Ethical Conduct. A handbook completed after extensive high-level consultations with concerned Ministries and Departments and which is in the process of being published. I believe that the involvement of civil society in combating organized crime requires constant monitoring as well as research to determine best practice methods in applying that strategy. In our situation it has been found necessary to conduct periodic perception surveys to gauge the level of interest and sometimes knowledge among this important group of stakeholders, the civil society.

Alan Lai, "A Quiet Revolution: The Hong Kong Experience" Symposium on the Role of CivilSocietyin CounteringOrganizedCrime: GlobalImplications of the Palermo, Sicily Renaissance, Palermo, Sicily, December 2000. Alan Lai is Commissionerof the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Introduction Unimaginable as it now seems, protection rackets, illegal kickbacks, briberies and other con'uption-related crimes were unbridled in Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s. Civil service corruption was rampant, and syndicated corruption in the police force was especially brazen. "Some get on the bus, others run alongside it, yet very few stand in front of it." This was how some members of the Hong Kong Police would describe corruption in their midst in the late 1960s. It would probably start with an officer finding some cash in his personal locker. Then, it was up to him. He could quietly accept it and tacitly "get on the bus" of corruption. Or he could, if he refused to accept the money, mind his own business and "run alongside" the bus, in which case he would become a virtual outsider and never expect to go far in his career. But worst of all was for him to "stand in front of" the bus, that is, to report corruption. It was simply suicidal in job terms and an invitation for victimisation.

Rotten Apple Wanton corruption in the 1960s and early 1970s was accepted with fatalistic resignation as "a way of life." Public distrust was deep-rooted on the integrity of the then Anti-Corruption Office which was part of the Police. The problem of corruption was epidemic in the whole government. It permeated every part of peoples' lives. Scenes like ambulance men demanding "tea money" before picking up a sick person and hospital amahs asking for INTERNATIONALPERSPECTIVES

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"tips" before giving patients a bedpan or a glass of water were commonplace. In the private sector, bribes were viewed as lubricants of business. The apple was rotten to the core.

Quiet Revolution Thus when the decision was made to set up an independent body to tackle the problem of corruption, the then Hong Kong Governor openly declared that nothing short of a "quiet revolution in the society" would have to take place for a lasting success. He knew too well that law enforcement action alone, no matter how effective it was, would not be able to stamp out corruption in the long term. Established in 1974, the ICAC has since been charged with the statutory duties to "educate the public against the evils of corruption" and to "enlist and foster public support" in the battle. Community education has been an integral part of our anti-graft strategy ever since, alongside detection and prevention. Against a sceptical population, aggravated by the fact that virtually the whole of Hong Kong was operated on a "commission" basis, we set about to effect changes in the public mindset with little experience to rely on.

From Acceptance to Intolerance After all these years of resilience and hard work, I am confident to say that we have turned the table on the ruthless and the corrupt. An anti-graft culture is slowly and surely taking hold in Hong Kong, both in government and in the private sector. Today social disapproval of graft is so overpowering that convicts of corruption carry a life-long stigma of dubious integrity. In our protracted battle with corruption, especially in the early years, we have deployed much of our resources to win over an incredulous public, to assure them the ICAC is effective, impartial and determined in removing the "bad apples." It is worthy of mention that in order to allay public fears of possible retaliation by reporting graft, we have instituted a stringent and sacred rule of silence, from the outset, on the origins of corruption complaints under investigations. The following figures may help to illustrate our achievements: 9

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The percentage of non-anonymous corruption reports, a good indicator of public confidence in our work, rose gradually from 35 percent of the total in 1974 to 56 percent in 1980 and has remained steady at about 68 percent in the past few years. The percentage of reports alleging government corruption dropped exponentially from 86 percent of the total in 1974, to 60 percent in 1984 and 40 percent in 1999. In particular, the problem of police corruption is now TRENDS 1N ORGANIZEDCRIME / SPRING2000

completely under control. Reports alleging police corruption plunged from 45 percent of the total in 1974, to 30 percent in 1984 and to 14 percent in 1999. More importantly, police corruption nowadays concerns only individual officers. Syndicated corruption is a thing of the past. And complaints of private sector corruption soared from 13 percent of the total in 1974 to 37 percent in 1984 and 54 percent in 1999, in large part thanks to a transformation of public beliefs that corruption would damage, rather than facilitate, business. Knowing full well public support could be mercurial and may dissipate at the slightest hint of inertia or inefficiency, the ICAC has since 1977 commissioned regular surveys to gauge the public mood. Since 1993, we have asked a few standard questions. We are pleased with the following findings: 9 Level of Tolerance of Corruption: In 1993, 36.7 percent of respondents said they would not tolerate corruption in both the private and public sectors. The level of intolerance rose to about 80 percent in the late 1990s and stood at 83.7 percent in 2000. 9 Tolerance of Private Sector Corruption: In 1993, a high 44.6 percent of respondents expressed tolerance of private sector graft. It dipped gradually to 11 percent in 2000. 9 Willingness to Report: The percentage of respondents indicating "willingness to report" gradually rose from 54.4 percent in 1993 to 64.7 percent in 2000. 9 Public Support: Ever since we began in 1994 to ask respondents whether the ICAC deserves their support, public endorsement persistently hovers between 98 and 99 percent. Public support to the anti-corruption cause is over whelming. Three-Pronged Approach These dramatic changes in public attitude, of course, could not have come from slogans, posters, talks and media campaigns alone. They are the results of a zealously executed strategy. Indeed, when the ICAC was conceived in 1973, the government realised that corruption had to be simultaneously tackled on three fronts: investigation, prevention and public education. The three functions, as reflected in the ICAC's structure, are interdependent and each builds on the strengths of the other. The public is a pragmatic lot, and the victims crave for results. We know too well that for the ICAC to succeed, we need to demonstrate to the public that the corrupt will be brought to justice regardless of who they are. In other words, the ICAC must act without fear or favour. INTERNATIONALPERSPECTIVES

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Effective Enforcement In the early years of the ICAC, when the public was doubtful on the government's will to weed out corruption, my predecessors took tough and decisive enforcement actions to restore public trust and confidence. True to our pledge, the ICAC sprang to actions speedily upon establishment with a series of high-profile arrests and prosecutions with police syndicated corruption top on the list. The indictment of many "big tigers," as how corrupt senior government officials were described in the mass media, swiftly convinced the public that the government was determined in its anti-corruption drive.

In the first year of the inception of the ICAC, we located and extrdited from UK a police chief superintendent, Peter Godber, who fled Hong Kong while under investigation by the police Anti-Corruption Office, and put him behind bars for four years for having pocketed millions in "black money" during his tenure. We prosecuted 260-odd police officers of all ranks between 1974-1977, four times the total number prosecuted in the four years preceding the ICAC. In one single swoop in 1977, we rounded up 140 police officers from three police districts. At one time, over 200 police officers were detained for alleged corruption. In the first year of operation, we received 3,189 reports of alleged corruption, more than twice the number of 1,457 reports received by the police Anti-Corruption Office the previous year. The floodgate of public grievances was opened. We were able to pronounce, after three years of forceful actions, that corruption syndicates within the civil service had been all but crushed. Prevention and Education In parallel, the other two ICAC functional departments corruption prevention and community relations--also moved into top gear. Our corruption prevention specialists embarked on their statutory duties by examining procedures and practices of all government departments, plugging loopholes to remove corruption opportunities along the way. For the same reason, they are also involved in the early stages of policy formulation or preparation of new legislation. On average, we conduct over 100 studies on various government procedures and practices a year, rendering corruption difficult. Our advisory service also extends to the private sector upon request. In view of growing demand, we have established an Advisory Services Group to provide confidential and tailor-made advice to individual companies since 1985. 82

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Transforming Mass Beliefs Without a law-abiding culture and a firm belief in the virtue of integrity and fair play in the community, effective deterrent actions and good graft-reduction systems can go so far as to cure the symptoms but not the illness. The cancerous cells of corruption may be dormant, but they are waiting to strike again. In the ICAC, the unenviable and delicate tasks of transforming the public attitude towards corruption lie squarely on the Community Relations Department. The responsibility of the department can roughly be grouped into four areas: 9 9 9 9

To promote the image of the ICAC as an independent and determined anti-corruption agency To educate the public on the anti-corruption law To enlist public support by reporting corruption To instil and foster a culture of integrity and fairness so as to ostracise the corrupt

Broadly speaking, we carry forward our public education drive through two courses of action: 9 9

Face-to-face contacts with all walks of life in the community to hammer home the evils of corruption and enlist their support Extensive use of the mass media in propagating the dire consequence of corruption and inculcating positive values in the society

Face-to-Face Contacts Face-to-face contact admittedly has its downside in that only a relatively small number of people could be reached in a single session. Given time, however, the effect of explaining in person the evils of corruption is enormous. Personal contacts come in many forms and shapes. Imagine you were a Hong Kong citizen, you are likely to bump into one of the 200-odd CRD staff in the following circumstances: 9 9 9 9 9 9

At a meet-the-public session arranged at the district level At your workplace in a training/briefing session arranged through the employer At your neighbourhood meeting At school where you are either a student or a member of the teaching staff At a seminar organised for professionals and managers and businessmen At a briefing session arranged by a voluntary agency for new immigrants

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In sum, CRD staff stalk every comer of the society. Be you a civil servant, a taxi driver, a housewife, a teacher, a construction worker or a successful businessman and so on, you are our target. On an average year, CRD staff reach between 200,000 to 300,000 people through approximately 8,000 talks, activities and special projects. We produce "practical guides," newsletters and other publications for government employees, various trades and industries and target groups on how to deal with tempting situations. With the blessing of major chambers of commerce in Hong Kong, we have established an Ethics Development Centre to promote ethical business practices. Thus, by knocking on hundreds and thousands of doors each year, the ICAC has forged perhaps one of the most extensive community networks in Hong Kong. Fully aware of the importance of fostering positive values in the younger generations, the CRD places heavy emphasis on moral education for school children. Apart from school talks, we have produced teaching kits for use by primary and secondary school teachers since 1977, thus expanding the force of moral educators many times over. At our untiring urge, tertiary education institutes have also begun in recent years to make ethics an integral part of study in a number of disciplines.

Mass Media The mass media, needless to say, is a potent tool in shaping public opinions and values. In fact, the Press Information Office was among the first units we have set up to provide the mass media with timely and positive information on our anti-corruption initiatives. And this has resulted in positive and prominent media coverage to our cause. We also use the television extensively.Apart from informative TV spot series expounding on the letter and spirit of the anti-corruption law, the ICAC produces its own TV advertisements as well as drama series based on real life con'uption cases. Due to changing social conditions and circumstances, our mass media strategy can be divided into four progressive phases over the past quarter of a century. The Era of Awakening In the initial years of the ICAC, the majority of the population, particularly at the grassroots level, accepted corruption as a "payment for convenience" albeit reluctantly. There was deep scepticism about the government's sincerity in uprooting corruption. Hence, our promotion campaign in the 1970s was directed primarily at the low-income folks, such as hawkers or manual labourers, who were most vulnerable to abuses. We highlighted their sufferings and urged them to come forward. The catch phrase was "Report Corruption." 84

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Level Playing Field Into the 1980s, syndicated corruption in the police force and the civil service was virtually non-existent. We were able to devote more of our resources to private sector corruption in the midst of an economic boom. Our message was that a level playing field for all investors is central to the continued economic well-being of Hong Kong. The public was firmly told that "Whichever way you look at it, corruption doesn't pay" You would notice that the TV commercials we used during that time were more subtle in tone and manner, bearing in mind the target audience was more refined and relatively better educated. The 1997 Syndrome As you all know, Hong Kong has reunited with Mainland China since July 1, 1997, after which Hong Kong is business as usual. But in the years leading to this important date, many Hong Kong people were disturbed. After all, the grand "one country, two systems" scheme is without precedent. In the years leading to 1997, there were worries that the unscrupulous would scramble for money by various illegal means before migrating to other countries. The exodus never occurred though. To counter this doomsday mockery of the law, we set out to assure the public that the ICAC was as determined as ever to fight corruption. The bad old days of the 1960s and 1970s would not repeat so long as the public continued to join forces with the ICAC and to report on the corrupt. To placate a jittery Hong Kong, we put in for the first time a rather arrogant slogan: "Hong Kong's Advantage is the ICAC" New Millennium The cyber revolution is one big challenge as we embrace the new millennium. The digital age belongs to the juniors. Yet the younger generations have been brought up without experiencing the ruinous consequence of unchecked corruption. In the years straddling the two centuries, the ICAC has made youth its priority target of integrity education. We venture to reach them through the Internet and communicate to them in their cyberspeak. It seems to work. Our youth website, "Teensland" scored more than one million hits in less than six months. In our media campaign, we stress the importance of them carrying on the battle in which we have fought so hard to keep the upper hand. This approach is vividly portrayed in two recent commercials. More than Meets the Eye Time will not permit me to provide greater details our public education endeavours, which I believe, are pivotal in helping shape a culture of lawfulness and integrity. INTERNATIONALPERSPECTIVES

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There are certainly more than meets the eye in turning Hong Kong from one of the most corrupt to one of the cleanest societies in the world. There are other ingredients of success that are equally vital, without which the ICAC would have been engaged in a losing battle. As I see it, these indispensable factors are: 9 9 9

9 9

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Full government commitment and support An independent judiciary An elaborate checks and balances system to ensure the integrity and credibility of the anti-corruption agency. In Hong Kong, the ICAC is subject to the scrutiny and monitoring of civilian advisory committees appointed by the Chief Executive on all aspects of its work Adequate legal power as corruption is invariably committed in secrecy and often with no apparent victims High level of staff integrity. We have in place perhaps the most stringent recruitment criteria. We have also put in place an effective internal monitoring unit Last but not the least, a vibrant and vigilant Fourth Estate. The mass media of Hong Kong has been a great help in our cause for it never hesitates in crucifying people who have accumulated their riches through corrupt and filthy means

Closing In Hong Kong, we can now lay claim to a measure of success in containing corruption. But we are acutely aware that the public trust now lavishing on us hinges on our ability to remain effective and impartial in the execution of our duties. The ICAC is perennially walking on a tight rope and there is no room for complacency. Indeed it is true anywhere in the world, as far as graft fighting is concerned.

Lorenzo Gomez Morin, "Civic Formation Towards a Culture of Lawfulness: School-based Education Against Crime and Corruption" Symposium on the Role of Civil Society in Countering Organized Crime: Global Implications of the Palermo, Sicily Renaissance, Palermo, Sicily, December 2000. Lorenzo Gomez Morin is Secretary of Education of the State of Baja California, Mexico. The Project Organized crime and corruption are serious threats to any society, to democratic government, to economic development, the operation of fair and impar86

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