A generation of economic reforms have unleashed new interests and expectations in today's China, but the political system remains largely unreformed. The result has been widespread corruption in a system that, as yet, gives victims and would-be reformers few places to turn. Anti-corruption campaigns and, recently, the arrest and execution of top political figures, have not stemmed the tide.

For many years, however, Hong Kong was an exception. During its last quarter-century as a British Crown Colony,  Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) conducted public education campaigns, as well as investigations and prosecutions, with outstanding results. Once-rampant corruption was brought under control, and the public -- particularly young people -- no longer saw it as inevitable, or tolerable. Since 1997, when Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the ICAC has continued its work -- but its longer-term future remains uncertain.  

In the Chinese tradition language is of crucial importance. Putting the right name on a problem is an essential part of understanding its nature and significance. And as China's corruption problems have deepened, the language of corruption has changed as well -- changes that may indicate a crisis of values. These linguistic and historical questions are essential, for the future of one of the world's great civilizations, and of one-quarter of humanity, will have much to do with questions of corruption. 

Jenny Chi Yuen Chan worked with the Hong Kong ICAC for almost 20 years as an interpreter and staff member, and traveled extensively with ICAC teams through China and elsewhere. Having recently completed an advanced degree in Britain, she lives in New York City, where she is studying American law and working in the legal system. She will analyze corruption and reform in China from the standpoint of language, culture and history, and will link those concepts to her extensive knowledge of cases in Hong Kong and the PRC.

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A paper by Jenny Chan, which analyzes these questions and provides and excellent background for her presentation, is available for downloading in Adobe *.pdf format: click here.

For a list of sources about Hong Kong and corruption available through the Colgate Libraries, click here