption” amongst 102 countries and territories surveyed.
The Commission will continue to update the international community on the actual probity situation in Hong Kong and its endeavours to uphold a clean society through a holistic approach of combating graft through investigation, prevention and education.
In the 2015 CPI, Hong Kong’s score has improved by one point from 74 in 2014 to 75 in 2015. Notwithstanding the slight drop in the ranking of one place, the improvement in the overall score indicates that Hong Kong’s corruption situation has remained stable, without any sign of deterioration. The community continues to be served by a clean civil service and businesses continue to enjoy a level playing field.
The CPI is a poll of polls based on 12 international/regional opinion surveys, which reflects the perception of respondents rather than the actual corruption situation in a particular country or territory. In assessing Hong Kong’s situation, the index makes reference to seven of those international/regional surveys.
The slight drop of Hong Kong’s 2015 CPI ranking should be read alongside the significant improvement in the overall scores of some other countries. While no further information on the advancement of those places is available, improvement in Hong Kong’s score could have been narrowed by recent high profile cases which might have influenced public perception of the corruption situation in Hong Kong.
Other than the improvement in the overall score from 74 in 2014 to 75 in 2015, individual scores in the seven Data Source Organisations used by TI in assessing Hong Kong’s situation either improved or remained unchanged, reflecting that the probity situation in Hong Kong remains sound and sustainable.
The culture of probity is deeply rooted in the society. According to the 2015 ICAC Annual Survey, only 1.3 per cent of the respondents said they had come across corruption in the past 12 months, 0.2 percentage point lower than the previous year, showing a very low level of corruption in the community.
The ICAC also remains effective in fighting corruption. In 2015, the number of persons convicted rose by 24 per cent, while the person-based and case-based conviction rates both maintained at high levels of over 80 per cent, exerting deterrence in the community.
The prosecution of individual former government officials and senior executives of listed companies highlighted the importance as well as the effectiveness of Hong Kong’s anti-corruption regime – a community strongly defying corrupt behaviour and a robust ICAC determined to fight corruption rigorously and impartially, regardless of the background, status and position of the persons involved.
While those cases might have paradoxically affected people’s perception, a number of international surveys continued to rank Hong Kong among the cleanest places in the world -
- In the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2015 released by the International Institute for Management Development, Hong Kong was ranked the 15th in the component “bribing and corruption”, six places higher than previous year’s 21st. Hong Kong’s score improved significantly from 2014’s 6.48 to 7.31 on a scale of 0-10.
- In the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016, respondents generally considered Hong Kong’s business environment clean. Only 0.2% of the respondents/organisations considered corruption one of the problematic factors for doing business in Hong Kong.
- The Rule of Law Index 2015 released by the World Justice Project ranked Hong Kong the 10th in “absence of corruption” amongst 102 countries and territories surveyed.
The Commission will continue to update the international community on the actual probity situation in Hong Kong and its endeavours to uphold a clean society through a holistic approach of combating graft through investigation, prevention and education.