Last month deputy tax chief Sin Law Yuk-lin was brought in for suspected housing allowance anomalies. Set up in 1974 to fight police graft, the ICAC has almost single-handedly cleaned up Hong Kong's name. Today, the territory consistently receives high marks for transparency in international surveys. Besides chasing offenders, the commission conducts anti-corruption publicity and recommends procedure changes in government offices and private companies to reduce opportunities for corruption. From January to August this year, ICAC operations led to 214 convictions out of 2,657 reports from the public via a hotline number, the Internet or in person.
People can become complacent and easily forget.
Luckily, the ICAC itself is not letting up. It is beefing up its capabilities in electronic investigation and cross-border operations. In mid-November it is hosting its first symposium for law enforcers around the world. In some respects. Another is freedom from interference by other officials.