Making Hong Kong companies liable for foreign corruption

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryane Michael
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Independent Commission Against Corruption ◽  
Independent Commission ◽  
The Way

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to assess the extent to which Hong Kong’s laws deter its companies from engaging in corruption and bribery abroad. Design/methodology/approach – A mix of economics, public administration, management and legal analysis was used to assess weaknesses in Hong Kong’s laws governing the prohibition of bribe payments abroad. Findings – Hong Kong does not explicitly criminalise corporate bribery abroad. Companies – as legal persons – can not be found guilty of corruption. It is argued that Hong Kong’s Legislative Council should amend various laws to modernise Hong Kong’s approach to tackling corruption committed by its companies abroad. The various approaches lawmakers can take towards assigning responsibility for corruption to companies are presented. The approaches that prosecutors at the Department of Justice can take to adopt prosecutorial methods like those used in other upper-income jurisdictions and the ways that Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) can assist in this work are also described. Practical implications – This research has practical findings for Hong Kong’s policymakers, law firms and companies which operate in Hong Kong. For policymakers, we describe legal changes Hong Kong’s legislators will likely make in the years ahead and the preferred ways of engaging in such change. For law firms, we describe the legal changes coming to Hong Kong which legal advisors will need to advise their clients on. For companies, we describe changes that companies operating in Hong Kong will likely need to comply with in the future. Social implications – This paper shows that when Hong Kong adopts best practice in the field of corporate criminalisation, Hong Kong’s role in “exporting” corruption will likely fall. Originality/value – This article describes a set of legal changes which will change the way Hong Kong treats corruption. The literature tends to glamorise Hong Kong’s anti-corruption work. It is shown that its law falls far behind other jurisdictions, as well as how “treating companies like people” in the case of Hong Kong will likely change the way Hong Kong’s prosecutors think about crime and criminal perpetrators.

Political radicalization and fragmentation of the democratic blocs and the legislative council elections in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-384
Author(s):  
Chung Fun Steven Hung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Special Administrative Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Administrative Region ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
History Of ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
Historical Comparative

Purpose After direct elections were instituted in Hong Kong and the sovereignty was transferred from Britain to China, politicization inevitably followed democratization. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the pro-democratic political parties’ politics in Hong Kong in recent history. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted through a historical comparative analysis, within the context of Hong Kong after the sovereignty handover and the interim period of crucial democratization. Findings With the implementation of “One country, Two systems,” political democratization was hindered in Hong Kong’s transformation. The democratic forces have no alternative but to seek more radicalized politics, which has caused a decisive and ineluctable fragmentation of the local political parties. Originality/value This paper explores and evaluates the political history of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under “One country, Two systems” and the ways in which the limited democratization hinders the progress of Hong Kong’s transformation.

Institutions do matter

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luen Tim Percy Lui
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Government Performance ◽  
Special Administrative Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
And Performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how institutional designs governing the executive-legislative relations in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have weakened the government’s capacity to effectively govern the HKSAR. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines institutional designs and rules that govern Hong Kong’s executive-legislative relations. It uses the case of the HKSAR Legislative Council (LegCo) to illustrate the impacts of institutional designs and rules on the performance of political institutions and government performance. Findings This paper finds that institutional designs and rules do affect the performance of a political institution. This paper suggests changes to the institutional designs and rules that govern the operation of the HKSAR LegCo, and the interaction between the legislature and the executive so as to create a facilitative context for good governance. Originality/value Studies on governance in Hong Kong mostly focus on individual institution’s behavior and performance. This paper studies the problem of governance in Hong Kong from the perspective of executive-legislative relations. It adopts the institutional theory to examine the behavior, performance, and interaction between the legislative and executive branches.

Hong Kong election sharpens political conflicts

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Veto Power ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
International Attention ◽  
High Level ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Law Making

Subject Implications of the 2016 Legislative Council election. Significance A new generation of political activists, who gained international attention for leading massive pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014, have secured seats in the Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo), the territory's law-making body, in the first electoral contest after the protests. Voting on September 4 for all 70 LegCo seats returned a pro-government ('establishment') majority, but older democracy activists ('pan-democrats') combined with the protest leaders ('localists' or 'radicals') have won enough seats to retain a veto over government-backed legislation. Impacts Experienced pan-democrats will court younger activists, who successfully capitalised on the high level of anti-China sentiment. Opposition veto power will ensure legislative gridlock on controversial issues. Beijing will be tempted to back a challenger to Leung in 2017 as a conciliatory gesture to the opposition. Beijing will also try to sideline independence activists through 'loyalty tests' and other means to de-legitimise the movement. The movement demanding full autonomy for Hong Kong will grow, but remain outside the mainstream business and stability-focused electorate.

scholarly journals Justice and Conflict of Interest Quasi Judicial Body – Dental Council in Hong Kong

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Cecilia Young
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Professional Ethics ◽  
Short Communication ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
Independent Commission Against Corruption ◽  
Independent Commission ◽  
Public Bodies

Dental Councils are Quasi-Judicial Bodies, Declaration of the Conflict of Interest is vital to the fair trial. This short communication discussed the issue regarding the related laws, code of professional ethics and the sample code of conduct for members of public bodies from Independent Commission Against Corruption. A compulsory session for the Declaration of Conflict of Interest is necessary before the Preliminary Investigation and the Hearing.

Hong Kong election will consolidate opposition

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Student Activism ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Activists ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Criminal Charges

Subject The Hong Kong Legislative Council election 2016. Significance A ban on pro-independence activists standing for election, the conviction of student activists on criminal charges and the declaration of several pro-Beijing candidates for the 2017 chief executive election raise long-term concerns about Hong Kong's institutional health. Impacts Student activism will strengthen, leading to greater polarisation of Hong Kong society. Announcement of multiple candidates acceptable to Beijing implies the most competitive Chief Executive election since the handover. Hong Kong's economy will probably remain sluggish over the next year.

The securitization of refugees in Hong Kong: government, members of the legislative council and Chinese newspapers (2005 to June 2019)

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wai Ching Choy
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Internal Security ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
News Reports ◽  
The Government ◽  
Poll Data

Purpose This paper explores how the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSARG) securitizes internal security, cultural identity and welfare system through refugee policy instruments. It also aims to explore the roles of members of the Legislative Council (Legco) and Chinese newspapers in the securitization process. Design/methodology/approach The author analyzed 6 landmark verdicts, 342 related documents of the Legco, 2,386 news coverages and 408 editorials/ column articles from 6 selected Chinese newspapers from 2005 to mid-2019. While documents of the Legco were collected from the Legco archives, news reports, editorials and column articles were gathered on Wisenews with the keywords, namely, refugees, asylum seekers, torture claims and non-refoulement claims. Findings The author argues that the advanced comprehensive security approach helps to comprehend the securitization process in Hong Kong. The HKSARG, Legco members of the pro-government camp and pro-government Chinese newspapers perform as securitizing actors who regard refugees as an existential threat to the referent objects, i.e. internal security, cultural identity and welfare system. Research limitations/implications There are two significant limitations, namely, the coverage of newspapers and the absence of poll data. This paper merely selected six Chinese newspapers, which do not cover English newspapers and some other Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong. It may neglect some important data. Additionally, owing to the absence of longitudinal poll data, the author chose not to examine the related materials. Originality/value This paper intends to be the first study to provide a longitudinal examination of the transformations of current refugee policies in Hong Kong.

Updates on Hong Kong’s anti-money laundering laws

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foster Hong-Cheuk Yim ◽  
Ian Philip Lee
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Salient Points ◽  
Financial Action Task ◽  
Mutual Evaluation ◽  
International Financial Center

Purpose The purpose of this study is to discuss the latest developments of anti-money laundering (AML) laws in terms of case law and intended legislation amendments. Design/methodology/approach In terms of AML case law, the authors analyze three judgments from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. In terms of the intended legislation amendments, the authors outline salient points from the two amendment bills submitted to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Findings With the developments in AML case law and the intended legislation amendments, Hong Kong is expected to have a positive result in the Financial Action Task Force Mutual Evaluation in October/November 2018. Originality/value A robust AML/counter-terrorist financing regime is the bedrock of Hong Kong’s reputable status as an international financial center. This paper seeks to illicit meaningful interactions amongst all stakeholders.

Localist challenges and the fragmentation of the pan-democratic camp in Hong Kong

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-589
Author(s):  
Jermain T.M. Lam
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Political ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
District Council

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to analyze the challenges brought by the localist faction to the traditional democratic camp in order to examine the risks and opportunities for the pan-democratic camp in the democratization process.DesignThe methodologies used for the paper were documentary analyses to examine the theory and practice of localism in the political context of Hong Kong and the election data analyses to study the electoral performances of localist and traditional democratic camps in the 2015 District Council and 2016 Legislative Council elections.FindingsThe paper found that firstly mainland–Hong Kong conflicts were the nurturing ground for emergence of localism in Hong Kong. Secondly, the ideology of localism in the context of Hong Kong connotes an anti-China element in the protection of Hongkongers’ identity, interests, and values. Thirdly, the growth of localist camp was rapid as evidenced in the 2015 and 2016 elections. Fourthly, localism presented both challenges and new opportunities for the pan-democratic camp in the democratization process.OriginalityThe paper was the product of an original research project that examined the ideology of localism and the challenges brought by localism to the pan-democratic camp to reflect on the implications for the democratization process.

scholarly journals THE TRIPARTITE POLICE COMPLAINTS SYSTEM OF HONG KONG

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 119-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Smith
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Independent Commission Against Corruption ◽  
System A ◽  
Tier System ◽  
The One ◽  
Independent Commission ◽  
Important Evidence

Practitioners define the police complaints system of Hong Kong as a two-tier system. In this article, written at the request of the organisers of a 2014 Symposium, the international reform trend and purposes of police complaints systems are briefly outlined before examination of the Hong Kong system. A different conceptualisation is suggested to the one currently preferred by practitioners. It is observed that three organisations – the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Complaints Against Police Office of the Hong Kong Police Force, and the Independent Police Complaints Council – share responsibility for handling complaints against the police. It is proposed that a full and comprehensive audit of the powers, duties and responsibilities of the three organisations that comprise this tripartite system, supported by research on the experiences of complainants, would provide an important evidence base for developing the system.

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