Journalistic exercise of Freedom of Information in China: a socio-legal review of the implementation and enforcement of Transparency Laws

Abstract

This article examines and explains the OGI regime’s impacts as used by Chinese journalists, with a focus on the regime’s democratic implications. It first reviews the low utility of the ROGI for watchdogs. It then analyses the defects in the OGI regime and especially its enforcement mechanism (i.e. judicial review) to explain the common obstacles faced by journalists and other activists. Considering the socio-legal constraints on journalists in the party-state, the article proceeds to explore two regimes that control the flow of information and strongly influence the ROGI’s implementation – state secrets and media control, and look into the organized but not-institutionalised measures of suppression. It concludes with a discussion on the relation between freedom of information and freedom of press in China.