Hong Kong officials lack crisis management skills

It is baffling that officials could not produce any records on the first seven cross-departmental discussions on how to handle the fallout. The Legislative Council committee looking into the matter heard that officials were “too focused” at the time and did not realise that no minutes were taken. The explanation is hardly convincing. While lawmakers said they could not find any evidence of the departments concerned trying to cover up the scandal, it begs the question of what prompted officials to record their subsequent meetings. The failure to record official meetings is not just a deviation from standing procedure; it also prevented lawmakers and the public from monitoring government performance.