Open Government Information Regulation of the People's Republic of China (2019 Revision)

Open Government Information Regulation of the People's Republic of China (2019 Revision) Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (No. 711) The Open Government Information Regulation of the People's Republic of China as revised is hereby issued and shall come into force on May 15, 2019. Premier Li Keqiang April 3, 2019 Open Government Information Regulation of the People's Republic of China (Issued by Order No. 492 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on April 5, 2007 and revised by Order No. 711 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on April 3, 2019) Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 This Regulation is developed for purposes of ensuring the accessibility of government information to citizens, legal persons and other organizations as legally required, improving the transparency of government work, building a government under the rule of law, and maximizing the role of government information in serving the work, life and economic and social activities of the public. Article 2 For the purpose of this Regulation, "government information" means information recorded or retained in any form which is prepared or obtained by an administrative agency in the course of performing its government administration functions. Article 3 The people's governments at all levels shall strengthen arrangements and leadership with respect to the open government information work. The General Office of the State Council, as the open government information work authority nationwide, shall be responsible for advancing, guiding, coordinating and supervising such work. The general office of the local people's government at or above the county level, as the open government information work authority in its administrative region, shall be responsible for advancing, guiding, coordinating and supervising the open government information work in its administrative region. The general office of the authority that exercises vertical leadership shall be in charge of the open government information work in its system. Article 4 The people's governments at all levels and the departments of the people's governments at and above the county level shall each establish and improve an open government information work system for themselves and designate an office to be responsible for their respective routine work respecting open government information (hereinafter referred to as the "open government information work office"). An open government information work office shall have specific functions including: (1) handling open government information matters of the said administrative agency; (2) maintaining and updating the government information that the administrative agency discloses to the public; (3) organizing the preparation of the administrative agency's open government information guide, open government information catalog and annual report on open government information work; (4) organizing and conducting review of government information intended for public disclosure; and (5) other functions related to open government information as prescribed by the administrative agency. Article 5 An administrative agency shall disclose to the public the government information in adherence to routine public disclosure and exceptional withholding, by the principles of fairness, equity, lawfulness, and public facilitation. Article 6 An administrative agency shall timely and accurately disclose to the public the government information. Where an administrative agency discovers untrue or incomplete information that affects or may affect social stability or disrupts or may disrupt social or economic management order, it shall release accurate government information for clarification. Article 7 The people's governments at all levels shall actively advance the open government information work and gradually increase the contents of open government information. Article 8 The people's governments at all levels shall strengthen the well-regulated, standardized and information technology-enabled management of government information resources, strengthen the construction of Internet-based open government information platforms, advance the integration of open government information platforms and government service platforms, and improve the online processing level of open government information. Article 9 Citizens, legal persons and other organizations shall have the right to supervise the open government information work of administrative agencies and make criticisms and recommendations. Chapter II Entities and Scope of Public Disclosure Article 10 For government information compiled by an administrative agency, the said administrative agency shall be responsible for disclosing to the public such government information. For government information obtained by an administrative agency from citizens, legal persons or other organizations, the administrative agency that retains the government information shall be responsible for disclosing to the public such government information. For government information obtained by the administrative agency from another administrative agency, the administrative agency that compiles or first obtains such government information shall be responsible for disclosing it to the public. If any law or regulation makes other provisions for the authority to disclose to the public the government information, the law or regulation shall prevail. If a dispatched office or internal organ established by an administrative agency performs its government administration functions in its own name in accordance with the laws and regulations, the dispatched office or internal organ may be responsible for the open government information work related to the government administration functions it performs. Government information jointly compiled by two or more administrative agencies shall be disclosed to the public by the authority taking the lead in its compilation. Article 11 An administrative agency shall establish and improve an open government information coordination mechanism. If an administrative agency's open government information involves another administrative agency, it shall so consult and obtain confirmation from the other administrative agency as to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the government information which the administrative agency discloses to the public. An administrative agency shall disclose to the public the government information with approval if any law, administrative regulation or relevant rule of the state so requires. Article 12 The open government information guide and the open government information catalog prepared and released by an administrative agency shall be updated timely. An open government information guide shall include the classification, arrangement system, and access method of government information and the name, office address, office hours, telephone number, fax number, and Internet contact information of the open government information work office. An open government information catalog shall include the index, name, summary, and date of generation of government information. Article 13 Except for the government information as mentioned in Articles 14, 15 and 16 of this Regulation, government information shall be disclosed to the public. An administrative agency shall disclose to the public the government information either voluntarily or on request. Article 14 Government information that is determined as state secrets according to the law, or whose public disclosure is prohibited by any law or administrative regulation, or may harm national security, public security, economic security, or social stability, shall not be disclosed to the public. Article 15 For government information relating to a trade secret, individual privacy or the like whose public disclosure would harm the lawful rights and interests of any third party, an administrative agency shall not disclose to the public such government information, unless the third party consents to its public disclosure, or the administrative agency deems that its withholding would materially affect the public interest. Article 16 An administrative agency may withhold information on its internal matters, including personnel management, logistics management, and internal work flow. An administrative agency may withhold deliberative records, pre-decisional documents, consultation communications, requests for instructions and reports, and other pre-decisional information generated in the process of its performance of government administration functions and information on administrative law enforcement files, unless otherwise required by any law, regulation or rule. Article 17 An administrative agency shall establish and improve an open government information review mechanism and specify the procedures and responsibilities for the review. An administrative agency shall review government information intended for public disclosure under the Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets and other laws, regulations and relevant rules of the state. If an administrative agency is incapable of determining whether the government information may be disclosed to the public, it shall request a determination from the relevant authority or the secrecy administrative agency in accordance with the laws, regulations and relevant rules of the state. Article 18 An administrative agency shall establish and improve a dynamic adjustment mechanism of government information management, regularly assess and review government information it withholds, and disclose to the public such government information whose public disclosure is permitted due to changes in circumstances. Chapter III Voluntary Public Disclosure Article 19 An administrative agency shall voluntarily disclose government information concerning adjustment of the public interest, which is required to be known by the public, or in respect of which the public is required to participate in decision-making. Article 20 An administrative agency shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of this Regulation, voluntarily disclose to the public the following government information of the administrative agency: (1) Administrative regulations, rules and regulatory documents. (2) Functions of th......