The Role of Independent Agencies for Horizontal Accountability

Abstract

This chapter is going to demonstrate that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has a solid mechanism of horizontal accountability through the work of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the Audit Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman (or formerly the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints before December 2001), and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). It will examine the work of these institutions, focusing on how they provide some checks and balances against the executive branch of the government. This examination will show that a Hong Kong style of indigenous democracy already exists.