HK Chief Executive Stresses Ethical Value on Anti-Corruption Effort

Tung Chee Hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR),noted Thursday that the highest ethical standards of Hong Kong is quite necessary for the city to maintain its competitiveness and achieve the goal of becoming Asia's world city.

"It is only through good ethical practices and the creation of a clean and honest society that we are able to give everyone a fair chance and an equal opportunity to compete, to succeed, and to realize our dreams," Tung pointed out at the Ethical Leadership Forum 2000 that opened Thursday.

Entitled "Turning Challenges into Opportunities," the forum aims to assess how ethical management could address the challenges faced by leaders in both the public and private sectors in the new millennium.

More than 1,000 representatives from 10 countries and regions attended the two-day forum organized by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Civil Service Bureau of the HKSAR.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Tung said Hong Kong has a hard- earned reputation as one of the world's most fair and open cities in which to do business, noting that this is in large part due to the close partnership between a community determined to uphold a clean way of life and the ICAC dedicated to fighting corruption.

Tung said corruption remains firmly under control, nearly three years after the establishment of the HKSAR.

Every survey conducted by the ICAC in the past three years has consistently reflected a high level of public confidence in the government's anti-graft capability, he said, adding that 99 percent of the respondents said the Commission deserved their support and more than 80 percent of those surveyed said they were intolerant of corruption.

He stressed that ethics are at the core of any anti-corruption strategy and maintaining high ethical standards in the conduct of private business and the delivery of public services is the first line of defense against corruption.

"Throughout the world, there are many, many examples of how good ethical management has helped prevent graft," he added

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