This presentation by Anna WU, Chief Executive, Chair, Competition Commission, Hong Kong, China was made during the discussion on "Promoting competition, protecting human rights" held at the 15th Global Forum on Competition on 1 December 2016. More papers and presentations on the topic can be found out at www.oecd.org/competition/globalforum/promoting-competition-protecting-human-rights.htm

1. OECD: Promoting Competition,
Protecting Human Rights Panel
Paris, 1 Dec 2016
Anna Wu
Competition Commission, HKSAR
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2. Links between competition
and human rights
• Intersects with consumer welfare and corruption
• Unwarranted rising cost could be argued as infliction
of loss on users individually and on society
collectively
• Lack of competitive forces retards innovation and
overall development
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3. • Fair access to a market rebalances utilization of
resources and achieves greater efficiency
• Competition law creates enforceable rights and the
pursuit of a remedy is itself a human right
• Competition supports access to medicine, food and
jobs
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4. The telephone story
• 1990s - deregulation commenced supported by the
requirement for interconnectivity between networks and
portability of numbers
• Jan 2003 - local fixed telecommunications market fully
liberalized
• Choice, price reduction, investment and new technology:
 1996 to 2002 - cumulative savings of USD9bn or
HKD70.2bn recorded in the mobile industry
 1999 to 2001 - cumulated savings USD4bn or HKD31.2bn
for the international sector
 1991 to 2001- investment in telecommunications industry
increased by USD12bn
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5. Building renovation
and maintenance market
• May 2016 - Competition Commission published its
findings on bid rigging in this market
• Bid rigging and corruption resulted from:
- money and scale involved
- impropriety in building management
- property owners lacking expertise
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6. • The Commission analyzed confidential tender records for
some 500 projects using screening techniques
Study focused on:
- tender participation and tender successes
- whether bid amounts reflected the costs of providing
underlying services
Study reflected:
- 65% of consultant contracts below cost
- pairing of groups
- inference of extensive bid rigging
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7. The Garden Vista Project
• Bid rigging intersects with corruption
• Bribes worth about USD5.6mil or HKD45mil were
offered
• The renovation contract was awarded at USD33mil
or HKD262mil
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8. Corruption
• Socio economic factors produced different types of
corruption and rigging at different times:
- in our massive public housing market in the 1970s
- in illegal rebates, commercial frauds and finance
and bank related corruption in the 1980s
- in the overheated construction market in the 1990s
- in our stock market through “ biscuit sharing “,
acceptance of preferential allocation of shares for
listing of companies exposed around the global
stock market crash on 19 Oct 1987
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9. • Corruption affected:
- public hospital care
- safety standards of buildings
- public health and safety related licenses
- disciplined services including the police force
and fire services
 The Competition Commission has a collaborative
working relationship with the Independent
Commission against Corruption, the Police and the
Securities and Futures Commission
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10. Due Process and the TVB case
• Competition Ordinance adopts a judicial
enforcement model
• Decision of Communications Authority was quashed
for procedural unconstitutionality because of a lack
of independent and impartial tribunal
([2016] 2 HKLRD 41)
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11. • TVB imposed restrictions on artistes and singers,
regarded as having prevented, distorted and
substantially restricted competition
• TVB was required to end the infringement and to
undertake remedial actions
• TVB applied for judicial review
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12. • Contracts for occasional use contained clauses with
restrictions as follows:
- Prohibition of engagement by any other
television service without prior consent
- Mandating outright exclusivity unless otherwise
consented
- Requiring prior notice before performing for
another in HK
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13. - No original voice policy prohibiting original
voice being used in productions for other local
television stations featuring the artistes leading
to dubbing
- No promotional activities for productions in
which the artistes star in broadcast by other
local television stations even if rival has acquired
rights to broadcast overseas
- No Cantonese policy for rivals by practice
(but not in contract)
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14. Rights and remedies
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(Art 2) requires the creation of rights enforceable by
competent judicial, administrative or legislative
authorities and the provision of effective remedies
• Both ICCPR (Art 14) and our Bill of Rights (Art 10)
establish the right to fair and public hearing by an
impartial tribunal established by law
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15. • The right to pursue a remedy under competition law
is a human right and enforcement must follow due
process
• Competition law does not by itself create rights to
medicine, food or jobs, it promotes the same
objectives and is a means to enhance enjoyment
• It measures economic gain or loss
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16. • International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (Art 6) protects the right to work.
Removing artistes’ access to job market and
restricting rival’s engagement of their services are
two sides of the same coin
• “Follow-on actions” is a weak remedy for private
actions
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