The mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
will strengthen cooperation in anti-corruption work, the head of
Hong Kong's top anti-corruption watchdog said on Friday.
Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, newly appointed commissioner of the
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong,
wrapped up her four-day visit in Beijing yesterday during which she
met senior officials of the mainland's anti-corruption authorities
and other government bodies.
Law told a press conference that she had called on the Supreme
People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Supervision to exchange
anti-corruption knowledge and experience and discuss cooperation
for 2007.
"With growing social and economic ties and the frequent flow of
people and capital between Hong Kong and the mainland, we reached
agreements that both sides should strengthen cooperation in
investigations and experience," Law said.
Her visit coincided with the plenary meeting of the Central
Commission for Discipline Inspection, the country's top
anti-corruption body.
"We see the central government's firm determination to rule out
corruption and it was indeed a fruitful year for the mainland in
the work of anti-corruption," Law said.
She hoped the two sides would increase exchanges and visits in
the future with ICAC members paying more visits to provinces on the
mainland.
Besides general routine communications, Law said a symposium on
special subjects between the two sides would be held in the
future.
Law also said that her commission hoped to come up with a new
guide for businessmen from Hong Kong on mainland business
operations and anti-corruption laws with the help of mainland
anti-corruption authorities.
Law also hoped the two sides would reach a consensus on
extradition soon.
She said different laws and judicial systems of the two sides
and the existence of the death penalty on the mainland are issues
that need to be tackled.
"But I think everything can be solved through negotiation," Law
said.
A case in point is that of Zhou Zhengyi, also known as Chau
Ching-ngai, who is now in jail in Shanghai for manipulating stock
prices and falsifying registered capital of subsidiaries. Zhou is
also on the ICAC's list of most-wanted for economic crimes
committed in Hong Kong.
"Without an extradition agreement, we can't indict him unless he
is brought to Hong Kong," Law said.
She also said it was a "pity" that a Chinese mainland student
was sentenced six months imprisonment after trying to bribe her
teacher in Hong Kong but defended the verdict.
"Hong Kong holds 'zero tolerance' for corruption," she said.
To avoid the same thing from recurring, Law said the ICAC would
contact all the universities in the special administrative region
to lecture students from the mainland on anti-corruption policies
as new semesters open in June.
(China Daily January 15, 2007)