Integrity a deeply ingrained core value of Hong Kong community, survey reveals
2016-3-18
The core value of integrity was deeply ingrained in the Hong Kong community which found corruption increasingly disdainful and was willing to report it should they come across the crime, the latest ICAC opinion survey revealed.
According to the 2015 ICAC Annual Survey, the community was highly intolerant of corruption. On a 0-10 rating scale, of which 0 represents total rejection and 10 total tolerance of corruption, the mean score for 2015 was 0.6, 0.4 point lower than previous year and the lowest since the question was first raised in 2010.
The survey also found that the majority or 78.8 per cent of the respondents indicated that they were willing to report corruption if they came across it, registering a 2.1 percentage point increase when compared with previous year’s 76.7 per cent.
Only 5.7 per cent of respondents said they would not report and the major reason given was that “it did not concern me”.
“To address the respondents’ concern, the ICAC will step up its efforts to publicise the evils of corruption, the channels and procedures for reporting corruption and assure the public that their complaints will be handled in strict confidence,” an ICAC spokesman said.
When asked about their actual experience, a vast majority or 98.1 per cent of the respondents said they had not come across corruption in the past 12 months. Only 1.3 per cent said they had encountered corruption, showing a very low level of corruption in Hong Kong.
Through face-to-face household interviews of over 1,430 randomly selected citizens, the survey was conducted by an independent polling agency between June and August in 2015 to gauge the public’s perception and attitude towards corruption.
Consistent with findings in previous years, the survey showed that a vast majority or 99 per cent of the respondents considered keeping Hong Kong corruption-free was important to the overall development of the city.
The survey also showed that 97 per cent of the respondents said the ICAC deserved their support, while 80.3 per cent considered ICAC’s anti-corruption work effective, which was similar to previous year’s 80.6 per cent.
On the perceived changes in the level of corruption in the coming, 62.6 per cent of the respondents believed that it would remain more or less the same while 16.8 per cent considered corruption might increase, 3.3 percentage point lower than that recorded in the previous year.
“The corruption situation in Hong Kong remains stable and under control. The ICAC will continue to fight graft impartially and independently, and pursue all corruption cases in accordance with the law, irrespective of the status or background of the persons involved,” the spokesman said.
Since 1992, the independent annual survey has served as a valuable reference for the anti-graft agency in gauging public opinions and fine-tuning its work strategies, the spokesman said.
In the latest survey, more than 45 per cent of the respondents said the ICAC should strengthen corruption preventive education for students and young people.
While young people has always been a priority of the Commission’s education work, a number of new initiatives will be launched in the coming months, including an integrated online-offline programme to engage students in primary, secondary and post-secondary institutions, to promote probity messages through multi-media productions.
Meanwhile, a Youth Chapter will be set up under the ICAC Club to further reach out to young people through direct involvement in ICAC activities as volunteers. The Club has currently enrolled more than 1,400 members from different walks of life to help disseminate probity messages in the community.
To consolidate public support and heighten their awareness of the importance of integrity, the ICAC will launch a multiple-year territory-wide “All for Integrity” programme to further engage citizens from all walks of life to foster positive values and integrity messages.
The Commission will also enhance integrity training for government officers and heighten their vigilance to corruption pitfalls and conflict of interest situations.
“For the business sector, the ICAC is collaborating with regulators, chambers of commerce and related professional bodies to formulate a practical guide and training package on personal ethics and corporate governance for directors and senior management of listed companies,” the spokesman said.
A training package and a sample code of conduct will also be produced later this year for the retail industry and kindergartens respectively to alert practitioners to relevant best practices and probity requirements.
According to the 2015 ICAC Annual Survey, the community was highly intolerant of corruption. On a 0-10 rating scale, of which 0 represents total rejection and 10 total tolerance of corruption, the mean score for 2015 was 0.6, 0.4 point lower than previous year and the lowest since the question was first raised in 2010.
The survey also found that the majority or 78.8 per cent of the respondents indicated that they were willing to report corruption if they came across it, registering a 2.1 percentage point increase when compared with previous year’s 76.7 per cent.
Only 5.7 per cent of respondents said they would not report and the major reason given was that “it did not concern me”.
“To address the respondents’ concern, the ICAC will step up its efforts to publicise the evils of corruption, the channels and procedures for reporting corruption and assure the public that their complaints will be handled in strict confidence,” an ICAC spokesman said.
When asked about their actual experience, a vast majority or 98.1 per cent of the respondents said they had not come across corruption in the past 12 months. Only 1.3 per cent said they had encountered corruption, showing a very low level of corruption in Hong Kong.
Through face-to-face household interviews of over 1,430 randomly selected citizens, the survey was conducted by an independent polling agency between June and August in 2015 to gauge the public’s perception and attitude towards corruption.
Consistent with findings in previous years, the survey showed that a vast majority or 99 per cent of the respondents considered keeping Hong Kong corruption-free was important to the overall development of the city.
The survey also showed that 97 per cent of the respondents said the ICAC deserved their support, while 80.3 per cent considered ICAC’s anti-corruption work effective, which was similar to previous year’s 80.6 per cent.
On the perceived changes in the level of corruption in the coming, 62.6 per cent of the respondents believed that it would remain more or less the same while 16.8 per cent considered corruption might increase, 3.3 percentage point lower than that recorded in the previous year.
“The corruption situation in Hong Kong remains stable and under control. The ICAC will continue to fight graft impartially and independently, and pursue all corruption cases in accordance with the law, irrespective of the status or background of the persons involved,” the spokesman said.
Since 1992, the independent annual survey has served as a valuable reference for the anti-graft agency in gauging public opinions and fine-tuning its work strategies, the spokesman said.
In the latest survey, more than 45 per cent of the respondents said the ICAC should strengthen corruption preventive education for students and young people.
While young people has always been a priority of the Commission’s education work, a number of new initiatives will be launched in the coming months, including an integrated online-offline programme to engage students in primary, secondary and post-secondary institutions, to promote probity messages through multi-media productions.
Meanwhile, a Youth Chapter will be set up under the ICAC Club to further reach out to young people through direct involvement in ICAC activities as volunteers. The Club has currently enrolled more than 1,400 members from different walks of life to help disseminate probity messages in the community.
To consolidate public support and heighten their awareness of the importance of integrity, the ICAC will launch a multiple-year territory-wide “All for Integrity” programme to further engage citizens from all walks of life to foster positive values and integrity messages.
The Commission will also enhance integrity training for government officers and heighten their vigilance to corruption pitfalls and conflict of interest situations.
“For the business sector, the ICAC is collaborating with regulators, chambers of commerce and related professional bodies to formulate a practical guide and training package on personal ethics and corporate governance for directors and senior management of listed companies,” the spokesman said.
A training package and a sample code of conduct will also be produced later this year for the retail industry and kindergartens respectively to alert practitioners to relevant best practices and probity requirements.