Here's a word-analogy question like the kind you'd find on standardized tests:

"Private" is to "public," as "closed" is to ...

If you said, "open," you get an "A" in our short course in remedial civics for former business executives now working for the state.

Simple enough. Yet after trade missions to China and Korea, it seems Ted Liu, the governor's director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, still doesn't quite get the idea of what "openness" means.

When Liu's department sought a nonprofit to run Gov. Linda Lingle's China trip, it did so without having a competitive bidding process. When the nonprofit, the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, selected subcontractors, it didn't bother with a bidding process either.

Open bidding procedures assure the state gets value and that potential vendors are treated fairily. It's a cumbersome process, but one the public has come to expect and, indeed, deserves.

Liu said the state wasn't obligated to follow procurement practices since the money didn't come from taxpayers. His goal, it seems, was efficiency, and there is no suggestion that someone was making unmonitored money on the side.

But officials at the state Procurement Office said the law mandates competitive solicitations for all contracts. This makes sense; the money was being spent by public officials no matter where it came from.

Liu was warned in an April 5 letter from Deputy Attorney General John Wang. Liu had chosen — without a competitive bid — a different nonprofit at first, the Hawai'i District Export Council. The letter said Liu's role in making spending decisions for the nonprofit was a possible violation of procurement law.

But Liu, it seems, missed the point. He chose another nonprofit where he once again directed how money was spent.

State Sen. Shan Tsutsui, D-4th (Kahului), vice chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the committee will look into Liu's interpretation of procurement laws next week.

With four more trips planned, the Lingle administration needs some stronger guidelines. Liu comes from the private sector and, indeed, has taken a personal sacrifice to spend time working in the public interest.

Government can be run like a business — but only to a point.

The people's business is conducted in the public, not private, realm. Government actions must be done in an open, not closed, manner.

In that regard, Lingle, too, should be accountable. She must set a tone within her administration in which transparency is the norm.

While openness may at times hinder expedience and efficiency, in a democracy, to be open is more than just a virtue — it's essential.