Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Openness of Government Information

Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

No 711

 

The revised Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Openness of Government Information is hereby promulgated, which will come into force on May 15, 2019.

 

Premier Li Keqiang

April 3, 2019

 

Regulations of the People's Republic of China on government Information Disclosure

 

(Order No.492 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on April 5, 2007 was promulgated 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 These Regulations are formulated in order to ensure that citizens, legal persons and other organizations obtain government information according to law, improve the transparency of government work, build a government ruled by law, and give full play to the service role of government information in people's production, life and economic and social activities.

 

Article 2 The term "government information" as mentioned in these Regulations refers to the information produced or obtained by administrative organs in the course of performing administrative functions and recorded and preserved in a certain form.

 

Article 3 People's governments at all levels shall strengthen the organization and leadership of government information disclosure.

 

The General Office of the State Council is the competent department of government information disclosure throughout the country, and is responsible for promoting, guiding, coordinating and supervising the government information disclosure throughout the country.

 

The general office (room) of the local people's government at or above the county level is the competent department of government information disclosure in this administrative area, and is responsible for promoting, guiding, coordinating and supervising the government information disclosure in this administrative area.

 

The general office (room) of the department under vertical leadership is in charge of the government information disclosure of the system.

 

Article 4 People's governments at all levels and departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall establish and improve the government information disclosure system of their own administrative organs, and designate institutions (hereinafter referred to as government information disclosure institutions) to be responsible for the daily work of government information disclosure of their own administrative organs.

 

The specific functions of government information disclosure institutions are:

 

(1) to handle the government information disclosure of the administrative organ;

 

(2) to maintain and update the government information disclosed by the administrative organ;

 

(3) Organizing the preparation of the government information disclosure guide, the government information disclosure catalogue and the annual report on the government information disclosure work of the administrative organ;

 

(4) Organizing the examination of government information to be disclosed;

 

(5) other functions related to the disclosure of government information as stipulated by this administrative organ.

 

Article 5 When an administrative organ discloses government information, it shall adhere to the principle of openness as the normal state and non-disclosure as the exception, and follow the principles of justice, fairness, legality and convenience for the people.

 

Article 6 Administrative organs shall disclose government information in a timely and accurate manner.

 

If an administrative organ finds false or incomplete information that affects or may affect social stability and disrupt the order of social and economic management, it shall issue accurate government information to clarify it.

 

Article 7 People's governments at all levels shall actively promote the work of government information disclosure and gradually increase the content of government information disclosure.

 

Article 8 People's governments at all levels shall strengthen the standardization, standardization and information management of government information resources, strengthen the construction of Internet government information disclosure platform, promote the integration of government information disclosure platform and government service platform, and improve the online processing level of government information disclosure.

 

Article 9 Citizens, legal persons and other organizations have the right to supervise the government information disclosure work of administrative organs, and put forward criticisms and suggestions.

 

Chapter II Subject and Scope of Publicity

 

Article 10 The government information produced by an administrative organ shall be made public by the administrative organ producing the government information. Government information obtained by administrative organs from citizens, legal persons and other organizations shall be disclosed by the administrative organs that keep the government information; The government information of other administrative organs obtained by an administrative organ shall be made public by the administrative organ that produced or initially obtained the government information. Where laws and regulations have other provisions on the authority of government information disclosure, such provisions shall prevail.

 

If an agency or internal institution established by an administrative organ performs administrative functions in its own name in accordance with laws and regulations, the agency or internal institution may be responsible for the disclosure of government information related to the administrative functions performed.

 

Government information jointly produced by two or more administrative organs shall be made public by the administrative organ leading the production.

 

Article 11 Administrative organs shall establish and improve the coordination mechanism of government information disclosure. If the disclosure of government information by an administrative organ involves other organs, it shall consult with the relevant organs to confirm and ensure the accuracy and consistency of the government information disclosed by the administrative organ.

 

If an administrative organ needs to approve the disclosure of government information in accordance with laws, administrative regulations and relevant state regulations, it shall be disclosed upon approval.

 

Article 12 Government information disclosure guidelines and government information disclosure catalogues compiled and published by administrative organs shall be updated in a timely manner.

The government information disclosure guide includes the classification, arrangement system, acquisition method of government information, and the name, office address, office hours, contact telephone number, fax number, Internet contact information and other contents of the government information disclosure organization.

 

The catalogue of government information disclosure includes the index, name, content overview, generation date and other contents of government information.

 

Article 13 In addition to the government information stipulated in Articles 14, 15 and 16 of these Regulations, government information shall be made public.

 

Administrative organs disclose government information by taking the initiative to disclose it and by applying for it.

 

Article 14 Government information determined as state secrets according to law, government information prohibited from being disclosed by laws and administrative regulations, and government information that may endanger national security, public safety, economic security and social stability after being disclosed shall not be disclosed.

 

Article 15 Administrative organs shall not disclose government information involving trade secrets, personal privacy and other disclosure that will damage the legitimate rights and interests of third parties. However, if the third party agrees to make it public or the administrative organ believes that non-disclosure will have a significant impact on the public interest, it shall be made public.

 

Article 16 The internal affairs information of administrative organs, including personnel management, logistics management, internal work flow and other information, may not be disclosed.

 

The process information such as discussion records, process drafts, consultation letters, request reports and administrative law enforcement file information formed by administrative organs in the process of performing administrative functions may not be disclosed. Where laws, regulations and rules stipulate that the above information should be made public, such provisions shall prevail.

 

Article 17 Administrative organs should establish and improve the government information disclosure review mechanism, and clarify the review procedures and responsibilities.

 

The administrative organ shall examine the government information to be disclosed in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Keeping State Secrets, other laws, regulations and relevant state regulations.

 

If an administrative organ is unable to determine whether government information can be made public, it shall report it to the relevant competent department or the confidentiality administrative department for determination in accordance with laws, regulations and relevant state regulations.

 

Article 18 An administrative organ shall establish and improve the dynamic adjustment mechanism of government information management, regularly evaluate and examine the government information that is not disclosed by the administrative organ, and disclose the government information that can be disclosed due to changes in the situation.

 

Chapter III Active Disclosure

Article 19 Government information involving the adjustment of public interests, which needs to be widely known by the public or needs public participation in decision-making, the administrative organ shall take the initiative to disclose it.

 

Article 20 Administrative organs shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of these Regulations, voluntarily disclose the following government information of their own administrative organs:

 

(1) Administrative regulations, rules and normative documents;

 

(2) the functions of the organ, institutional setup, office address, office hours, contact information, and the name of the person in charge;

 

(3) National economic and social development planning, special planning, regional planning and related policies;

 

(4) Statistical information on national economic and social development;

 

(5) the basis, conditions, procedures and results of handling administrative licensing and other external management services;

 

(6) the basis, conditions and procedures for the implementation of administrative punishment and administrative coercion, as well as the administrative punishment decisions that the administrative organ believes have certain social impact;

 

(7) financial budget and final accounts information;

 

(8) administrative fees and their basis and standards;

 

(9) the catalogue, standards and implementation of government centralized procurement projects;

 

(10) the approval and implementation of major construction projects;

 

(11) policies and measures in poverty alleviation, education, medical care, social security and employment promotion and their implementation;

 

(12) the emergency plan, early warning information and response to public emergencies;

 

(13) the supervision and inspection of environmental protection, public health, safety in production, food and drug, and product quality;

 

(14) the positions, places, conditions for applying for civil servants and the employment results;

 

(15) other government information that should be voluntarily disclosed according to laws, regulations, rules and relevant provisions of the state.

 

Article 21 In addition to the government information stipulated in Article 20 of these Regulations, the people's governments at the municipal and county levels and their departments shall also take the initiative to disclose government information related to municipal construction, public services, public welfare undertakings, land expropriation, house expropriation, public security management, social assistance, etc. according to the specific conditions of their respective places; Township (town) people's governments should also take the initiative to publicly implement government information on agricultural and rural policies, construction and operation of farmland water conservancy projects, transfer of rural land contractual management rights, audit of homestead use, land expropriation, house expropriation, fund raising and labor raising, social assistance, etc.

 

Article 22 Administrative organs shall, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 20 and 21 of these Regulations, determine the specific contents of voluntary disclosure of government information, and continuously increase the contents of voluntary disclosure in accordance with the deployment of higher-level administrative organs.

 

Article 23 Administrative organs shall establish and improve the government information release mechanism, and disclose the government information voluntarily disclosed through government gazettes, government websites or other Internet government media, press conferences, newspapers, radio, television and other channels.

 

Article 24 People's governments at all levels should strengthen the work of relying on government portals to disclose government information, and use a unified government information disclosure platform to centrally release government information that is actively disclosed. The government information disclosure platform should have the functions of information retrieval, access and download.

 

Article 25 People's governments at all levels shall set up government information access places in national archives, public libraries and government service places, and equip them with corresponding facilities and equipment to provide convenience for citizens, legal persons and other organizations to obtain government information.

 

Administrative organs may, according to their needs, set up places and facilities such as public reference rooms, data collection points, information bulletin boards and electronic information screens to disclose government information.

 

Administrative organs shall provide government information voluntarily disclosed to the National Archives and public libraries in a timely manner.

 

Article 26 Government information that belongs to the scope of voluntary disclosure shall be disclosed in a timely manner within 20 working days from the date of formation or change of the government information. Where laws and regulations have other provisions on the time limit for the disclosure of government information, such provisions shall prevail.

 

Chapter IV Disclosure upon Application

 

Article 27 In addition to the government information voluntarily disclosed by administrative organs, citizens, legal persons or other organizations may apply to local people's governments at all levels and departments of people's governments at or above the county level that perform administrative functions in their own names (including dispatched offices and internal institutions specified in the second paragraph of Article 10 of these Regulations) for obtaining relevant government information.

 

Article 28 The administrative organs stipulated in Article 27 of these Regulations shall establish and improve the application channels for government information disclosure, and provide convenience for applicants to apply for obtaining government information according to law.

 

Article 29 Where a citizen, legal person or other organization applies for obtaining government information, it shall submit it to the government information disclosure institution of the administrative organ and adopt written form including letters and data messages; If it is really difficult to use written form, the applicant may submit it orally, and the government information disclosure institution accepting the application shall fill in the application for government information disclosure on its behalf.

 

The application for government information disclosure shall include the following contents:

 

(1) the applicant's name, identity certificate and contact information;

 

(2) the name, document number or other characteristic descriptions of the government information applied for disclosure;

 

(3) The formal requirements for applying for disclosure of government information, including the ways and means of obtaining information.

 

Article 30 If the content of the application for government information disclosure is unclear, the administrative organ shall give guidance and explanation, and inform the applicant to make corrections at one time within 7 working days from the date of receiving the application, explaining the matters that need to be corrected and the reasonable time limit for correction. The time limit for reply shall be calculated from the date when the administrative organ receives the application for correction. If the applicant fails to make corrections within the time limit without justifiable reasons, it shall be deemed as giving up the application, and the administrative organ will no longer handle the application for government information disclosure.

 

Article 31 The time for an administrative organ to receive an application for disclosure of government information shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions:

 

(1) If the applicant submits an application for government information disclosure in person, the date of submission shall be the date of receipt of the application;

 

(2) if the applicant submits an application for government information disclosure by mail, the date of receipt by the administrative organ shall be the date of receipt of the application; If an application for government information disclosure is submitted by mail without signing, such as ordinary letters, the government information disclosure institution shall confirm with the applicant on the day of receiving the application, and the date of confirmation shall be the date of receiving the application;

 

(3) If the applicant submits an application for government information disclosure through Internet channels or faxes of government information disclosure institutions, the date of confirmation by both parties shall be the date of receipt of the application.

 

Article 32 If the disclosure of government information disclosed according to the application will damage the legitimate rights and interests of a third party, the administrative organ shall solicit the opinions of the third party in writing. The third party shall put forward its opinions within 15 working days from the date of receiving the request for opinions. If the third party fails to put forward its opinions within the time limit, the administrative organ shall decide whether to make them public in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations. If the third party disagrees with the disclosure and has reasonable reasons, the administrative organ shall not disclose it. If the administrative organ believes that the non-disclosure may have a significant impact on the public interest, it may decide to make it public, and inform the third party in writing of the contents and reasons of the government information decided to be disclosed.

 

Article 33 If an administrative organ receives an application for disclosure of government information and is able to reply on the spot, it shall reply on the spot.

 

If the administrative organ cannot reply on the spot, it shall reply within 20 working days from the date of receiving the application; If it is necessary to extend the reply period, it shall be approved by the person in charge of the government information disclosure institution and inform the applicant, and the longest extension period shall not exceed 20 working days.

 

The time required for an administrative organ to solicit opinions from third parties and other organs shall not be counted within the time limit specified in the preceding paragraph.

 

Article 34 Where the government information applied for disclosure is jointly produced by two or more administrative organs, After receiving the application for government information disclosure, the administrative organ leading the production may solicit the opinions of the relevant administrative organs, and the organ being solicited shall put forward opinions within 15 working days from the date of receiving the solicitation of opinions, and those who fail to put forward opinions within the time limit shall be deemed as agreeing to disclosure.

 

Article 35 If the number and frequency of the applicant's application for disclosure of government information obviously exceed the reasonable range, the administrative organ may require the applicant to explain the reasons. If the administrative organ considers that the reasons for the application are unreasonable, it shall inform the applicant not to handle it; If the administrative organ considers that the reasons for the application are reasonable, but cannot reply to the applicant within the time limit stipulated in Article 33 of these Regulations, it may determine a reasonable time limit for delaying the reply and inform the applicant.

 

Article 36 To the government information disclosure application, the administrative organ shall give a reply according to the following circumstances:

 

(1) the application for public information has been voluntarily disclosed, inform the applicant of the ways and means to obtain the government information;

 

(2) the application for public information can be made public, provide the applicant with the government information, or inform the applicant of the way, way and time to obtain the government information;

 

(3) If the administrative organ decides not to disclose it according to the provisions of these Regulations, it shall inform the applicant not to disclose it and explain the reasons;

 

(4) If there is no public information applied for after retrieval, inform the applicant that the government information does not exist;

 

(5) If the information applied for disclosure does not belong to the administrative organ, inform the applicant and explain the reasons; If the administrative organ responsible for disclosing the government information can be determined, inform the applicant of the name and contact information of the administrative organ;

 

(6) the administrative organ has made a reply to the applicant's application for disclosure of government information. If the applicant repeatedly applies for disclosure of the same government information, it shall inform the applicant not to repeat the processing;

 

(7) If the information applied for disclosure belongs to industrial and commercial, real estate registration data and other information, and the relevant laws and administrative regulations have special provisions on the acquisition of information, the applicant shall be informed to handle it in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations.

 

Article 37 Where the information applied for disclosure contains contents that should not be disclosed or do not belong to government information, but can be treated differently, the administrative organ shall provide the applicant with the contents of government information that can be disclosed, and explain the reasons for the contents that are not disclosed.

 

Article 38 The information provided by the administrative organ to the applicant shall be the government information that has been produced or obtained. Except in accordance with the provisions of Article 37 of these Regulations, if the administrative organ needs to process and analyze the existing government information, the administrative organ may not provide it.

 

Article 39 When an applicant conducts letters and visits, complaints, reports and other activities in the form of an application for government information disclosure, the administrative organ shall inform the applicant not to treat it as an application for government information disclosure and may inform it to submit it through corresponding channels.

 

Where the content of the application submitted by the applicant is to require the administrative organ to provide public publications such as government gazettes, newspapers and periodicals, books, etc., the administrative organ may inform the way of obtaining them.

 

Article 40 When an administrative organ discloses government information upon application, it shall determine the specific form of providing government information according to the requirements of the applicant and the actual situation of keeping government information by the administrative organ; If government information is provided in the form required by the applicant, which may endanger the security of government information carriers or the disclosure cost is too high, it can be provided through electronic data and other appropriate forms, or the applicant can be arranged to consult and transcribe relevant government information.

 

Article 41 If a citizen, legal person or other organization has evidence to prove that the records of government information related to itself provided by an administrative organ are inaccurate, it may request the administrative organ to correct it. If the administrative organ with the right to correct it is verified, it shall correct it and inform the applicant; If it does not fall within the scope of its own administrative organ's functions, the administrative organ may transfer it to the administrative organ with the right to correct it and inform the applicant, or inform the applicant to submit it to the administrative organ with the right to correct it.

 

Article 42 Administrative organs provide government information according to the application, and do not charge fees. However, if the number and frequency of the applicant's application for disclosure of government information obviously exceed the reasonable range, the administrative organ may charge an information processing fee.

 

Specific measures for collecting information processing fees by administrative organs shall be formulated by the competent price department under the State Council in conjunction with the financial department under the State Council and the competent government information disclosure department throughout the country.

 

Article 43 If citizens applying for disclosure of government information have dyslexia or audio-visual impairment, the administrative organ shall provide necessary assistance to them.

 

Article 44 If multiple applicants apply to the same administrative organ for disclosure of the same government information, and the government information can be disclosed, the administrative organ may bring it into the scope of voluntary disclosure.

 

For the government information disclosed by the administrative organ according to the application, if the applicant thinks that it involves the adjustment of public interest, needs to be widely known by the public or needs the public to participate in decision-making, he may suggest that the administrative organ bring the information into the scope of active disclosure. If the administrative organ considers it to be within the scope of voluntary disclosure after examination, it shall take the initiative to disclose it in a timely manner.

 

Article 45 Administrative organs shall establish and improve the working system of applying for registration, examination, handling, reply and filing of government information disclosure, and strengthen work norms.

 

Chapter V Supervision and Guarantee

 

Article 46 People's governments at all levels shall establish and improve the assessment system, social appraisal system and accountability system for government information disclosure, and regularly assess and appraise government information disclosure.

 

Article 47 The competent department of government information disclosure shall strengthen the daily guidance, supervision and inspection of government information disclosure, and urge the rectification or informed criticism of administrative organs that fail to carry out government information disclosure as required; If it is necessary to investigate the responsibility of the responsible leaders and directly responsible personnel, put forward suggestions to the competent authorities according to law.

 

Citizens, legal persons or other organizations that administrative organs fail to voluntarily disclose government information as required or fail to reply to the application for government information disclosure according to law may submit it to the competent department of government information disclosure. If the competent department of government information disclosure verifies it, it shall urge rectification or informed criticism.

 

Article 48 The competent department of government information disclosure shall regularly train the government information disclosure staff of administrative organs.

 

Article 49 People's government departments at or above the county level shall submit the annual report of the previous year's government information disclosure work of the administrative organ to the competent department of government information disclosure work at the corresponding level before January 31 of each year and announce it to the public.

 

The competent department of government information disclosure of the local people's government at or above the county level shall announce to the public the annual report of the government information disclosure of the previous year before March 31 of each year.

 

Article 50 The annual report on government information disclosure shall include the following contents:

 

(1) the administrative organs take the initiative to disclose government information;

 

(2) the administrative organ receives and handles the application for government information disclosure;

 

(3) due to the government information disclosure work has been applied for administrative reconsideration, administrative litigation;

 

(4) The main problems and improvements in the government information disclosure work. The annual report of the government information disclosure work of the people's governments at all levels should also include the results of work assessment, social appraisal and accountability;

 

(5) other matters that need to be reported.

 

The national government information disclosure department shall publish the unified format of the annual report on government information disclosure and update it in a timely manner.

 

Article 51 Citizens, legal persons or other organizations that believe that administrative organs infringe upon their legitimate rights and interests in the work of government information disclosure may complain and report to the administrative organs at the next higher level or the competent department of government information disclosure, and may also apply for administrative reconsideration or bring an administrative lawsuit according to law.

 

Article 52 If an administrative organ violates the provisions of these Regulations and fails to establish and improve the relevant systems and mechanisms for government information disclosure, the administrative organ at the next higher level shall order it to make corrections; If the circumstances are serious, the responsible leaders and directly responsible personnel shall be punished according to law.

 

Article 53 If an administrative organ violates the provisions of these Regulations and has any of the following circumstances, the administrative organ at the next higher level shall order it to make corrections; If the circumstances are serious, the responsible leaders and directly responsible personnel shall be punished according to law; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law:

 

(1) Failing to perform the government information disclosure function according to law;

 

(2) do not update the contents of public government information, government information disclosure guidelines and government information disclosure catalogues in a timely manner;

 

(3) other circumstances in violation of the provisions of these Regulations.

 

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

 

Article 54 These Regulations shall apply to the activities of organizations authorized by laws and regulations with the function of managing public affairs to disclose government information.

 

Article 55 Public enterprises and institutions closely related to the interests of the people, such as education, health, water supply, power supply, gas supply, heat supply, environmental protection, public transportation, etc., shall disclose the information produced and obtained in the process of providing social public services in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and the provisions of relevant competent departments or institutions under the State Council. The national government information disclosure department may formulate special regulations according to actual needs.

 

The public enterprises and institutions specified in the preceding paragraph fail to disclose the information produced and obtained in the process of providing social public services in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and the provisions of relevant competent departments or institutions under the State Council, Citizens, legal persons or other organizations may complain to the relevant competent departments or institutions, and the departments or institutions accepting the complaints shall promptly investigate and handle them and inform the complainants of the results.

 

Article 56 These Regulations shall come into force as of May 15, 2019.