British legal culture and colonial governance : the attack on corruption in Hong Kong, 1968–1974

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Britain and the World

Publication Date

9-1-2012

Volume

5

Issue

2

First Page

223

Last Page

239

Publisher

Edinburgh University Press Ltd.

Keywords

Fugitive Offenders Act, Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, Murray MacLehose, Peter Godber, Elsie Elliott (Elsie Tu), Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC)

Abstract

This article examines the Hong Kong Government's vigorous attack on corruption in the late 1960s and early 1970s as an example of the transmission of British legal and political culture abroad. Previous studies of Hong Kong's anti-corruption efforts have understandably situated them in the context of local history, including both Chinese folk culture and the Hong Kong Government's need to rebuild legitimacy following major civil disturbances between 1966 and 1968. This article does not disagree with these emphases, but argues that the attack on corruption is equally a part of British cultural history. Drawing on newly-available archival material, this article shows that longstanding British antipathy to corruption provided political and legal values on which Hong Kong's Colonial officials drew when the local context made the tackling of corruption politically advantageous. At the same time, though, British legal culture was as much an obstacle as an inspiration to anti-corruption efforts. In particular, the Hong Kong Government's Prevention of Bribery Ordinance conflicted with British legal values concerning the rights of the accused, and the British Fugitive Offenders Act hindered London's ability to support the extradition of a notoriously corrupt police official, Peter Godber. This article thus underscores the clash between British legal values and the practical necessities of governing in Britain's last major colony.

DOI

10.3366/brw.2012.0055

Print ISSN

20438567

E-ISSN

20438575

Publisher Statement

Copyright © Edinburgh University Press

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Hampton, M. A. (2012). British legal culture and colonial governance: The attack on corruption in Hong Kong, 1968–1974. Britain and the World, 5(2), 223-239. doi: 10.3366/brw.2012.0055

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