The Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information (the Regulations) came into effect on May 1st 2008. They provide for a more open government by requiring greater transparency in China. Vice Minister Zhang Qiong has made it clear that the regulations are designed to safeguard “the public’s right to know, the right to participate and the right to know” while being designed to “help curb corruption at its source by largely reducing its occurrence.”
The result for foreign invested business in China is clear - more openness in governmental regulation leading to a more straightforward approval process. The Central Government, in promulgating these regulations is following local “Open Government Information” regulations already in effect in thirty provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions throughout China. Moreover, because such regulations have not previously existed in China, drafters of the local and national legislation consulted international examples and drew on foreign expertise as well as their own experience in writing the Regulations.
The gold standard of OGI regulations in China is in Shanghai. Under Shanghai’s OGI Provisions there are two ways of accessing information: dissemination under government initiative and the release of information by request. The latter requires the government to release information requested within 15 – 30 days of the request. The information is to be made available free of charge. The provisions further provide for a bureaucratic infrastructure for the carrying out and supervision of the new system to be instituted. This includes the designation of offices at all levels to handle OGI disclosure, the compilation of open information catalogues and guides on how to access and request information, and the production of annual reports detailing the amount of information disseminated, the number of requests handled and their disposition, the number of administrative reconsideration and litigation cases that have been filed and problems encountered.
The Regulations further stipulate the types of information to be disseminated by government agencies. These include the publication of information through official websites, government gazettes, news conferences and broadcast media, community bulletin boards and reading rooms established in archives offices, public libraries, community centers and government agencies. The Regulations also set forth basic procedures for requesting and providing information. These procedures enable individuals to request and correct information about themselves within government records, require an explanation when information disclosure is denied, call for periodic inspections of how government is implementing OGI work by supervisory agencies and periodic public appraisals. Finally, the Regulations specify the basic remedies of complaint, administrative appeal and the filing of a lawsuit in court in the event of non-disclosure or alleged infringement rights and interests by government officials.
In Conclusion, the Regulations present conflicting signals. Broad provisions restricting information disclosure contrast with other specific kinds of information that government officials are charged with disclosing on their own initiative. Such contrast may provide the government with the means to avoid the disclosure of certain information. However, through the adoption of the Regulations, China has begun the process of developing an effective, enforceable nationwide information access regime. The new regulations have provided the Chinese people with the means to interact with and monitor the government, which will help to cultivate a new culture of government openness in China.
