Over the past 40-odd years, CRD has adopted the strategy of strong social penetration to inculcate a culture of probity in the community. This "Ethics for All" approach has won international acclaims and become a worldwide model.
"The war on corruption can only be won by changing the attitude and mindset of the public. The ‘Ethics for All' approach is a community-wide education strategy to ensure that probity take roots in different strata of the society, so that people will learn to say ‘no' to corruption," Mr Ng said.
Upon the establishment of the ICAC, regional offices were set up throughout the territory to connect with the public.
Mr Ng recalled that in the early days, when the means of commuting and communication facilities were less advanced, he and his CRD colleagues made face-to-face contacts with the public, knocking on the doors at public housing estates at night to introduce the ICAC's anti-corruption work; arranging film shows and talks at canteens of industrial buildings during lunch breaks; paying visits to typhoon shelters to meet with the "Tanka". In time, the ICAC successfully brought about a fundamental change in the public's attitude towards corruption from meek acceptance to zero tolerance.
"Through face-to-face liaison with local residents and district organisations, our colleagues at regional offices successfully enlisted the public's trust and support for the Commission's work, and encouraged them to report corruption. This is a key component of the ICAC's education strategy under its ‘three-pronged' approach in fighting corruption. The task may seem simple, but in fact it requires a flexible use of different mediums of communications and their effectiveness rests on the professionalism of our dedicated colleagues," Mr Ng said.
To achieve the goal of "Ethics for All", the CRD has adopted a holistic strategy featuring multi-faceted activities to spread the anti-corruption message to all walks of life. Regular preventive anti-graft trainings and publicity programmes are tailor-made for different trades and community groups, covering government departments, public organisations, business sector, youth, district organisations, building management and clean elections.
Through the ICAC Club, a voluntary group, and cooperation with organisations in different sectors, the CRD also engages members of the public to promote the anti-graft message in their local communities through educational activities.
The CRD's educational efforts have been further enhanced through the "All for Integrity" programme, a multi-year, territory-wide initiative launched in 2015 and comprised an array of activities. The programme also strengthened ICAC regional offices' partnership with the 18 District Councils and other stakeholders, sustaining the Commission's work in passing the torch of integrity to the next generations.
Over the past four decades, Hong Kong's robust anti-corruption regime has brought about a revolutionary change of people's attitude towards corruption and a deeply-rooted probity culture in the society, making the city one of the least corrupt places in the world.
"Sir Jack Cater, the founding Commissioner of the ICAC, once said: ‘There can be no real victory in our fight against corruption unless there are changes of attitude throughout the community.' The dedicated efforts of CRD officers and our preventive education strategy have borne fruits. Over the years the ICAC Annual Surveys consistently found that the community showed zero tolerance to corruption, while the proportion of respondents who considered the ICAC deserved their support maintains at a very highly level of 97%," Mr Ng said.
In October 2018, Mr Ng will retire from the Commission. But before that, he is still pulling out all the stops in preparing various activities to mark the ICAC's 45th anniversary next year. Mr Ng urges members of the public to treasure Hong Kong's probity culture – an intangible but hard-earned asset, and together with the ICAC, continue the battle against corruption.
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