My Article: The improved information environment as a key rationale for freedom of information reform in China

My article, titled "The improved information environment as a key rationale for freedom of information reform in China" was published in Information Polity. See the webpage for more information: http://iospress.metapress.com/content/t61k058618358x02/

The Improved Information Environment: One Key Rationale for FOI Reform in China

This paper examines the influence of the improved Chinese information environment, which comprises four streams of information flows: information flow within the government/the supply side, information flow within the public/the demand side, push/proactive disclosure, pull/reactive disclosure, on China’s capacity to accept Freedom of Information (FOI). It compares different information management approaches to crises taken by the Chinese government over time, and argues that without the improvement of the information environment due to the formation of multiple paths for information flow, the Chinese government would have been unlikely to be receptive to FOI reform.

China’s limited push model of FOI legislation

This paper examines China’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Regulations. It argues that China has adopted a push model of FOI legislation that emphasises proactive disclosure of government information. The push model of FOI legislation grew out of two decades of limited proactive disclosure practices around the country and an improved information environment resulting from the formation of multiple paths for information flow. However, the degree of push or proactive disclosure under China’s current FOI Regulations is undermined by several factors, including a limited access mechanism, broad and vague exemptions and omission of the maximum disclosure principle.

My Publications in Chinese

Just report something I have done in the last two years. Here are the list of my publications regarding FOI in Chinese:

1.Usability and Accessibility Principle in the Management of Government Websites (2003)2 Journal of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law
2.Monitoring Measures for Freedom of Information (2005)4 Journal of Information Theory and Practices
3.Freedom of Information in the United States after Sep. 11th : from the Perspective of National Security (2006)6 Journal of Information Science
4.Publ ic Interest Test in the Freedom of Information Act (2006)9 Journal of Information
5.National Security Exemption in the Freeedom of Information Act (2006)6 Journal of Sichuan Administrative Institute
6.Commercial Sensitive Exemption in the Freedom of Information Act (2006)4 Journal of Information Theory and Practices
7.Personal Information Exemption in the Freedom of Information Act (2007)4 Journal of Information Theory and Practices(forthcoming)
8.Legal Environment for Re-Use of Public Sector Information (2007)22 Journal of Commercial Times(forthcoming) #