Open Government in China

China is perhaps not the first place that springs to mind when we think about FOI and Open Government, especially in general terms of freedom of expression and use of the Inernet (e.g. Google and the "great firewall of China"). The Journal Government Information Quarterly *has an interesting special issue on the topic of Open Government in China and it does indicate more progress than some people in the West might have realised. Though it has to be empashised that Open Governement and Freedom of Information legislation are two different things, the former is more focused upon proactive, discretionary release of information, the latter on a presumptive right to know and right of access to all public information (with some exemptions) enhrined in law.

*The journal does require a subscription