ICAC statement
2015-1-28
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) today (Wednesday) makes the following statement in relation to the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom (the Index) released by the Heritage Foundation:
The ICAC notes that the Index has found Hong Kong continues to enjoy relatively low rates of corruption.
In the 2015 Index, Hong Kong’s ranking in “freedom from corruption” has slightly dropped from 13th in 2014 to 15th this year. The ICAC understands that the score was derived primarily from Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which was designed to gauge respondents’ perception rather than the actual probity situation in Hong Kong.
Recently extensive media coverage on some ICAC cases, including the prosecutions and convictions of a former senior government official and senior executives of a listed company, may have affected respondents’ impression. Yet, these are isolated cases and should not be seen as an indicator of deterioration in the probity situation in Hong Kong.
On the contrary, these cases highlight the importance as well as the effectiveness of our anti-corruption system and a robust ICAC determined to fight corruption without fear or favour, regardless of the background, status and position of the persons involved.
According to the 2014 ICAC Annual Survey conducted by an independent research company, only 1.5% of respondents had come across corruption in the past 12 months, showing a very low level of corruption in our community.
On a scale of 0-10, with 0 representing total rejection and 10 representing total acceptance of corruption, the poll registered a mean score of 1.0, showing that the public remained highly intolerant to corruption. In addition, over 76% indicated they were willing to report should they encounter corruption.
The survey also showed that a large majority of the respondents, about 97%, considered the ICAC deserving their support.
Meanwhile, the case-based conviction rate for ICAC cases in 2014 stands high at 87% and the penalties imposed by courts were heavy, exerting adequate deterrence and sending out a clear message that corruption would not be tolerated in Hong Kong.
Despite the slight drop in the ranking in “freedom from corruption” in the Index, Hong Kong remains a clean society, with a clean civil service and a level playing field for doing business. The public abhors corruption which is a high-risk crime in Hong Kong.
A number of international surveys continue to rank Hong Kong among the cleanest places in the world:
--The “Rule of Law Index 2014” released by the World Justice Project ranked Hong Kong the 9th in “absence of corruption” amongst 99 countries and territories surveyed.
--The 2014 survey of the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) ranked Hong Kong the third cleanest place among 14 Asian regions surveyed. Hong Kong’s score has improved from 3.77 in 2013 to 2.75 last year (with 0 the best and 10 the worst).
--In the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015, respondents generally considered that Hong Kong had a clean business environment. Only 1.8% of the respondents /organisations selected corruption as one of the problematic factors for doing business in Hong Kong.
The ICAC 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.
The ICAC notes that the Index has found Hong Kong continues to enjoy relatively low rates of corruption.
In the 2015 Index, Hong Kong’s ranking in “freedom from corruption” has slightly dropped from 13th in 2014 to 15th this year. The ICAC understands that the score was derived primarily from Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which was designed to gauge respondents’ perception rather than the actual probity situation in Hong Kong.
Recently extensive media coverage on some ICAC cases, including the prosecutions and convictions of a former senior government official and senior executives of a listed company, may have affected respondents’ impression. Yet, these are isolated cases and should not be seen as an indicator of deterioration in the probity situation in Hong Kong.
On the contrary, these cases highlight the importance as well as the effectiveness of our anti-corruption system and a robust ICAC determined to fight corruption without fear or favour, regardless of the background, status and position of the persons involved.
According to the 2014 ICAC Annual Survey conducted by an independent research company, only 1.5% of respondents had come across corruption in the past 12 months, showing a very low level of corruption in our community.
On a scale of 0-10, with 0 representing total rejection and 10 representing total acceptance of corruption, the poll registered a mean score of 1.0, showing that the public remained highly intolerant to corruption. In addition, over 76% indicated they were willing to report should they encounter corruption.
The survey also showed that a large majority of the respondents, about 97%, considered the ICAC deserving their support.
Meanwhile, the case-based conviction rate for ICAC cases in 2014 stands high at 87% and the penalties imposed by courts were heavy, exerting adequate deterrence and sending out a clear message that corruption would not be tolerated in Hong Kong.
Despite the slight drop in the ranking in “freedom from corruption” in the Index, Hong Kong remains a clean society, with a clean civil service and a level playing field for doing business. The public abhors corruption which is a high-risk crime in Hong Kong.
A number of international surveys continue to rank Hong Kong among the cleanest places in the world:
--The “Rule of Law Index 2014” released by the World Justice Project ranked Hong Kong the 9th in “absence of corruption” amongst 99 countries and territories surveyed.
--The 2014 survey of the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) ranked Hong Kong the third cleanest place among 14 Asian regions surveyed. Hong Kong’s score has improved from 3.77 in 2013 to 2.75 last year (with 0 the best and 10 the worst).
--In the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015, respondents generally considered that Hong Kong had a clean business environment. Only 1.8% of the respondents /organisations selected corruption as one of the problematic factors for doing business in Hong Kong.
The ICAC 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.