The First Journalist’ Lawsuit for FOI Refusal

The First Journalist’ Lawsuit for FOI Refusal

Journalist Ma from Jiefang Daily appealed to the People’s Court in Shanghai Huangpu District for reviewing the FOI refusal from the Shanghai Municipal Planning Bureau. Ma said, for the purpose of his in-depth news report, on April 18, 2006, he submitted his request by fax to the Bureau, but the Bureau did not reply. Then on April 23, 2006, he sent his request again by mail to require the Bureau provide government information according to the Shanghai Provisions on Access to Information (the Shanghai FOI Provisions). but still rejected by the Bureau. Journalist Ma argued that the Bureau should fully disclose the information which he requested according to the Shanghai FOI Provisions. Jian Liu said that this is the first lawsuit for journalist appealing the government for the right to interview. [1] However, in my understanding, this case should be the first appeal of FOI refusal coming from journalists. Although the case has been accepted by the Court on May 18, Journalist Ma asked to withdraw his appeal on June 7, 2006. [2]
We can recognize something from this meaningful case. Firstly, it seems that journalist Ma misunderstood the right to know which is authorized by the Shanghai FOI Provisions as the right to interview which actually has not mentioned in this Provisions. The right to know is allowed in Article 7 of the Shanghai FOI Provisions that citizens, legal persons and other organizations have the right to request government agencies to provide the relevant government information. While the right to interview is a right belongs to the journalists which allows the journalists to select their interviewees and methods to investigate something independently for their news reports.[3] According to the news report regarding this case, it appears that journalist Ma sent an interview application, rather than a FOI request to the Planning Bureau as journalist Ma mentioned in a letter to the Chinese Journalist Association that he wants to seek judicial review for the right to interview, although his interview application is aimed to some information held by the Bureau.[4]
Journalists can enjoy the same right to know with other requesters, like citizens, according to the Shanghai FOI Provisions and will be treated equally with other requesters by government agencies. The government can reply their requests with full or partial disclosure, or rejection and the rejection can be reviewed internally and externally. However, there are no such laws requiring the government agency being responsible for allowing an interview application sent by journalists, although the academic argues that the government should bear such responsibility to allow the interview application for their watching-dog role. [5] Accordingly, if the government agency does not permit the interview application, the journalist will not get judicial review as there are no laws allowing this. It seems that the District Court accepted the Journalist Ma’s appeal based on viewing the interview application as the FOI request.
Secondly, some training should be provided to the government agencies regarding the differences between the FOI requests, interview applications and the petition letters. From this case, we recognize that the government agency have some difficulties to clarify a FOI request from an interview application or a petition letter. The former is allowed in the Shanghai FOI Provisions, while the latter is authorized in the Chinese Regulations on Letters and Visits. Journalist Ma also mentioned in a letter to the Chinese Journalists Association that his interview application had been refused by government agencies frequently and sometimes, the application was treated wrongly as petition letter according to the Chinese Regulations on Letters and Visits.
As a FOI request, Article 11 of the Shanghai FOI Provisions requires that the requestor should provide a description of the contents of government information required, and provide his name, proof of identity and contact details. The request can be sent by letters, telegrams, faxes and E-mail. The target for a FOI request is some specific government information which is expected by the requesters that it should be held by the government agency.
A petition letter has been defined in Article 2 of the Chinese Letters and Visits Regulation. It refers to citizens, legal persons or other organizations give information, make comments or suggestions or lodge complaints to the governments through correspondence, E-mails, faxes, phone calls. The target of a petition letter is not for some specific information, but for some solutions or assistance from the government to solve the letterers’ problems.
In order to facility the journalists’ interview, the interview application should ask whether the interviewee agrees with their interview and list their questions according to the journalists’ own mind. This application aims to get some response from the government agency which can be some information held by the government agency, the opinions, or attitudes for some issues in which the journalists are interested.
Journalists have many more choices than citizens or other organizations to obtain government information, such as FOI requests, personal contact and interview. However, FOI request is better than interview if journalists want to get some specific information held by government agencies, rather than opinions or attitudes. While journalists will bear the risk to get the information they want if they send an interview application to the relevant government agency as the application can be easily refused by the government agency without any reasons.
[1] Kai Zhou, Interview Rejected: The Shanghai Journalist Appeals to the Shanghai Municipal Planning Bureau for the Refusal China Youth Daily June 2 2006.
[2] Jian Liu, The First Case for the Right to Interview in China has been Withdrawn by the Journalist, Legal Daily June 8 2006.
[3] Jianyun Chen, The Right to Interview and Freedom of Information (2006)10 The Journalist Monthly.
[4] Kai Zhou, Interview Rejected: The Shanghai Journalist Appeals to the Shanghai Municipal Planning Bureau for the Refusal China Youth Daily June 2 2006.
[5] Jianyun Chen, The Right to Interview and Freedom of Information (2006)10 The Journalist Monthly."> " title="permanent link">#