Key Issues for Implementation of Chinese Open Government Information Regulations

The Chinese context is in many ways fundamentally different from other countries where freedom of information laws and regulations are currently implemented. The authors, Suzanne Piotrowski, Yahong Zhang, and Weiwei Lin of Rutgers University – Newark, and Wenxuan Yu of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, identify the primary issues surrounding implementation of China’s new Open Government Information (OGI) regulations and compare the key concerns with those that have emerged in other contexts. The research included a survey of mid‐ and upper‐level Chinese government bureaucrats. The authors compare their findings to an established international framework of freedom of information implementation. The essay concludes that while the Chinese context is unique, the key issues surrounding implementation of the OGI regulations mirror in many ways what is found in other countries.