Table Of Content

Understanding China Yanbin Lv He Tian Evaluation on Government Transparency Index in China (2009–2016) Understanding China Theserieswillprovideyouwithin-depthinformationonChina’ssocial,culturaland economic aspects. It covers a broad variety of topics, from economics and history tolaw,philosophy,culturalgeographyandregionalpolitics,andoffersawealthof materialsforresearchers,doctoralstudents,andexperiencedpractitioners. Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttps://link.springer.com/bookseries/11772 · Yanbin Lv He Tian Evaluation on Government Transparency Index in China (2009–2016) YanbinLv HeTian InstituteofLaw InstituteofLaw ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences Beijing,China Beijing,China Translatedby JianliDu Beijing,China ISSN2196-3134 ISSN2196-3142 (electronic) UnderstandingChina ISBN978-981-16-5031-4 ISBN978-981-16-5032-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5032-1 JointlypublishedwithSocialSciencesAcademicPress TheprinteditionisnotforsaleinChina(Mainland).CustomersfromChina(Mainland)pleaseorderthe printbookfrom:SocialSciencesAcademicPress. TranslationfromtheChineselanguageedition:中国政府透明度(2009–2016)byYanbinLv,etal.,© SocialScienceAcademicPress2017.PublishedbySocialScienceAcademicPress.AllRightsReserved. ©SocialSciencesAcademicPress2022 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublishers,whetherthewholeorpartofthe materialisconcerned,specificallytherightsofreprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation,broadcasting, reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionorinformationstorageand retrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknown orhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublishers,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthisbook arebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishersnortheauthorsor theeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublishersremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore Contents 1 IntroductionOpenness–ANewGovernanceMethod .............. 1 1.1 TransformingtheOperatingMechanismofGovernment PowerThroughOpenness ................................ 2 1.2 EnhancingGovernmentCredibilityThroughOpenness ....... 5 1.3 SafeguardingSocialJusticeThroughOpenness .............. 7 1.4 RegulatingtheOperationofGovernmentPowerThrough Openness .............................................. 7 1.5 Facilitating the Establishment of a Service-Oriented GovernmentThroughOpenness ........................... 9 1.6 MaintainingSocialStabilityThroughOpenness ............. 10 1.7 ReplacingConventionalSupervisionPatternThrough Openness .............................................. 11 2 Overview of China’s Government Transparency Index Evaluation .................................................... 13 2.1 EvaluationObjectives .................................... 13 2.2 EvaluationPrinciples .................................... 14 2.3 EvaluationObjects ...................................... 15 2.4 EvaluationIndicators .................................... 16 2.5 EvaluationMethods ..................................... 21 3 The2009EvaluationofChina’sGovernmentTransparency ....... 23 3.1 Overview of the Work of Government Information Disclosurein2009 ...................................... 23 3.2 OperationofLocalGovernmentWebsites ................... 25 3.3 DirectoryforGovernmentInformationDisclosure ........... 26 3.4 GuidelinesonGovernmentInformationDisclosure ........... 29 3.5 Request-BasedDisclosure ................................ 34 3.6 AnnualReportonGovernmentInformationDisclosure ....... 37 3.7 InformationAboutHousingDemolition .................... 39 3.8 Recommendations ....................................... 41 v vi Contents 4 The2010EvaluationofChina’sGovernmentTransparency ....... 45 4.1 Overview of the Work of Government Information Disclosurein2010 ...................................... 45 4.2 DirectoryforGovernmentInformationDisclosure ........... 48 4.3 GuidelinesonGovernmentInformationDisclosure ........... 52 4.4 Request-BasedDisclosure ................................ 54 4.5 The Annual Report on Government Information Disclosure ............................................. 58 4.6 InformationDisclosureinSpecificAreasofManagement ..... 59 4.7 Recommendations ....................................... 63 5 The2011EvaluationofChina’sGovernmentTransparency ....... 67 5.1 Overview of the Work of Government Information Disclosurein2011 ...................................... 67 5.2 TheDirectoryforGovernmentInformationDisclosure ....... 70 5.3 TheGuidelinesonGovernmentInformationDisclosure ....... 73 5.4 Request-BasedDisclosure ................................ 75 5.5 The Annual Report on Government Information Disclosure ............................................. 79 5.6 NormativeDocuments ................................... 81 5.7 InformationAboutEnvironmentalProtection ................ 82 5.8 FoodSafetyInformation ................................. 85 5.9 InformationAboutAdministrativeApproval ................ 87 5.10 Recommendations ....................................... 90 6 The2012EvaluationofChina’sGovernmentTransparency ....... 93 6.1 Overview of the Work of Government Information Disclosurein2012 ...................................... 93 6.2 TheDirectoryforGovernmentInformationDisclosure ....... 95 6.3 GovernmentGazettes .................................... 99 6.4 WorkInformation ....................................... 101 6.5 NormativeDocuments ................................... 103 6.6 InformationAboutEnvironmentalProtection ................ 106 6.7 InformationAboutFoodSafety ........................... 109 6.8 InformationAboutAdministrativeApproval ................ 111 6.9 Request-BasedInformationDisclosure ..................... 114 6.10 The Annual Report on Government Information Disclosure ............................................. 117 6.11 Recommendations ....................................... 122 7 The2013EvaluationofChina’sGovernmentTransparency ....... 125 7.1 Highlights .............................................. 125 7.1.1 TheFollowingFourHighlightsWereRevealed intheEvaluation .................................. 125 7.2 Problems ............................................... 127 7.3 Recommendations ....................................... 133 Contents vii 8 The2014EvaluationofChina’sGovernmentTransparency ....... 135 8.1 Overview of the Work of Government Information Disclosurein2014 ...................................... 135 8.2 TheDirectoryforGovernmentInformationDisclosure ....... 139 8.3 WorkInformation ....................................... 141 8.4 NormativeDocuments ................................... 143 8.5 InformationAboutEnvironmentalProtection ................ 146 8.6 InformationAboutAdministrativeApproval ................ 149 8.7 Request-BasedInformationDisclosure ..................... 151 8.8 The Annual Report on Government Information Disclosure ............................................. 154 8.9 Recommendations ....................................... 155 9 The2015EvaluationofChina’sGovernmentTransparency ....... 159 9.1 Overview of the Work of Government Information Disclosurein2015 ...................................... 159 9.2 InformationDisclosureSectionsonOfficialGovernment Websites ............................................... 161 9.3 NormativeDocuments ................................... 162 9.4 FinancialInformation .................................... 163 9.5 InformationAboutEnvironmentalProtection ................ 164 9.6 InformationAboutAdministrativeApproval ................ 166 9.7 Request-BasedInformationDisclosure ..................... 168 9.8 AnnualReportonGovernmentInformationDisclosure ....... 171 9.9 SuggestionsBasedonthe2015Evaluation .................. 173 10 The2016EvaluationofChina’sGovernmentTransparency ....... 175 10.1 Overview of the Work of Government Information Disclosurein2016 ...................................... 175 10.2 PlatformsforGovernmentInformationDisclosure ........... 178 10.3 NormativeDocuments ................................... 181 10.4 InformationAboutAdministrativeApproval ................ 184 10.5 InformationAboutAdministrativePunishment .............. 187 10.6 InformationAboutEnvironmentalProtection ................ 188 10.7 Disclosure of Information About Shanty Town Redevelopment ......................................... 191 10.8 InformationAboutSocialAssistance ....................... 192 10.9 InformationAboutEducation ............................. 194 10.10 AnnualReportonGovernmentInformationDisclosure ....... 195 10.11 Request-BasedInformationDisclosure ..................... 198 10.12 Recommendations ....................................... 200 11 Conclusion ................................................... 203 Chapter 1 Introduction Openness–A New Governance Method Opennessandtransparencyisthecornerstoneofruleoflaw.TheFreedomofthePress Actof1766,passedbytheSwedishRiksdagasHisMajesty’sGraciousOrdinance RelatingtoFreedomofWritingandofthePressonDecember2,1776,isregardedas theworld’sfirstlawsupportingfreedomofinformation.Itabolishedthecensorship of most publications and granted citizens access to the printing and dissemination ofofficialdocuments.TheFreedomofInformationActenactedbytheUnitedStates in 1966 provided that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information in which they have no real stake. From the 1990s, global legislationofinformationdisclosurestartedtoshowanacceleratingtrendasgovern- mentsattemptedtopromoteopennessandtransparency.Theemergenceoffreedom ofinformationlegislationwasaresponsetocitizens’righttoknoworaccesstoinfor- mationheldbypublicbodies.Inotherwords,asmastersofthestate,citizenshave therighttoknowanddisseminateofficialinformationthatinvolvesnostatesecret. This has been enshrined as a fundamental human right in freedom of information laws in countries such as Australia and South Korea, as well as in some human right-relatedinternationalconventionssuchastheUniversalDeclarationofHuman Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Conven- tionontheInternationalRightofCorrection.1 Safeguardingcitizens’righttoknow is undeniably both the logical starting point and the ultimate goal of establishing government information disclosure system, which is of little controversy either in legislationorintheoreticalstudies.However,itneedstobenotedthat,functionsof 1Article 19 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates that “Everyone has the righttofreedomofopinionandexpression;thisrightincludesfreedomtoholdopinionswithout interferenceandtoseek,receiveandimpartinformationandideasthroughanymediaandregardless offrontiers”.ThefulltextisprovidedintheWorldDocumentsofHumanRights,SichuanRenmin Press,1990,p.960–964.Paragraph2ofArticle19ofInternationalCovenantonCivilandPolitical Rights stipulates that “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall includefreedomtoseek,receiveandimpartinformationandideasofallkinds…”,ibid,p.972–985. ThepreambleofConventionontheInternationalRightofCorrectionstipulatesthat“Desiringto implementtherightoftheirpeoplestobefullyandreliablyinformed”. ©SocialSciencesAcademicPress2022 1 Y.LvandH.Tian,EvaluationonGovernmentTransparencyIndexinChina (2009–2016),UnderstandingChina,https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5032-1_1 2 1 IntroductionOpenness–ANewGovernanceMethod governmentopennessandtransparencyareexpandingassocietyprogressesandno longerjustlimitedtoguaranteeingpublic’saccesstoinformation. 1.1 TransformingtheOperatingMechanism ofGovernmentPowerThroughOpenness Theoperationmodeofgovernmentpowerhasevolvedfromrulingtomanagement, andthentogovernance.“Ruling”isaby-productofagriculturalsociety.Inanagri- culturalsociety,farminghouseholdisthebasicproductionunitandnaturalresources suchaslandplayafundamentalroleinsocioeconomicdevelopment.Alackofsocial mobilityformsarelativelyclosedcommunitywhere“althoughthebarksofdogsand crocksofcockscouldbeheardintheneighborhood,peoplearecompletelyisolated from each other all their lives”. People are basically self-sufficient, with only a fewdealsmadetomeetthedemandsofproductionandlife.Imperialpowerserves as a powerful instrument for ruling and the unidirectional paternalistic approach adoptedbythestateleavesthepublicnochoicebuttoobey.Socialmanagementis featured by orders, commands and coercion—by issuing orders to the public and forcingthemtoobey,thestatecanachieveitspurposeofmaintainingsocialorders andstability.Underinformationasymmetryandknowledge-basedmonopolycondi- tions,thepublicareawedbythegovernmentanditspowerastheylackthecapability tomaketheirownjudgments. “Management” is a necessary requirement of industrial society. An industrial society,whichisdominatedbyindustrialproductionandwherecapitalplaysanirre- placeablerole,ischaracterizedbyhighlyadvancedscienceandtechnology,overall improvedproductionefficiencyandrefineddivisionoflabor.Thelawofindustrial production also reaches social political life and streamlined modes of production andliferequirecitizenstohavearigiddivisionoflabor.Tobedisciplined,obedient, and subject to management and arrangement are the basic requirements of state to members of society. In an industrial society, although the authority of govern- mentischallengedtosomeextentassocialmembersstarttoacquiremoreknowl- edge, citizens’ participation in and influence on national decision making remain ratherlimited.Commonpeoplearejustcertain“parts”or“screws”thatholdsociety togetherandmaintainitsproperfunctioning.Despitethattheycouldmakerequests forimprovingtheirwelfaresuchasdemandingbettertreatment,improvedworking conditions,wageandgenderequality,ordinarypeoplecanhardlyparticipateinstate governance,letalonecontributingtohowgovernmentoperatesandstatedevelops. “Governance”, however, is an essential request of post-industrial society. Also known as information society, post-industrial society is featured by the collec- tion, dissemination and utilization of information and most laborers’ work has changed from product manufacturing to information development and use. In the post-industrial society, information supersedes capital as a prime resource and the transmission of information and knowledge serves as an overriding force driving