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Hong Kong was ranked one of the least corrupt cities in the world according to Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index, which has been compiled annually since 1995. Scoring 77 out of 100, Hong Kong is ranked 14 among 176 countries and territories, ahead of the United Kingdom and the United States.

Hong Kong people should feel proud of this record, considering the fact that before the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in the mid-1970s, Hong Kong was one of the most corrupt cities in Asia, if not the world. People of my generation can still remember those bad old days when palms needed to be greased to get even the most basic services, such as securing telephone lines or having water piped into homes.

The police force, which is now the pride of Hong Kong, was, at one time, no better than the triad gangs collecting protection money indiscriminately from brothel owners and street merchants. There were few street crimes largely because the hoods, big and small, were raking in big bucks from other illegal activities - prostitution, gambling and drugs - under the protection of the police.

In those dark days, corruption was largely accepted by people as a part of life, believing that when resources were scarce, the corrupted system, though illegal and immoral, allowed people willing to pay to get what they wanted. In their twisted reasoning, corruption was a form of free market in action. And there were many other crazy people who actually believed that.

It took a particularly dramatic corruption case involving several senior expatriate police officers to expose the rot, which raised a public protest that threatened to destabilize the rule of the British colonial government. The pent-up anger of the Hong Kong people was released and the resulting public protests, rare in those days, forced the government to act.

Many people in Hong Kong were skeptical about the newly formed graftbuster. Worried about the wide power of enforcement and prosecution conferred on the ICAC, some critics warned that it could be turned into a government instrument of oppression.

As we know now, those worries were grossly exaggerated. Disciplined by the rule of law, tempered by an independent judiciary and scrutinized by a free press, the ICAC has earned the trust and respect of the people for the work it has done not only in enforcement but, more importantly, in spreading the anti-corruption gospel through public education.

Even now, many Hong Kong people can still remember some of the posters and TV footage produced by the ICAC to come forward to report cases of corruption. Such promotional efforts have obviously made a far-reaching impact on the public perception on graft. Hong Kong people have developed a keen sense of justice that demands zero tolerance toward corrupt practices.

The ICAC is unique to Hong Kong and can't be easily transplanted to other jurisdictions. It owes its success not only to the rule of law but also to the economic uptake in Hong Kong since it was established. Growing prosperity in a free-market environment has helped ensure a balance in supply and demand, eliminating much of the need to obtain a service or product through illicit means.

In 30 years or so, the ICAC has built itself into one of Hong Kong's indispensable institutions of which we can feel proud. They make Hong Kong special more than anything else.

The author is a veteran current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 10/25/2013 page9)