Can China learn from Hong Kong's experience in fighting corruption?¹

The author thanks Anil Nair for his valuable comments. Nancy Hearst provided excellent English editing.

Abstract

Widespread corruption in mainland China adversely affects the overall economy in general and international business in particular. Prior to the establishment of the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) in 1974, corruption was also rampant in Hong Kong. The ICAC effectively cleaned corruption in Hong Kong within a short period of time. Hong Kong's success in this area has prompted the Chinese government to learn from Hong Kong's experience. This article reviews the factors that contributed to Hong Kong's success in fighting corruption and discusses whether China can learn from the Hong Kong experience. From this, we can conclude that, first, Hong Kong's experience demonstrates that a corruption‐prone culture can be changed in a relatively short period of time; second, in order for China to learn from Hong Kong's experience, there must be substantial changes in China's political and economic institutions.

Keywords:

• Corruption
• Constitutional reform
• Hong Kong
• China
• Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC)

Notes

The author thanks Anil Nair for his valuable comments. Nancy Hearst provided excellent English editing.

Shaomin Li (Ph.D. Princeton University) is an associate professor of management at Old Dominion University. His current research focuses on the business environment in countries undergoing rapid political and economic transitions.