[Concurrent] Bai Yunliu, Commissioner of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption
In the 1960s and 1970s, the corruption problem in Hong Kong was very serious. It can be said that they described it as a necessity of life. Without corruption and bribery, you cannot survive. Therefore, it was established at that time because the situation was really bad. After the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, great efforts have been made to reverse this situation, so Hong Kong is now one of the most corrupt cities in the world.
[Explanation] Looking back at the nearly half-century history of the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Hong Kong Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Bai Yunliu, was deeply moved.
Before the 1970s, the corruption situation in Hong Kong under British colonial rule was very serious.
On February 15, 1974, the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was established, which is a major milestone in the history of Hong Kong's anti-corruption campaign.
[Concurrent] Bai Yunliu, Commissioner of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption
When it was established in 1974, it was indeed very difficult, because it was difficult for you to reverse such a bad situation, and you had to win the trust of the Hong Kong people, and the trust was gradually built up.
We say "trees in ten years, people in a hundred years", so we have been doing this work for the past 48 years.
Moreover, Hong Kong citizens have a common core value, which is to support Hong Kong to be a clean society.
[Explanation] After the return of Hong Kong, the "Governor's Special Commissioner's Office of the Independent Commission Against Corruption" was renamed "The Independent Commission Against Corruption of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". The Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption is directly responsible to the Chief Executive and handles all anti-corruption work independently in the Hong Kong SAR in accordance with Article 57 of the Basic Law. .
As the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption for nearly ten years, Bai Yunliu bluntly stated that with the continuous progress of Hong Kong society, the work challenges of the Independent Commission Against Corruption are increasing day by day, and the work format is also advancing with the times.
[Concurrent] Bai Yunliu, Commissioner of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption
But in the past 10 years, the field of technology has developed very rapidly.
So we have a computer forensics team, and its role is getting bigger and bigger, because many of the computers or phones that we have collected, we all need a cracking process to find some evidence of crimes inside.
The other is some of our financial investigation teams.
The proportion of corruption and bribery cases in Hong Kong is relatively large, about 2/3 of which are private institutions, and some of the private institutions are listed companies or some multinational companies. Often, these corruption and bribery money may not be In Hong Kong alone, it may also be transferred to other places. Therefore, the degree of complexity in financial investigations has increased compared to before, which is also a new challenge for us.
[Explanation] Bai Yunliu introduced that the work of the Independent Commission Against Corruption is mainly divided into three parts, namely investigation, prevention and education.
Compared with meticulous and serious investigation and law enforcement, publicity and education work requires more effort and ingenuity.
[Concurrent] Bai Yunliu, Commissioner of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption
They may not read newspapers or TV, but just watch social media, so how can we push our education on corruption prevention to a new generation of young people or children? We have to use new media, so we also do A great change has been made, and some of the corruption prevention education and publicity work that we have done in traditional media in the past should also be done in new media.
For example, we used to be able to shoot a TV series, maybe one episode per hour, but it is impossible in new media, we may just do a 30-second or one-minute short drama, and then we may have to design some games, this kind of So the whole concept is a big change.
[Explanation] After the return of Hong Kong, with the closer exchanges and ties between the two places, the cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland anti-corruption agencies has also entered a new stage.
[Concurrent] Bai Yunliu, Commissioner of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption
In fact, we have been in contact with anti-corruption agencies in the mainland for more than 30 years, first in the procuratorate, and later in the Supreme People's Procuratorate. This is the whole country.
The main initial stage, as I understand it, was to assist in case investigations and some information exchange activities.
The second is the Greater Bay Area. In May 2019, we held a meeting in Guangzhou with the Supervisory Commission of Guangdong Province and the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Macau. The three of us held a meeting in Guangzhou, mainly to discuss the clean government in the future of the Greater Bay Area. How to collaborate.
[Explanation] In addition to maintaining liaison with the mainland, the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption has also continued to expand its international exchange work. Since 2017, it has contacted anti-corruption agencies in more than 60 countries and provided training courses for anti-corruption partners in "Belt and Road" countries. .
In early 2022, Bai Yunliu was elected as the new chairman of the International Federation of Anti-Corruption Authorities. He believes that this not only demonstrates China's soft power, but also makes the international community more confident in Hong Kong's development in the field of clean government.
[Concurrent] Bai Yunliu, Commissioner of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption
Because on the one hand, it is the soft power of the country, and on the other hand, for Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has done Hong Kong’s cleanliness. In fact, for a long time in the past, our international rankings have been very high.
Because sometimes there are some foreign media reports, in fact, it may be one-sided, it may be distorted, and it may not be comprehensive, so when we can have this opportunity, when we can contact them, we will let them know the actual situation in Hong Kong.
Reporter Fan Siyi Liang Yuan reports from Hong Kong
Responsible editor: [Li Ji]