HONG KONG, Aug. 28, 2025 -- "Hong Kong, our advantage is you and the ICAC". For nearly two decades, the slogan of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the city's dedicated anti-graft agency, has been deeply rooted in people's heart. Established in 1974 in response to public demand, the ICAC fights corruption in Hong Kong with a holistic strategy comprising law enforcement, corruption prevention and public education.

And how is the ICAC faring after 51 years? The Commission believes that the general public, the city's common people, are the best referees. "Our best ally is the good sense of the people of Hong Kong and the sincerity of their demand that the time for new standards has come." It was so stated in first Annual Report of the ICAC published back in the 1970s. And the same holds true today.

According to the 2024 ICAC Annual Survey, a zero tolerance to corruption was registered from the respondents, while 93.1% said the ICAC deserved support. A majority of the respondents (98.7%) had not personally come across corruption in the past 12 months, while 97.4% considered a corruption-free society was important to the development of Hong Kong. Clear and loud, the findings demonstrated a society in which a culture of integrity is ingrained and where corruption has no place.

Gauging data on public perception and actual experience

The ICAC recognised from the early days that it owed its success to the public and their unwavering support. To stay connected with the community, public opinion survey has emerged as an invaluable tool for the ICAC throughout the past five decades. It provides critical insights into the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of citizens regarding corruption, and facilitates the ICAC's formulation of effective graft fighting and education policies that reflect the real needs of everyday citizens. While nowadays, polling agencies or consultancies are easily engaged to do the job, the ICAC public opinion survey has come a long way. In the early days after its inception, a mobile truck was deployed to tour in residential areas to collect citizens' feedback on the Commission's work. During the 1990s, the mobile truck survey was replaced by systemic telephone surveys. It was not until 2010 when face-to-face household interviews were introduced. Since then, independent polling agencies were engaged by the ICAC to conduct face-to-face household survey on an annual basis and in accordance with a scientific sampling scheme that represented the population of Hong Kong.

By taking a deep delve into citizens' views and their actual experience, the ICAC could also fine-tune its anti-graft strategy. Taking the 2024 exercise mentioned earlier as an example, the survey showed that a substantial number of the respondents learnt about ICAC information from social media channels. Hence, instead of relying heavily on news reports by the mass media, a lot of efforts have gone to producing reels and videos with crips and clear integrity messages that cater for today's online reading habits.

"The ICAC annual household survey serves an important purpose of revealing public attitude towards a corruption-free society, public experience in encountering and reporting corruption, and how the public receives ICAC's information. Drawing reference from all these data, the Commission can precisely measure the effectiveness of different graft-fighting initiatives, suitably fine-tuning our education and publicity work to better fit the needs of the society," said ICAC's Director of Community Relations Diman Mak Wai-keung. 

Thorough quality control measures and proactive follow-up actions

To ensure the accuracy and reliability of survey data, the ICAC has implemented a series of quality control measures such as two-tier verifications, as well as random checking of completed survey questionaries through revisiting interviewees' home or phone calls. In addition, advisory committees comprising members of public bodies and business entities with research expertise and experiences were consulted for review of the methodology and polling questions from time to time.

"Accuracy is the most important concern. We do not tolerate false or incorrect data which may affect the ultimate survey findings and measurement of the effectiveness of our anti-graft strategies," Mak noted.

"Taking into account particular survey findings, the ICAC would also conduct focus group discussions to gain deeper insights into the attitude towards corruption of specific age groups or sectors, such as young people," Mak said, adding that the Commission treasured such occasions of direct engagement with the public.

Sparing no effort to share its anti-graft experience, in May this year, the Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption, established by the ICAC, introduced this methodology for measuring the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies to the renowned International Anti-Corruption Academy in Laxenburg, Austria. In June, the ICAC also shared the important role of public opinion surveys with international anti-corruption agencies at a workshop themed "Awareness-raising on Measuring of Effectiveness of Anti-Corruption Agencies" held in Saudi Arabia.

"Corruption is a complex and multifaceted crime which evolves in response to many factors, such as societal changes and technological advancements. To formulate effective strategies, it is pivotal to have a good grasp of public sentiments and to feel the pulse of the society. We hope the Hong Kong ICAC's practice could provide useful reference to our international counterparts which share our commitment to winning not only the battles, but also the war against corruption," Mak concluded.

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