EOC report was not a whitewash, says chief
The head of the inquiry panel investigating the Equal Opportunities Commission controversies has defended the report issued earlier this month amid widespread doubts about its independence.
Tam Sheung-wai, president emeritus of the Open University of Hong Kong, said the inquiry had aimed to provide the 'fullest possible account of the events surrounding the EOC in late 2003 and to identify lessons learnt'. He said the panel had discharged its duties under these terms of reference the best it could.
The panel was appointed in May last year by Home Affairs Secretary Patrick Ho Chi-ping to investigate controversial incidents involving the EOC, which began with the sacking of a senior officer in September 2003 and ended in the resignation of the chairman, Michael Wong Kin-chow, in November that year.
But non-governmental organisations and former EOC chairwoman Anna Wu Hung-yuk said it was wrong for Dr Ho, himself a subject of investigation, to appoint the group. Dr Ho's participation in a late-night meeting with Mr Wong and others the day before Mr Wong's resignation has been a matter of controversy.
The panel report, released on February 2, exonerated Mr Wong, Dr Ho and others while making recommendations for reform.
But the report was slammed as a whitewash by non-governmental organisations and some EOC members.
Professor Tam said he and the other two members of the panel - Anthony Wu Ting-yuk and Fanny Lai Ip Po-ping - had always 'focused on the issues and not the individuals'. 'Our inquiry is in the nature of a fact-finding exercise,' he said. 'All along, we have sought to be independent, impartial and thorough. All our conclusions and recommendations are based on the facts obtained during our inquiry.'
