The word 公开 is formed by combining two characters: 公 (gōng), meaning "public" or "common", and 开 (kāi), meaning "to open" or "to initiate". Conceptually, it depicts the action or state of making something that was previously closed, private, or restricted become openly accessible and available to the public sphere. It is not merely the sum of its parts but a fused idea representing the transition from secrecy to disclosure, or from internal to general access.