China Sets Out to Cut Secrecy, but Laws Leave Big Loopholes

CHINA SETS OUT TO CUT SECRECY, BUT LAWS LEAVE BIG LOOPHOLES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jim Yardley]
China announced new regulations on Tuesday to reduce government secrecy and grant citizens greater access to official information, but the regulations include broad exceptions that raise questions about how much new openness will be tolerated. The regulations, approved in a decree signed by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, were announced with fanfare on Tuesday but will not become effective until May 1, 2008. And the caveats suggest that the new regulations may represent only measured steps in fulfilling promises by top leaders to create a more transparent and accountable government.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/25/world/asia/25china.html
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