New anti-graft academy to offer tailor-made training
An academy providing tailored programmes to anti-corruption officers from around the world will be launched in Hong Kong this month, with a nine-day financial investigation specialist training course set to kick off the institution's establishment.  The commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Danny Woo, on Thursday said there has been an overwhelming response to the course, with 40 applicants from various countries for the 20 spots available.  In an interview marking the graft-buster's 50th anniversary, Woo said the Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption - which will be launched on February 21 - will help design training programmes for overseas counterparts.  "Depending on the needs of their country or region, we will tailor courses that are suitable for them," he said.  Woo said the new ICAC institution will also provide training for both public and private firms in Hong Kong. "We cannot rely on the 1,500 staff at the ICAC alone to tackle Hong Kong's corruption problem," he said. "We hope to train managers of companies or organisations, to give them more professional knowledge on how to build their own internal anti-corruption mechanism or to improve their detection capability."  On planned Basic Law Article 23 national security legislation, Woo said stability and integrity go hand in hand.  "If a country continues to have [people] incite riots and cause damage both internally and externally, how can it develop its economy and people's livelihood? When life isn't good, how can there be integrity? They have a very close relationship," he said.  "I'm very confident that after the enactment of Article 23 legislation, we can focus on developing the economy. I am very confident that the degree of integrity will rise to another level."  Woo said the anti-graft body shares information with the police if, during its investigations, it comes across any acts that endanger national security.