Hong Kong revels in being a free port with a minimum of rules and regulations under the canopy of British-style rule of law. One downside to the joys of freedom, however, is that Hong Kong can be the scam artist's nirvana. For years the public has been complaining that often little is known about the estimated 7,500 charities that regularly hold flag-selling drives on the streets. Some charities give full annual accounts and others are sometimes subject to government reviews to justify their tax-exempt status.
Now, after a six-year review, Hong Kong's Law Reform Commission has recommended that there be a central registry of charities, but it pulled back from promoting a watchdog charities authority, which many Hongkongers wanted.
