Thirty years ago, a Hong Kong young man named Dingbang quit his job to join the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), a newly set government unit combating graft activities, the social epidemic causing seething resentment among the people.  

It was hard then for Dingbang and his fellows to battle corruption, which was so popular that few people believed that it could be got away with. But ICAC won the war with hardship.

Stories of Dingbang and his ICAC fellows were made into series of video dramas and were known to every family in the 1970s.

Now Hong Kong people can watch the dramas via Internet. ICAC launched this month a special video channel in its website. Apart from old video dramas, people can surf the website anytime watching the story-telling video programs to explore the legendary past of the ICAC.

The launch of Internet video anti-graft channel was also a move marking the 30th anniversary of ICAC, which has witnessed great social changes since its founding.

Many Hong Kong residents still clearly remember the "bad old days" when corruption was rampant in Hong Kong where paying bribes was a daily routine for many businessmen. A hawker under the threat of corrupt government officers in the 1970s had to pay US$5 everyday as "black money." Deprived of the precious sum, he was forced to give away his youngest daughter whom he could no longer afford to raise. The plight of this hawker epitomized the evils of corruption that plagued all walks of life.

The dramas in the Internet video anti-graft channel tell such stories in the "bad old days."

The channel also tells stories of ICAC's combat to crack down on the "black money" and other corruption. Over the past 30 years, thanks to dedication and hard work of ICAC officers, ICAC eventually broke the back of syndicated corruption in government, effectively dealt with the spreading corruption in private departments, hence quickly gained the trust of the public.

Now "doing business by the backdoor" or "paying illegal kickbacks" is no longer accepted. The ICAC Commissioner Raymond Wong said that he has a chance days ago to meet some members of the public at a gathering held to mark the ICAC's 30th birthday.

"Things are very different these days... The ICAC has really done a good job. This was one of the most frequently expressed remarks that rang into my ears.

"But there are still some 4,000 reports of corruption activities each in here, and Hong Kong is far from absolutely clean. There are great challenges ahead," said Wong.

"Lots of work should be done in education and publicity, and this is why we give out the anti-graft video channel," said Mrs. Lam, head of the Community Relations Department of ICAC.

Lam said anti-corruption was not just conception, or ICAC's sole duty, but support and belief of the public as well.

"By viewing the history of ICAC, the public members can differentiate the social environment changes in the past 30 years and strengthen their faith against corruption, which would be the vital power for the society as well as the ICAC to defeat the social tumor," said Lam.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2004)