Beijing 'should aid ICAC'

The mainland should give more support to the ICAC, says Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference deputy Annie Wu Suk-ching.

Ms Wu, a member of the Independent Commission Against Corruption operations review committee, said yesterday investigations were sometimes halted because of the failure of mainland witnesses to testify in the SAR.

Prior to the handover, the ICAC dealt mainly with Guangdong authorities in its effort to contact witnesses in the province. Ms Wu said the ICAC should deal with authorities at the central level.

In a proposal submitted to the CPPCC, she called on mainland-funded SAR firms to support the ICAC's work.

'For historical reasons, the possibility for the ICAC to monitor mainland-funded activities is extremely low.

'It is often difficult for the ICAC to launch investigation into reports of corruption involving mainland-funded companies' employees,' she said.