Hong Kong government pledges action to make charities more transparent

The government has pledged to boost the transparency of Hong Kong charities and the ways they make their money after several reports slamming its lack of action and pointing to a number of loopholes in local charity rules.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the government was considering a list of measures including “disclosing financial information on fundraising activities granted a licence or a permit, to protect the public’s right to know.”

The list also included the eventual introduction of a one-stop service for charities to apply to organise fundraisers, and enhancing a hotline and a website to let residents lodge complaints about charities breaking fundraising rules, and to inform them about the issues.

But Cheung said that without a single independent authority the implementation of a new regulatory framework – previously recommended by the Law Reform Commission – would be “highly complicated”.

“The government needs to take into consideration the views and feedback of the public and various stakeholders, including charitable organisations of different types,” he said.

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Cliff Choi, business director of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, said his organisation – an umbrella group that includes about 400 of the city’s 9,000 charities – welcomed the new measures. “We fully support the charities’ accountability and transparency. If you want to earn the public’s trust, you have to be accountable,” he said.