CHINA> Human Rights Progress
Full Text: National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010)
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-13 15:08

(5) The right to be informed

The Chinese government will make more efforts to keep the public informed of government affairs, and improve relevant laws and regulations, so as to guarantee citizens' right of information.

- By implementing the Regulations on the Disclosure of Government Information, the state will make comprehensive, regular assessments of the work of the government and relevant departments about the disclosure of government information, examine and urge organizations responsible for public affairs management to make public of information related to government affairs, and in accordance with the law call to account personnel in charge and people directly responsible who violate the Regulations. Local regulations concerning how to make known to the public government affairs will be improved.

- A comprehensive system ensuring transparency in government affairs will be gradually put in place. Governments at town and town-ship levels shall make public the implementation of relevant state policies regarding rural work, their revenue and expenditure, and their use of various kinds of special funds. Governments at the county or city levels shall mainly publicize plans about local development, the examination and approval of major projects and their execution, government procurement details, the requisition of lands, demolition of houses and so on. Provincial governments shall mainly publicize policies and overall plans for local economic and social development, fiscal budget reports and final account reports, and property transactions. E-government will be promoted to gradually achieve the goal that governments above the county level and their departments each has a website and most government organs and public institutions each has a hotline.

- Government news release system and the spokesperson system will be improved. The state will make greater efforts to train spokespersons and news release staff, releasing news in various forms, enhancing the quality of press conferences, releasing government in-formation in a timely, accurate and authoritative manner, so as to increase the transparency of government work and improve the level of information service by the government.

- The state will release information on natural disasters, emergencies and production safety accidents in a timely and accurate manner, and in accordance with the law, and publicizes timely the results of investigation and handling of serious or exceptionally serious production safety accidents.

- The state will make efforts to make village affairs more transparent. Catalogues of information regarding village affairs to be released to the public will be compiled by county-level organs, so as to make the publicity of village affairs more standardized.