Shadow cast on sunshine rule

Since it came into force on May 1, 2008, the regulation on government information disclosure has laid an institutional foundation for promoting government transparency, but various problems have also been exposed during its implementation, fueling calls for it to be revised.

A draft amendment to the regulation was released on Tuesday for public opinions. Compared with the existing regulation, the draft amendment sets the principle that "government information disclosure is a normal state and non-disclosure only comes at an exceptional time". It also states that "government information should be made public, except when specially stipulated that it should not be by laws and administrative regulations".

Such wording marks a positive step toward expanding the scope of government information disclosure. The establishment of a "negative list" will further squeeze the space for government bodies hoping to avoid information disclosure.