Voice of America: New Chinese Regulations on State Secrets Criticized for Lack of Transparency

From Rebecca Valli with Voice of America, “New Chinese Regulations on State Secrets Criticized for Lack of Transparency”:

But the problem, according to observers, is the new rules do not clarify or clearly define what information should be made public.

Sharon Hom, Executive Director of Human Rights in China, says the regulations do not change the fact that virtually anything can still be classified a state secret like environmental disasters, health pandemics or consumer safety.

"When we get an answer to that and they declassify that information then we can say there has been some real progress in transparency and access to information.  But right now, it's a big question mark," she said.

For more information on China’s State Secrets law, see: New Regulations Implementing State Secrets Law Offer No Greater Transparency