A regulation on the release of government information will
promote government transparency and the public right to know while
allowing the state to protect secrets, according to an official in
charge of the government's transparency department.
Government transparency must strike a balance between keeping
state secrets and making government affairs public, and also
safeguard the public's right to know, said Qin Hai, head of the
national informatization office planning group.
China was in the process of building an effective system to
ensure government affairs are open to public scrutiny, Qin
said.
The regulation, being drafted by the State Council, is viewed as
a move by the government to improve efficiency and prevent abuses
of power.
The regulation will protect personal information.
Personal information contained in government databases would
remain confidential unless the public interest was paramount and
the person's consent is obtained, or in other emergencies, said
Qin.
He called for quick legal processing of the regulation and a
revision of the Law on Guarding State Secrets.
State secrets defined by the Law on Guarding State Secrets
include classified information concerning major policy decisions on
state affairs, national defense and the activities of the armed
forces, diplomatic activities, national economic and social
development, and science and technology, state security activities
and the investigation of criminal offences, and other matters that
are classified as state secrets by the state secret protection
department.
When commercial secrets in government databases are to be
released, governments should solicit advice from a third party,
according to the regulation. If the third party opposes publication
and the government insists, the government must state its
reasons.
(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2006)