Gov't transparency is key

BEIJING, April 25 -- The recent call by Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng to advance
the work of open government information is a move toward a responsible, clean,
and law-abiding system.

Shanghai was one of the first Chinese cities to implement provisions for
the release of government information back in 2004, four years before a national
provision came into effect.

Over the past few years, local government departments have disclosed a
total of 417,000 pieces of information, through channels such as press
conferences, government bulletins, interactive websites, archives and public
libraries.

This is indeed a huge progress from earlier years when government secrecy
was taken for granted by both officials and the society as a whole, a legacy
attributable much to the decades of bureaucracy and centuries of feudalism in
the country.

Transparency is essential in keeping a check on abuse of official power and
creating a fair playing ground for individuals and businesses. It is vital for
building a democratic society.

The renewed call is especially important for Shanghai, a city that bids to
become a global financial and shipping hub, since open government information is
an international practice, without which Shanghai's ambitions will be
unachievable.

A trailblazer in the open government information efforts, Shanghai is still
on the threshold of a long and arduous journey.

The 2008 Shanghai Open Government Information Report released recently
admitted that there is still quite a gap to meet the huge individual, social and
economic needs. Many government departments are still not used to voluntarily
releasing information to the public. A lot of the government information that
could be used by the public to facilitate the social and economic progress still
languishes in government files or, simply does not exist.

In 2008, only about 59 percent of the public requests for government
information disclosure in Shanghai were granted permission amid a total of 9,388
petitions, not an impressive figure for a city of 20 million people.

And about 60 percent of the 502 requests for information, which the
government refused to disclose, were cited as "state secrets", a very vague
notion that should be defined in detail.

Local government agencies have also paid more attention in the superficial
work of setting up websites and the amount of information released, rather than
the quality of the information and its use to the public.

That is probably why the new documents announced by the municipal
government require its agencies to disclose more details regarding the specific
use of government funds in various sectors.

It is unrealistic to expect a government, which has a tradition of secrecy,
to change overnight. Yet a transparent government will never come if we don't
keep pushing, like Shanghai did this time.

(Source: China Daily)