Stronger vetting system needed for Hong Kong officials
As the cases involving the justice minister and telecoms authority chief have shown, those in key posts can ill afford not to follow the highest standards of conduct
The head of the Communications Authority has let the public down by failing to disclose his shares in a mobile phone company as required. Describing it as sheer negligence, Huen Wong was adamant that it had not caused any conflict of interest or compromised the work of the telecoms regulator. Be that as it may, the case shows that declaration rules are still not followed as seriously as they should be.
Wong is not the first appointee to have flouted the rules. While senior appointments are vetted on their integrity, the declaration of interests is primarily an honest system. If those in key posts do not take compliance seriously, public interest will be undermined.