Conspiracy of Amateurs

Telephone conversation, November 2013:

• Transport Secretary: It says here that the high speed rail project may be delayed by 2 years - shouldn't I inform LegCo?
• MTR Chairman: No worries, we can catch up.
• Transport Secretary: Oh, that's all right then.

Telephone conversation, April 2014:

• Someone in the MTR: I'm afraid the high speed rail project will definitely be delayed by 2 years.
• Transport Secretary: Oh my God, what a surprise!  How could this happen?  Why didn't someone tell me earlier?  I'd better inform LegCo.

Telephone conversation, April 2014:

• Transport Secretary: Would you be willing to chair the independent inquiry into the high speed rail project delay?
• Professor Lee: Sure, no problem.

Telephone conversation, two hours later:

• Professor Lee: By the way, will it be any problem that I'm on the board of one of the project's main contractors?
• Transport Secretary: [Expletive deleted]

Until we get genuine democracy, if ever, there's very little we can do about the fact that our government's principal government officials are mostly a bunch of Beijing bootlickers.  But do they also have to be a gaggle of incompetent amateurs who've apparently never heard of due diligence?