VZCZCXRO6474
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHGZ #0158/01 0770605
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170605Z MAR 08
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6974
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000158 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SOCI CH
SUBJECT: GUANGZHOU GOVERNMENT OFFERS FOIA WITH CHINESE 
CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: A groundbreaking 2007 Guangzhou law ordering 
government to share information with the public is imperfect but 
represents an important development in official transparency. 
Though the law theoretically gives individuals the right to have 
their queries answered promptly and at no cost, in practice many 
types of information are off-limits (there are many prohibited 
areas) and applicants sometimes face fees and delays.  Public 
awareness of the law is low, even among academic experts in 
government transparency.  In spite of these challenges, many of our 
contacts view the law as a positive -- if mostly symbolic -- step 
toward government efficiency and transparency.  Shanghai and Hunan 
province already have passed their own regulations on 
information-sharing; a set of regulations mandating government 
transparency and disclosure for the Chinese national government will 
go into effect May 1, 2008. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) The city of Guangzhou, long a pioneer in China's transition 
to a free market economy, is also leading the way in government 
transparency legislation.  In 2003, Guangzhou's municipal government 
was the first in China to announce regulations on government 
openness.  On May 1, 2007, these regulations became law as the 
"Measures for Sharing Governmental Information upon Request in 
Guangzhou."  The city is the first in mainland China to mandate 
sharing government information with the public. 
 
¶3. (U) The law is based on three principles, according to Dr. Peng 
Peng, professor of politics at the Guangzhou Academy of Social 
Sciences, a government-funded think tank. First, anyone can request 
information. Any resident of China, Hong Kong, Macau, or a foreign 
country may request information from the Guangzhou government. 
Second, the information must be provided free of charge.  Third, an 
official reply to the request must be made within 45 days, with 
penalties for failing to meet the deadline without a valid 
explanation. 
 
------------------------- 
It's Not Easy Being Clean 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The ambitious nature of the law is tempered in practice, 
where long-held customs of government secrecy combine with 
bureaucratic inefficiency to resist change.  Problems include: 
 
-- Not all information is accessible.  Prohibited categories are: 
state secrets, commercial secrets, personal private information, 
corruption of government or party leaders, government internal 
official documents, draft rules and regulations, information that 
could impact law enforcement, information protected by law, and 
information already released to the public. 
 
-- It is not always free.  Guangzhou municipal government bureaus 
receive funds from the local government to institute transparency 
reforms, but some are still charging fees -- to look up a license at 
the real estate bureau, for example -- because they claim the 
government funds are insufficient to cover the costs involved.  Peng 
says this shows that the reforms have not yet gone deep enough; the 
charging of illegal fees can easily lead to official corruption. 
 
-- It is not always shared.  The Guangzhou bureaucracy, like many 
others, has many agencies that are reluctant to share information 
with one another.  They have computer or filing systems that other 
agencies cannot use, and some charge other bureaus for access.  Peng 
calls this practice self-defeating. "If you're not transparent to 
yourself, how can you be transparent to the people?" he asks. 
Information is power in any bureaucracy, and some bureaus work 
around competing agencies or even at cross-purposes with them, as 
each seeks to protect its own turf. 
 
-- The government is not always polite or timely.  Customer service 
is still a new idea in China, so citizens often face delays, 
surliness, or incompetence from local government workers.  Peng says 
the government is working hard to improve both attitude and 
delivery, and that the 45-day cap on government responses should 
help speed things up. 
 
-- Not everyone knows about the law. In a visit to Guangzhou's Jinan 
University, the majority of a group of government professors had no 
knowledge of the 2007 law.  While some knew of it generally, or had 
stories of how certain tasks -- such as getting a passport -- are 
much easier to get done now than in the past, most said the law had 
little or no impact on their lives.  One professor called the reform 
"more symbolic than practical." 
 
-------------------------- 
Guangzhou Leads the Nation 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) As a historic center for trade and economic reforms, 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000158  002 OF 002 
 
 
Guangzhou was a natural choice to lead the country on government 
transparency, according to Peng.  "Businesses need this kind of 
transparency in order to operate," he said.  Moreover, Guangzhou 
officials have constant exposure to the best practices of 
businessmen from around the world -- especially Hong Kong and Taiwan 
-- who flock to South China to invest.  Peng also noted that in the 
competitive world of business development, Guangzhou's leaders 
consider these reforms necessary to keep investors coming. 
 
¶6. (U) Transparency reforms are also a high priority for the 
province's leaders. Peng told us that Party Secretary Wang Yang, who 
in his previous posting in Chongqing won a reputation as a champion 
of transparency reforms, made clear when he arrived in Guangdong 
that he had President Hu Jintao's support to carry out the reform 
program here as well. 
 
------------ 
Will It Work? 
------------- 
 
¶7. (U) COMMENT: Despite the rhetoric of reform, it is difficult to 
measure the impact the new regulations are having in Guangzhou.  The 
government has not released statistics tracking how many requests 
have been made or responded to, or any tangible measures showing how 
or if the new law has changed the way business is done in Guangzhou. 
 Many citizens do not seem aware of the law, with even fewer using 
it to request information.  It remains to be seen if the impact of 
the 2007 transparency law will match the government's high hopes for 
it.  END COMMENT. 
 
GOLDBERG