HARVARD UNIVERSITY scholar Robert Behn has observed that 'to 'hold people accountable' has become a cliche and, like all cliches, is a substitute for thinking'.
In his book Rethinking Democratic Accountability, Professor Behn revisited the development of United States democracy. He called for creative thinking and experimentation with alternative concepts that foster responsibility and collective public interest.
While the Hong Kong system is different, the professor's arguments are instructive. Accountability has become something of a buzz word as Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and his team seek to create a substitute for something they clearly lack - a broad-based mandate from the electorate.
On July 1, when the ministerial system was put in place, the ministers became political appointees, to be held responsible for blunders in their policy areas.
How this will work in practice has been unclear. Legislators, the media, and the public generally are trying to put flesh on the bones of the system by applying the concept to actual events.
The government-run Radio Television Hong Kong now runs a weekly programme, entitled Accountability, for key officials and leading figures in public bodies to respond to questions and complaints on matters within their portfolios.
