Freedom of information reform in China: information flow analysis
| Date | 01 December 2013 |
| Published date | 01 December 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852313500598 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
International Review of
Administrative Sciences
79(4) 790–808
!The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0020852313500598
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International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
Article
Freedom of information reform
in China: information flow analysis
Weibing Xiao
Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, China
Abstract
Freedom of Information (FOI) in China has been approached as a strange and intriguing
phenomenon. This article uses information flow analysis to propose a more detailed
understanding of China’s FOI reform. Information flow, a theme to explore the gradual
development of government receptivity to FOI in an information environment through
time, is used as a new explanatory model for China’s FOI reform. This article argues
that the reform is an outcome of improved information flow resulting from social,
political, legal and economic factors. It also asserts that social, political and legal factors
should be accorded a central role in understanding the development of FOI in China.
Furthermore, China’s FOI reform formed part of a much longer process of increased
transparency in the Chinese information environment. This is the reason China has
adopted a model of FOI legislation stressing proactive disclosure.
Points for practitioners
The adoption of FOI legislation in China presents a special case study for FOI practi-
tioners, that is, FOI officers. The practitioners face the challenge of processing infor-
mation requests in an authoritarian regime. This article provides a more complete
answer to the paradox of China’s FOI phenomenon. It focuses on local information
flow conditions, and this provides a new perspective for FOI practitioners to under-
stand China’s FOI reform. By applying information flow analysis, it argues that China’s
FOI reform is an outcome of improved information flow resulting from social, political,
legal and economic factors. This resulted in China adopting a model of FOI legislation
emphasizing proactive disclosure. A complete and accurate understanding of this
reform could help FOI practitioners to improve China’s FOI performance from the
perspective of information flow.
Keywords
accountability, administrative law, citizen participation, developing countries,
transparency
Corresponding author:
Weibing Xiao, 7989 Waiqingsong Road, Shanghai, Postal Code: 201701 China.
Email: foichina@yahoo.com
Introduction
China adopted its first national FOI legislation – FOI Regulations – on 17 January
2007, and brought it into effect on 1 May 2008. This presents a puzzle to the rest of
the world, demanding explanation and understanding. ‘It’s FOI, but not as we
know it’ (Snell and Xiao, 2007: 47). This indicates that most FOI observers con-
sider Chinese FOI to be a ‘strange’ and ‘intriguing’ phenomenon (Snell and Xiao,
2007: 44). This phenomenon is regarded as strange because a one-party state like
China has not established any of the preconditions – such as liberal democracy, the
rule of law, media freedom and an active civil society – normally associated with
the easy adoption and implementation of FOI legislation. FOI observers are fur-
ther confused by the rapid uptake of FOI legislation in China. The first national
FOI legislation was adopted after only five years’ preparation from 2002 to 2007.
The question is whether or not China’s FOI is a strange and intriguing phenom-
enon. The existing explanatory models, like accountability deficit and globaliza-
tion, are incapable of answering this question. Information flow analysis is used in
this article to provide an answer to this question. This analysis has been applied to
the explanation of social, political, legal and economic reasons behind China’s
adoption of FOI legislation, gradual development of FOI in China, and a type
of FOI legislation stressing proactive disclosure in China.
This article has five sections. The first section explains the failure of the trad-
itional explanatory models of accountability deficit and globalization to illustrate
China’s FOI reform. The second section creates information flow as a new explana-
tory model for this reform. The third section reassesses the divergent origins of the
reform. The fourth section discusses the gradual development of FOI in China. The
final section examines a model of FOI legislation stressing proactive disclosure.
Traditional explanatory models incapable of explaining
China’s FOI reform
The accountability deficit and globalization are two common explanatory models
for the diffusion of FOI reform. The former is used to explain the wave of FOI
before the 1990s in longstanding liberal democracies (Bennett, 1997: 213). The
latter model is generally used to explain the recent wave of FOI since the 1990s,
especially the 2000s (Blanton, 2002: 16). However, both of these explanatory
models have limitations when applied to China’s FOI phenomenon.
Accountability deficit
The wave of FOI legislation before the 1990s favored the argument that FOI was a
method of solving a perceived accountability deficit and enhancing liberal democ-
racy (Bennett, 1997: 213; Roberts, 2006: 107). This wave involved countries with
long democratic traditions, such as the US, Australia and Canada. The fact that
most affluent countries have introduced FOI legislation reinforced the notion that
Xiao 791
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