Memoirs of a Loser 162: Seeing him build Zhulou, and seeing his building collapse
In 2001, the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption's "Octopus" operation against China Travel Service Group was the last anti-corruption operation against a Chinese-funded enterprise. The "former chairman" in the statement was Zhu Yuening, who was transferred back to Beijing to accept the "shuanggui". "Shuanggui" refers to the inspection at the specified time and place.
His predecessor, Ma Zhimin, former chairman of China Travel Service Group, was a friend of mine for many years. When he came to my house, he was very excited about the enforcement of the ICAC. Lao Ma is the former secretary of the Shenzhen township party committee and minister of the United Front Work of Bao'an County. In the first few years of the 1960s, because Liyi was teaching in Shenzhen, my father often went to Shenzhen, and Lao Ma had a lot of contact with our family. During the Cultural Revolution, he was beaten as a capitalist roader and locked up in a "cow shed" where "ghosts and snakes" were detained.
He was "liberated" at the end of the Cultural Revolution, and we met. At that time, he already had a lot of private criticism of the Cultural Revolution and the top CCP. After the Cultural Revolution, he was transferred to Hong Kong in 1979 to preside over the work of China Travel Service. He built the "Overseas Chinese Town" and "Splendid China" theme parks in Shenzhen, and expanded the business scope of China Travel Service to become one of the largest state-owned enterprises in Hong Kong. We also have contacts in Hong Kong. He also knew the transformation of "The Seventies", but it did not prevent us from exchanging views on the situation in China like friends. In 1998, he was suddenly "retired," meaning he retired from his original position while still receiving his original salary. His salary is not high, and he handled many projects during his tenure, including the listing of China Travel Service. His integrity and enthusiasm for his work are rare among CCP cadres. The old horse passed away in 2006.
He came to my house that day and talked about his successor, Zhu Yuening, and angrily stated that the fundamental reason for his "retirement" was that he would not cooperate with his superiors' demands for money and sex. He pointed out that his superior was Liao Hui, who succeeded his father Liao Chengzhi as the director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.
The Zhu Yuening case did not excite the honest and honest old horse for a long time, because a year later, Zhu Yuening, who was "shuanggui" in Beijing, "came out in perfect condition." The Hong Kong ICAC believes that corrupt suspects with solid evidence are at large in the "official protection".
The establishment and successful operation of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption is extremely difficult. Many countries or regions tried to learn from the experience of the Hong Kong ICAC, but they were unsuccessful. A book called "Zero Tolerance" was published in mainland China, which introduced in detail the organization and operation of the Hong Kong ICAC. However, in China, the more anti-corruption is, the more corrupt it becomes. Just asking all levels of cadres to disclose their property is impossible for decades.
When the Hong Kong ICAC was established, apart from the fact that corruption and bribery had become a habit in society, which caused "police and integrity conflicts", the most important thing was that "wealth is not commensurate with public office income", and it may be investigated. Meaning: The amount of property you own, or your quality of life, is not something you can achieve with your public income. The so-called public income, that is, salary, inheritance, profit in the stock market, property market or other investments, etc. In other words, the corrupt suspects are asked to explain the source of the property.
This is not in line with the common law principle of "presumption of innocence" in Hong Kong. Because according to common law, the prosecution has to prove whether he is guilty or not; it is not for the defendant to prove his innocence. Therefore, other countries cannot extradite suspected corruption suspects in Hong Kong to Hong Kong under this law. This is why some of the biggest corruption suspects in the police force are able to stay in countries such as Canada. It is reported that this article was controversial for a long time when the ICAC Ordinance was enacted.
In addition to the ICAC's serious investigation and handling of any report, it also requires a fair trial by the Hong Kong court. Hong Kong has inherited the British tradition of judicial independence for more than 100 years. Judges have strict behavioral guidelines, stipulating that they cannot use their judicial status to seek personal interests, not to serve as directors of commercial companies, and to try not to attend sensitive social occasions. So judges are pretty lonely professions.
On the surface, the salary of judges is quite high. When Li Guoneng was the chief justice, the monthly salary was 227,000 Hong Kong dollars. But the pay was only one-tenth of what he would have earned in a case as a SC. As for the senior officials at the government director level, the monthly salary is more than 300,000 yuan.
As I mentioned earlier, I once went to a dinner hosted by Li Guoneng at home for Chen Jue's retirement. All of them were senior judges except me. Their conversation did not mention the case, but about which low-cost airline had better service. Recommend each other to ride. It can be seen that their lives are quite frugal.
Judicial adjudication of the common law, in addition to the case, there are other judgment principles. We'll talk about that later. Here, I just want to emphasize the fairness of Hong Kong's judiciary. Until 2019, it was fully affirmed by Hong Kong citizens, including foreign residents.
The independence and impartiality of the judiciary is the basis for the successful enforcement of the ICAC.
As mentioned above, since 2001, no Chinese-funded company has been investigated by the ICAC. In the long period of more than 20 years, the market value of Chinese-funded enterprises in the Hong Kong stock market has risen from 16.29% in 1997 to 80%. In the context of increasingly serious corruption in mainland China, not a single Chinese-funded enterprise in Hong Kong has been investigated. Will no one report it?
In particular, the CCP's own exposure to corruption in state-owned enterprises in Hong Kong include at least Liu Jinbao, the former president of Bank of China in Hong Kong, and Song Lin, chairman of China Resources Group. They were all transferred back to the mainland for review. In 2013, the Hong Kong Audit Office revealed that the former Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Tang Xianming, had disordered entertainment expenses during his tenure. Why does the Commissioner of the ICAC only entertain, dine, and give gifts to CCP officials, but not the same rewards as the officials or businessmen sent abroad from any other country? Why has the ICAC stopped investigating Chinese companies for more than 20 years? Isn't the answer very clear?
In 2014, former Chief Secretary for Administration Xu Shiren was arrested for corruption. He told the court that Liao Hui, then director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, gave him HK$11.18 million.
From just offering benefits privately in the beginning, to giving money directly to Hong Kong officials to spend. Later, the Department of Justice did not even prosecute Leung Chun-ying for secretly charging HK$50 million from an Australian company during his tenure as chief executive.
Building a tall building is not easy, but tearing down a tall building is easy. Reminds me of the famous line from Kong Shangren's opera "Peach Blossom Fan" in the early Qing Dynasty: "Seeing him raise Zhulou, seeing him feasting guests, seeing his building collapse."
Some people believe that the Independent Commission Against Corruption later evolved into a Dongchang specialized in dealing with the opposition.
(Original post published on June 22, 2022)
"Memoirs of a Loser" serial catalog (continuously updated)
152. Yu Gang, A Cheng and "Cooking Smoke" - My Author Friends (Part 2)
153. Several pens for decades - my author friends (Part 3)
154. "Love Hong Kong Wrongly" - My Author Friends (Part 4)
155. Observations and reflections in the early 1997
156. Tung Chee-hwa's 85,000 "Baby"
157. For the first time, everyone did not think so
159. The cornerstone of "unchanged" begins to shake
160. Chen Fang Ansheng resigned, the civil service system collapsed
161. Woohoo! Hong Kong people are proud of the ICAC!
162. Seeing him rise from Zhulou, seeing his building collapse
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