National Security Exemptions in the Freedom of Information Legislation

National security exemption is a kind of exemptions in the Freedom of Information legislation. National security exemption can be classified into national security, defence, international relations and information communicated in confidence. Several mechanisms can be borrowed to protect national security information, such as harm and public interest test, ministerial veto, non-disclosure of existence or non-existence of information. In order to realize the maximum disclosure principle in the Freedom of Information, our future Freedom of Information Act should not only strictly define national security exemption, but incorporate harm and public interest test, and non-disclosure of existence or non-existence of information into the protection of national security exemption as well.