He made the remarks when officially opening a three-day conference being jointly held by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Interpol at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center here.

The conference, entitled "Partnership Against Corruption," has attracted over 500 delegates including anti-corruption experts, law enforcers, representatives from world organizations, financial institutions and academia around the world.

In his speech, Tung urged a global approach and a border-less alliance to tackle corruption as a global issue and a cross-border crime.

The SAR chief executive said he is proud Hong Kong was rated as one of the least corrupt places in the world and ranked at the bottom of economies whose governments are likely to be associated with practices to gain unfair advantage in international trade and investment.

"Despite these achievements, there is no room for complacency when we are facing tremendous challenges as our economy grapples with restructuring," Tung said, "while we are fortunate that we have a strong institutional framework to buttress our efforts which are well known to you all: a tried and trusted legal system upheld by an independent judiciary, the free flow of information, a robust and critical media that operates in an unfettered environment, a highly trained and professional police force, and atop-notch anti-corruption agency that has been used as a model by governments around the world."

Tung stressed that anti-corruption has always been one of Hong Kong SAR government's most fundamental pledges to the community, and the government has rendered full support to the ICAC in the fight against corruption, which received overwhelming support from the community.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2003)