STATE SECRETS: CHINA'S LEGAL LABYRINTH - HRIC

32 HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA STATE SECRETS: CHINA’S LEGAL LABYRINTH
2. LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
China is required by international obligations, including under the UN Convention
Against Corruption, to take measures to enhance transparency and accountability
in public administration. 113 These measures include ensuring that the public
has effective access to information and “respecting, promoting and protecting the
freedom to seek, receive, publish, and disseminate information” concerning corruption.
114
The information classified in the regulations of various ministries, including the
Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People’s Court and the Ministry of Justice,
provides an examination of the type and content of information the political
elite considers important and potentially harmful to the continued stability of its
rule. The very existence of these regulations casts doubts on the transparency of
information flow in China and the accuracy of information that is released to the
public.
The great elasticity of state secrets protections has contributed to a widespread culture
of secrecy in the official handling and dissemination of information. The government
has control over 80% of relevant (有用) information in society. 115 This
bottleneck of information is exacerbated by the lack of any independent supervisory
mechanisms or precise classification standards.
Good governance, supported by the respect for human rights, enables governments
to frame policies that will enact change, but it cannot be achieved in a society
where there is no transparency or accountability. Good governance is
“necessary for sustainable social and economic development in which government,
businesses and civil society work together to address challenges.” 116 Where states
face challenges in development and in the implementation and respect for human
rights, good governance is necessary to effectively address those challenges and
frame solutions. 117 To the CPC, however, good governance has long rested on the
principle of maintaining social stability and keeping a tight rein on information
dissemination—including classifying critical information such as statistics related
to health, the judicial system and the environment—in order to ensure political
control.