Graft-busters' dinner plans touch a nerve in anxious Hong Kong

Hong Kong

HONG KONG'S anti-corruption agency that takes on tycoons and public officials is attracting scrutiny for an unlikely reason - the postponement of an annual staff dinner.

Reports in local media of a staff "boycott" of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) event, originally scheduled for Friday night, and the exits of the agency's operational head and a senior investigator have led lawmakers and academics to ask whether all is well at the organisation.

It's a touchy subject: ICAC is at the front lines of the city's efforts to maintain transparency and the rule of law, credentials that could be at risk from China's increasing sway. "This is of great public importance," said John Burns, the dean of social sciences at the University of Hong Kong, citing the agency's role in k…