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Alex Lo

The political exploitation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption continues apace by shameless politicians. The latest is initiated by Claudia Mo Man-ching, formerly of the Civic Party.
Funny how just days before the chief executive election, the pan-democratic lawmaker suddenly insinuates in the legislature that the ICAC has launched a probe into front runner Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
Secretive deal on Hong Kong Palace Museum will further erode trust in authorities
Apparently, Mo complained in early January and the graft buster “opened a file” over Lam’s role in launching a plan to build a version of Beijing’s Palace Museum in the West Kowloon arts hub when she was still chief secretary.


Mo alleged there had been “an inappropriate transfer of benefits” that could amount to “misconduct in public office”.
As mud-slinging goes, this is just amateurish. Even political mud-slinging has standards, and Mo clearly has no ideas, as she doesn’t with anything else. But this kind of abuse of the ICAC has been committed by pan-democratic politicians in the past, most infamously in the case of former Executive Council member Franklin Lam Fan-keung, who had to resign but was later fully exonerated.
Actually, if I go through the trouble of reporting to the ICAC that there might have been “an inappropriate transfer of benefits” in Mo’s involvement in the Palace Museum case, the ICAC would be obliged to open a file on Mo, too.
I don’t need to offer any evidence, just tell a story of suspicion, and I can write a column that Mo is now being investigated. “Opening a file” with the ICAC can mean anything, like taking down names and addresses.
Hong Kong’s graft-buster to investigate Carrie Lam over museum deal, lawmaker says
The real thing is to launch a formal or active investigation, and investigators don’t tell you that.
As head of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Lam may or may not have bypassed established bidding procedures over the museum. But a corrupt transfer of benefits – to whom?
What is most disturbing about dirty tactics like Mo’s is that they are undermining the credibility of the ICAC. If the ICAC opens a file, people claim an investigation is under way. But if, as is usually the case, nothing comes out of it, they question its integrity and whether it has been under government pressure. They do all this – just to score a few political points or make a soundbite for TV news.


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My Take

Leave the ICAC out of petty political games

Controversy over the Palace Museum plans at West Kowloon Cultural Centre has escalated to an ICAC probe into Carrie Lam for “an inappropriate transfer of benefits.” Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong’s graft-buster to investigate Carrie Lam over museum deal, lawmaker says

The controversy over the museum erupted last December when Carrie Lam, then chief secretary, announced a surprise HK$3.5 billion deal with Beijing to create a Hong Kong version of the Palace Museum at the West Kowloon Cultural District. Photo: Sam Tsang

Opinion

The use of the corruption watchdog to score political points is not only shameless but undermines the body’s credibility


West Kowloon Cultural District

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}My Take | Leave the ICAC out of petty political games

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The use of the corruption watchdog to score political points is not only shameless but undermines the body’s credibility

My Take | Leave the ICAC out of petty political games

The use of the corruption watchdog to score political points is not only shameless but undermines the body’s credibility