HONG KONG-EDUCATION: Anti-Corruption Classes on the Curriculum

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Yojana Sharma

HONG KONG, Dec 16 1996 (IPS) - Hong Kong children as young as four years old are to be taught that accepting bribes is wrong in a bid to nip corruption in the bud and promote a stronger sense of ethical behaviour intended to carry through to adulthood.

The move by Hong Kong’s powerful anti-corruption agency, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), is a response to feelings among businessmen and young workers in Hong Kong, that ethical standards among the young are deteriorating.

A recent survey by the ICAC revealed an alarming tolerance of corruption among the young, particularly compared to the over 35s.

The ICAC’s stepped-up campaign in schools is also a response to fears that corruption will rise after the British colony’s hand- over to Chinese rule on Jul 1 1997 as Mainland Chinese practices undermine Hong Kong’s rule of law.

A conference organised by the ICAC earlier this year concluded that the pursuit of short-term gain, the desire to make a fast buck before 1997, inadequate instruction in schools on ethical behaviour, and parents’ failure to give children moral guidance was leading to a decline in moral standards in Hong Kong.

ICAC officials have been visiting schools and the anti- corruption agency has contracted a famous local cartoonist to create a character that will appeal to the youngest children and teach them ethical behaviour.

A comic to be produced three times a year would include simple tales about the correct way to act when faced with a dilemma over giving or accepting bribes.

The ICAC has been liaising with primary and secondary schools since its inception in 1974 but this is the first time it will be promoting the anti-corruption theme in pre-school children.

The feeling among business circles is that Hong Kong prospered as a place to do business because of its relatively corruption- free environment compared to many countries in Asia and in particular compared to China.

Pessimists say that if corruption takes root in Hong Kong as it has in China, it could sound the death knell of the colony as a regional hub for international business after the hand-over to Chinese rule.

An ICAC survey conducted earlier this year by Dr Alan Tse of Hong Kong’s Chinese University, showed that almost 78 per cent of business managers thought standards among the young were dropping and 83 per cent of working youths aged 18-35 agreed. Just 23 per cent of young employees regarded accepting a bribe as unethical compared to 37 per cent of business managers.

A majority of both groups — two thirds of business managers and three quarters of young workers — said instruction on ethical behaviour in schools were insufficient to enable them to make the right decision when faced with an ethical dilemma.

Some 41 per cent of working youths aged 18-35 rated themselves as having low standards of integrity.

Vincent Cheng, a member of Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten’s appointed advisory body, the Executive Council, said increasing ties with China in the run-up to the 1997 hand-over was already having an impact on business behaviour, particularly among the young.

“Anti-corruption sentiment is perhaps stronger among Hong Kong’s older generation who remember how badly the territory suffered from corruption before the creation of the ICAC,” he said.

Yang Ti-Liang, Hong Kong’s former chief justice said his biggest fear for the future of Hong Kong under Chinese rule was that corruption in China would spread to Hong Kong.

“As our exchanges with the Mainland, particularly the southern part of China increase, the trend will infiltrate Hong Kong. This is difficult to resist,” Yang said.

In September 1995, the ICAC released an ethics package for business, accounting and management students at Hong Kong’s institutions of higher education. Recently new guidelines on progessional ethics were issued to students of law, architecture, engineering and surveying at Hong Kong’s universities.

“The rule of law is an important factor for Hong Kong’s success,” said Janet Wong, ICAC director of community relations. “The local community places its trust in legal practitioners’ proper execution of duties and personal integrity.”

Guidelines for university students include exercises, theory and case studies and tackle a number of topics including handling ethical dilemmas and collective standards of practice.

The ICAC may extend the guidelines to other professional courses, but officials note that by the time students are at university ethics may be hard to teach and that lessons should start young.