Lai See | Destruction of archives is one more dirty government secret

The Archives Action Group, which is seeking to redress Hong Kong's hopelessly inadequate arrangements for safeguarding public records, has taken its case to the Ombudsman. In its submission, it notes that many countries have laws governing the management of their records. Hong Kong gets by with a system of administrative guidance. But over the years, this system has demonstrated "inherent system weakness" in three broad areas covering mandate and governance, structure and operations, and standards and professionalism.

The group says that under the present arrangements, "the Government Records Office lacks an effective mandate in that it can neither ensure that government bureaus and departments create, maintain and dispose of records properly, nor does it have the power to audit and rectify poor recordkeeping practice". It goes on to say that the lack of adequate and reliable government records has led to numerous incidents of loss and damage as well as impeding investigations into negligence, misfeasance and corruption of public officers. "For example, an Audit Review in 2004 revealed that in the Discovery Bay development project an estimated $160 million for making changes in land use should have been paid by the developer to the government but no records were found to allow a meaningful investigation."

The group says that "the tragic Lamma ferry crash in 2012, which killed 39 people, also illustrated the haphazard management of records in the Marine Department". It adds that over the years the office has been "de-professionalised" in that few people are sufficiently qualified to carry out the task. As a result, it is incapable of implementing a comprehensive, efficient and effective programme for managing government archives and records in a professionally competent, credible and sustainable manner.

Lai See would add that Hong Kong's standards of public record keeping are scandalous for a jurisdiction that prides itself on its standards of governance. Public records provide a check on officials, and are a record of how the government conducted itself both for the public and historians. We know that records are being destroyed at a massive rate. The suspicion is that the government doesn't want people to know how and under what circumstances it is making decisions. It is just one more of our government's dirty secrets. It is time this changed, but we are not holding our breath.