Anti-Corruption Governance in Hong Kong: The Formation, Development, and Decay of the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) = 홍콩의 반부패 거버넌스: 염정공서 (ICAC, 독립 반부패 위원회 ) 의 형성 , 발전 , 그리고 쇠퇴

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study looks at how the British colonial government in Hong Kong tried to face corruption in the 1970s, and how that struggle slowly changed the shape of its politics. Corruption was not something that appeared all at once. It was part of the way the colony had been built, a kind of habit that grew from the long tension between power and the search for right. The system carried its own weakness inside it, and the signs were visible long before reform began. Through the study of government papers, private letters, and the recollections of both British and Chinese officials, this research follows how the tone of rule changed from quiet tolerance to open correction, from what was once an accepted custom to what became a public scandal. 、

The work moves through three main periods. The first is the last phase of the colonial years, when the talk of reform began to gain weight. The second is the time of institutional calm during the 1980s and 1990s, when the system grew firm. The third is the time after 1997, when the same system lived on under a new sovereignty. What appears across these stages is that the fight against corruption was never only a matter of law. It carried a political heart. At first it helped the British colonial empire hold its ground, and later it became a way for the new rulers to speak of legitimacy. The founding of the Independent Commission Against Corruption was not simply an act of administration. It altered how power itself was imagined. In the hands of the British it served both as a promise to the people and as a way to keep authority alive in an uneasy time. Its echo did not end with the British colonial empire. After 1997, the same language of honesty and order still shaped the city’s life, and in its quiet way, it kept asking who governs, and on what ground that right continues.

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 연구는 1970 년대 홍콩에서 영국 식민지 정부가 부패 문제를 어떻게 다루었는지를 살피며, 그 과정이 결국 도시의 정치 질서를 어떻게 바꾸었는지를 탐구한다. 홍콩의 부패는 갑작스러운 사회적 병이 아니었다. 오랜 세월 식민 통치가 낳은 습속이었고, 권위와 정당성 사이의 불안한 긴장에서 자라난 관행이었다. 정부 문서와 총독의 서한, 그리고 영국과 홍콩 관리들의 회고를 통해, 본 연구는 ‘묵인에서 개혁으로’ 이동한 과정을 따라가며 통치가 스스로를 고쳐 나가는 모습을 보여준다.

이 연구는 비교역사적 접근을 취하되, 숫자나 제도의 구조보다 사건이 지나간 흔적을 더 중시한다. 세 개의 시기를 나누어 살핀다. 먼저 식민 통치가 끝나가던 시기, 다음으로 제도가 자리를 잡은 1980~1990 년대, 마지막으로 1997 년 이후의 탈식민 국면이다. 이 세 시기를 관통해 드러나는 것은, 반부패가 단지 법이나 절차의 문제가 아니었다는 점이다. 그것은 통치가 자신을 정당화하기 위한 행위였다. 식민기에는 제국의 권위를 지탱하는 수단이었고, 반환 이후에는 새로운 정당성을 찾기 위한 도구가 되었다. 1974 년 창설된 ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption)는 그 자체로 개혁의 산물이면서, 동시에 권력이 스스로를 다시 정의한 사건이었다.

결국 이 연구는 영국이 홍콩에서 추진한 반부패 정책이 단순한 도덕적 정화의 시도가 아니었다는 점을 밝히려 한다. 그것은 제국의 통치를 연장하려는 실용적 전략이기도 했다. 그러나 그 흔적은 제국이 끝난 뒤에도 사라지지 않았다. 홍콩의 행정은 여전히 ‘청렴’이라는 말을 신뢰와 권력의 언어로 삼는다. 누가 통치할 것인가, 어떤 근거로 통치할 것인가 하는 물음은, 제국이 물러난 이후에도 이 도시 안에서 여전히 되풀이되고 있다.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................6
• 2. Literature Review ...........................................................................................................................8
• 2.1 Theoretical Foundations of Colonial Anti-Corruption ...................................................... 8
• 2.1.1 Anti-Corruption In Hong Kong .................................................................................. 9
• 2.1.2 Political Theories on Corruption and Governance ................................................... 15
• 2.2 Local Institutional Dynamics and Social Context .......................................................... 17
• 2.3 Organized Crime and Its Impact on Governance ........................................................... 18
• 3. Methodology .................................................................................................................................21
• 3.1 Research Design ......................................................................................................... 21
• 3.2 Sources and Materials ................................................................................................. 25
• 3.3 Temporal-Analytical Framework ................................................................................... 26
• 4. Colonial Order and the Roots of Corruption ............................................................................30
• 4.1 Origins and Persistence of Triad Societies .................................................................... 31
• 4.1.1 Arrival in Hong Kong.............................................................................................. 32
• 4.2 Establishment and Early Development of Hong Kong Police Force ................................. 35
• 4.2.1 Formation of the HKPF (1844-1899) ....................................................................... 36
• 4.2.2 Challenges in Operation and Interaction with the Chinese Communities ................. 37
• 5. Colonial Policy and Structures of British Governance .............................................................42
• 5.1 Colonial Objectives, Strategic and Commercial Interests .............................................. 42
• 5.2 Legal Frameworks and Colonial Justice ........................................................................ 45
• 5.3 Political Exclusion And Administrative Structure ........................................................... 47
• 5.4 Mid-20th Century Reform and Limitations .................................................................... 49
• 6. Causes and Constraints of Anti-Corruption ..............................................................................55
• 6.1 Structural Tolerance and the Institutionalization of Corruption ...................................... 55
• 6.1.1 Structural Incentives and Cultural Traditions .......................................................... 55
• 6.1.2 The Peter Godber Scandal and Its Significance to Anti-Corruption ........................... 59
• 6.2 Economic Interests and Protection Upon Revenue........................................................ 60
• 6.2.1 Fiscal Self-sufficiency ........................................................................................... 60
• 6.2.2 Auction Revenue of Land ...................................................................................... 63
• 4 6.2.3 Public Trust And Taxation Compliance ................................................................... 64
• 6.3 Fear of Political Instability and Communist Subversion ................................................. 64
• 6.3.1 Anxiety Over The Chinese Communist Influence .................................................... 65
• 7. Vehicles For Combating Corruption and the Process...............................................................70
• 7.1 Creation and Empowerment of the ICAC ...................................................................... 70
• 7.2 Legislative Methods .................................................................................................... 73
• 7.3 Bureaucratic and Civil Service Reforms ........................................................................ 76
• 7.4 Military Readiness and Deterrence ............................................................................... 79
• 8. Executive Exceptionalism and The Crisis of Legality...............................................................84
• 8.1 Failure of Legal Frameworks and Institutional Disintegration ......................................... 85
• 8.2Institutional Exceptionalism ......................................................................................... 88
• 9. The Post-1997 Legacy of British Anti-Corruption Measures...................................................91
• 9.1New-Established Legal Framework and Its Challenges .................................................. 91
• 9.2 Post-2019 Challenges of Anti-Corruption Governance .................................................. 93
• 10. Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................96
• Bibliography ...........................................................................................................................................98
• Abstract in Korean ..............................................................................................................................106