Does Hong Kong still has a clean gov?

Yahoo! 新聞

FORMER Chief Secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan and Sun Hung Kai Properties' joint chairmen Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok Ping-luen have been arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption for suspected offences under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and misconduct in public office. Their arrests are certain to further fuel the public's suspicion of collusion between the government and the business sector, as the three are all important political or commercial figures. In Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's seven years of office as Chief Executive, the most senior government officials' corruption and wilful disregard of the law are really shocking, as is manifest in the series of events we have witnessed since mid-February. First, former Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen was found to have illegal structures in his luxury residence, and the case is now in the hands of the Buildings Department. Then, Tsang was exposed for having received hospitality from tycoons, and for renting from a tycoon a luxury suite of more than 6,000 square feet in Shenzhen – the ICAC is now investigating the case to see if there has been any misconduct in public office. Now Hui has been arrested for suspected corruption. In other words, the three most powerful men in Hong Kong in the past seven years – Tsang, Hui, and Tang - are all under investigation. Public officials, including administrative officers and other civil servants, are not so highly paid that they can afford to live like tycoons. If they want to lead a tycoon's lifestyle, they should leave the government and work in the private sector or go into business. If they find that too risky but still want to enjoy a tycoon's lifestyle, there is as far as we can see nothing they can do except make use of their power. The British colonial government of Hong Kong attached great importance to the integrity of public officials, including administrative officers. As both Tsang and Hui in the colonial period passed their positive vetting tests, their integrity then could not be questioned. But now, when Hong Kong people are their own masters, it seems that public officials are no longer committed to the principle of integrity, which is something we never expected. While the HKSAR government is falling into corruption, Hong Kong is lucky to have an ICAC that remains committed to its post. We are of the opinion that the government should structurally strengthen the hand of the ICAC. First, the legal loopholes that allow the Chief Executive to accept advantages must be closed. Tsang has personally demonstrated the gross irrationality of letting the Chief Executive set his own "internal rules" for receiving hospitality from tycoons. At the very least, the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance should be made fully applicable to the Chief Executive. Second, since Hong Kong's restoration to China, the post of Commissioner Against Corruption has been held by administrative officers from the government. While so far this does not appear to have affected the work of the ICAC, an administrative officer is so closely related to senior government officials that he or she will be in a very awkward position when the ICAC has to investigate a senior government official suspected of corruption. The government should therefore consider allowing the ICAC to build its own succession mechanism, like that of the police. Alternatively, the post may be filled by a retired law officer, as was the practice before Hong Kong's restoration to China. Third, the ICAC should come under better supervision. At present, the ICAC is only supervised by a few consultative and complaints committees. But there should be an independent statutory body responsible for the supervisory work, just as there is an Independent Police Complaints Council for the police, so that the ICAC's power may not go unchecked.