Guangzhou Stakes New Territory in Transparency

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 032442

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SUBJECT: Guangzhou Stakes New Territory in Transparency

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1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Guangzhou will implement two transparency
regulations in 2007 that are reportedly the first of their kind in
China and signal a shift to more local government accountability.
One requires public discussion of all draft administrative
regulations; the other allows the public to request information from
the government in ways that echo the U.S. Freedom of Information
Act. Scholars from Yale and Beijing University consulted with the
Guangzhou Office of Legislative Affairs in drafting the regulations.
Though the measures reflect progress that has its roots in
Guangzhou's long-standing economic openness and relative political
independence, the regulations are nevertheless only first steps and
will need to be supported through more detailed implementing
regulations and strong backing from city leadership. END SUMMARY

Public Participation in Draft Legislation
--------------


2. (U) The Measures on Public Participation in the Formation of New
Regulations in Guangzhou, released July 7, 2006 and effective
January 1, 2007, are China's first detailed local measures that
require all new administrative regulations to go through a notice
and comment period before taking effect. The government solicits
comments in part through informal public meetings and formal
consultations with experts. More importantly, the public can submit
written comments, all of which must be posted on government
websites. The public has at least one month to submit comments and
foreigners are also allowed to participate. The relevant government
bureau must post written responses to each comment (thus
guaranteeing that they read the comments).


3. (SBU) The government has already tested these measures on several
recent draft laws. Guangzhou officials organized informal public
hearings with business owners, consumers, academics, and officials
to discuss a law on the administration of commodity exchange
markets. They also posted drafts of the law in the entryways of
local markets. Professor Liu Wenjing of Jinan University's Law
School said it was the first time that a Guangzhou law has undergone
such broad and intense scrutiny. When officials sought comments on
a recent law on community housing issues, they organized separate
hearings for residents of old neighborhoods, new neighborhoods,
housing compounds, and outlying rural communities. Other draft laws
for public review addressed electricity prices, physical exercise in
public areas, and a ban on motorcycles in the city.

Guangzhou's "Freedom of Information Act"
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4. (U) The Measures on the Sharing of Government Information Upon
Request, released November 20, 2006 and effective in July 2007,
share some of the same features regarding transparency as the
measures on public participation in paragraph 2. These measures
mark the first time a local government in China has set up a system
for the public to request government information. Under the
measures, municipal bureaus must designate staff to receive requests
and must publicize contact information. The public can make
requests in person or in writing, and there is no fee. Officials
must respond to requests within 45 days or face administrative
penalties. Again, foreigners are allowed to participate.


5. (SBU) The government will have significant leeway on whether or
not to release requested information as the measures list eight
general categories of information that are off limits. The
categories include state secrets, commercial secrets, personal
information, information on leaders' honesty (corruption),internal
official documents, law enforcement information, information legally
prohibited to be shared, information already released to the public,
and draft legislation (presumably before it is released for comment
under the aforementioned measures).

Involvement of U.S. and Beijing Scholars
--------------


6. (U) In formulating these two measures, Guangzhou's Office of
Legislative Affairs consulted with academics from Yale University's
China Law Center and Beijing University's Center for Public
Participation Studies and Support. Yale's China Law Center has been
working since 2003 with local governments in Beijing, Guangzhou, and
Shanghai on developing transparent mechanisms for public
participation in administrative rulemaking. Wang Xixin of Beijing
University established the Center for Public Participation Studies
and Support, with the assistance of Yale, as China's first such

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advocacy center. Wang also helped draft an "administrative
procedures act" that the NPC Standing Committee is currently
reviewing.


7. (U) Guangzhou hosted a workshop in July 2006 on public
participation in rulemaking that included academics from Yale,
American University, and Beijing University and officials from the
Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen Offices of Legislative
Affairs. In addition to discussing Guangzhou's transparency
measures, U.S. participants highlighted the importance of NGOs in
channeling input to government and the use of tools such as
listserves and informal meetings, according to a report by Jamie
Horsley, Deputy Director of Yale's China Law Center and a former
lawyer who worked in Beijing in the late 1990s.

The Role of the Office of Legislative Affairs
--------------


8. (SBU) Though most observers point to Guangzhou's long history of
economic openness and relative political independence as the reasons
it has moved forward with these measures, others also cite
Guangzhou's Office of Legislative Affairs as a driving force. The
office, which includes approximately 30 legal advisors and falls
under the Municipal People's Congress, is responsible for drafting
city laws. Many of the office's staff are reportedly influenced by
Western legal thinking. According to Shu Yang, Director of the
Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, the office has drafted laws
that "are as good as anything in the West," but city officials
typically demand revisions because of concerns they have gone too
far.


9. (SBU) Li Li, former Director of Guangzhou's Office of Legislative
Affairs and now Vice Director of the Standing Committee of the
Municipal People's Congress, was cited by several academics as an
important backer of the new measures and a driving force behind a
trend in Guangzhou since 2003 toward more government transparency.
Li's promotion to her current position is highly unusual for a legal
professional and signals her influence. Li was a lecturer and then
dean of Guangzhou University's law school before joining the Office
of Legislative Affairs. Chen Licheng, current Director of
Guangzhou's Office of Legislative Affairs, studied law in England
and previously worked as a legal advisor to the Shenzhen government,
a lawyer in a Shenzhen law firm, and a law professor at Xiamen
University. His expertise is in economic law and he is also
considered a forward thinker.

Comment: A First Step
--------------


10. (SBU) Professors and legal observers all noted that, though
these two measures are important, implementation will prove their
significance. To comply with the measures, government bureaus will
need to expend additional staff time and will lose some of their
autonomy. The measures on public participation will slow the city's
legislative process. When dealing with sensitive issues, local
officials may be more concerned with protecting their careers than
complying with the letter of the law. This is particularly true for
the measures on information sharing, which still offer significant
room for denial to skittish officials.

GOLDBERG