TODAY'S call for the publication of the agendas of the Transport Advisory Committee's (TAC) closed-door meetings does not go nearly far enough towards making this powerful advisory body truly transparent. But it is a welcome step and a timely reminder that the closed-door mentality, which still surrounds the Government's 350 advisory committees, is an anachronism in modern-day Hong Kong.
Unfortunately, the Government seems to object to even the most modest moves towards greater openness, such as TAC Chairman Dr Raymond Ho Chung-tai's proposal to publish agendas. Indeed, it is only a few months since officials were similarly on the side of secretiveness, in opposing legislator Christine Loh Kung-wai's effort to ensure the Hong Kong Arts Development Council met in public.
A rag-bag of reasons is used to justify this aversion to transparency, from fearing members can't speak freely in public to not wanting to politicise such bodies. Such excuses are outdated and strikingly similar to those which used to be heard against making the Legislative Council more open, until the newly-elected members swept them aside in 1991, and unilaterally opened all their meetings to the press and the public.
Given the overwhelming success of that experiment, the time is long overdue for the Government's advisory bodies to follow suit. Not only should their agendas be made public but meetings should be open wherever possible with only highly-sensitive subjects, such as commercial information provided by transport operators, discussed behind closed doors.
In a more democratic and open Hong Kong, those who advise the Government should expect to do so in the full view of the public. The only possible exception is the Executive Council, where members must publicly support decisions with which they privately disagree, and, even here, it is high time Governor Chris Patten agreed to publish the agendas of his inner cabinet's meetings.