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Jose-Antonio Maurellet
Jose-Antonio Maurellet

Legal Tales | Keeping Hong Kong corruption-free for 51 years – the ICAC

Apart from the establishment of the anti-corruption agency and certain laws, a change in culture has been a key factor in keeping the city clean

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Andy Lau (left) and Kwan Hoi-san in a still from the 1991 movie Lee Rock. Photo: Handout
Jose-Antonio Maurellet

Regular readers of this column will have noticed that Eugene Yim and I are big fans of Hong Kong movies from the 1990s to early 2000s, in particular those featuring Andy Lau Tak-wah.

One of my favourite movies of that period is undoubtedly the Lee Rock two-part movie series produced in 1991, which I have watched too many times to count.

Without spoiling the plot, the two films trace the rise and fall of a very corrupt police officer from the 1960s until the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 1974, which was first led by Sir Jack Cater.
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This event proved to be an important watershed in Hong Kong’s history. Not only did the end of prevalent corruption in our society allow the thriving of an international trading and financial centre, but more importantly, it allowed the lives of ordinary people to be free from the scourge of corruption.

Until then, it was not uncommon for nurses in hospitals to require some “tea money” in order for patients to get basic attention.

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The Hong Kong Bar Association is pleased to have jointly organised an inaugural conference on Tuesday with the city’s World Justice Project (WJP) entitled “Absence of Corruption – A Key Requirement for the Rule of Law”.
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