Remember when Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong was the most popular bureau chief? His approval rating hit its peak, 70 points, last July, according to the University of Hong Kong public opinion programme. At the time, the joke within political circles was that, after the decision to put the Article 23 legislation on hold indefinitely, Mr Lee's bureau had nothing to do - so the public had nothing to disapprove of.
But, since the saga involving Hong Kong travellers stranded in Bangkok last November, it has been a different story. According to the HKU poll, Mr Lee's rating in January stood at 56.1 points, down 14 points in just six months.
So, has the Security Bureau learned from its mistake? Since November, it has been quick to issue travel advice for Thailand: for the first 13 days of this year, it posted travel warnings for Thailand-bound Hongkongers. The advice is still in effect.
Yet, the bureau appears less aware of the dangers in other parts of the world. It has yet to issue a travel alert for Pakistan, despite the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore and the bombing last September of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed more than 50. When asked by independent legislator Paul Tse Wai-chun, who represents the tourism functional constituency, why it had not issued warnings for Pakistan, Mr Lee said that 'in view of the circumstances, we considered it not necessary'.
Nor does the bureau feel it necessary to warn travellers of the situation in war-torn Sri Lanka, or of the terrorist and insurgent activities in places like the Philippines.
Since the Thailand fiasco, Mr Lee has vowed to review the bureau's travel advisory system. Clearly, there is much room for improvement. Compared with other governments' systems, ours is disgraceful.
The travel alerts issued by Mr Lee's bureau are overly simplistic and fail to provide information that Hong Kong travellers need to assess the risks. A typical alert does not provide information on the 'situation', but only that travellers should 'exercise caution'. There is no background information, or a summary of events. The only contact information provided is a hotline to the Immigration Department's assistance to Hong Kong residents unit. Phone numbers, addresses and websites of Chinese embassies and consulates are not included in the bureau's travel advisories.