State Council, PRC Regulations for the Disclosure of Government Information

Main Contents: Article 9 of the Regulations states that administrative authorities shall take the initiative to disclose government information that fulfils any one of the following basic requirements: (1) it involves the immediate interests of citizens, legal persons or other organizations; (2) it needs to be made known, or requires the participation of, the general public; (3) it reflects the establishment, function and work procedure of the administrative authority; or (4) it shall be disclosed by the administrative authority proactively according to laws, regulations and the relevant state provisions.

Local authorities shall, in light of the requirements set forth in Article 9, put emphasis on the disclosure of government information such as: (1) administrative regulations, rules and normative documents; (2) the administrative licensing items and their basis, conditions, quantity and terms, as well as the catalogue for the materials required to be submitted for the administrative licensing application and the handling status; (3) the approval and implementation of significant construction projects; (4) the contingency plans, warnings and handling of unexpected public events; (5) the supervision and inspection of environmental protection, public health, work safety, food, pharmaceuticals and product quality; and (6) land expropriation or requisition, demolition of buildings, and the disbursement and use of the compensation and subsidy fees related thereto (Articles 10 and 11). Citizens, legal persons and other organizations may also, according to the special needs for their own production, living and scientific research, apply to the State Council departments, local people's governments at all levels and the departments of local people's governments at the county level or above for obtaining the relevant government information (Article 13). A reply to such applications shall normally be made within 15 working days (Article 24). Administrative authorities may not disclose government information that involves state secrets, trade secrets or personal privacy, except where the rights holders consent to the disclosure thereof or where the administrative authority deems that non-disclosure may result in a major impact on the public interest (Article 14).

If citizens, legal persons and other organizations find that administrative authorities do not perform their information disclosure obligations in accordance with the law, they may report the same to higher-level authorities. If they deem that their lawful rights and interests are infringed in the course of government information disclosure, they may apply for an administrative review or litigation in accordance with the law (Article 33).