ABSTRACT
Public service ethics is concerned with ways in which officials comply with formally expressed government and community norms and values and with the extent to which those norms and values adequately reflect how the community believes that public servants should perform their duties. In Hong Kong public service ethics have been dominated by the anticorruption laws and by regulations and practices derived from them. Political neutrality has long been a core value of the Hong Kong civil service, but its meaning has changed somewhat over the years. Public service ethics has a wider compass than simply ensuring that officials act within the provisions of the anti-corruption laws. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) initial focus was primarily on public sector corruption, especially “syndicated” corruption in the police force. The ICAC’s Corruption Prevention Department takes on assignments from government departments and businesses, which fear that new initiatives or changed circumstances might result in more opportunities for corrupt behavior.
