Changchun, the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province plans to make almost all its government information public starting from November 30, said He Qun, a senior official with the local government.

But three categories, official secrets, confidential business and private personal information, will not be included, according to a temporary rule released recently by the city government.

As the first group to release documents, 24 government departments governing social security, medical treatment and employment, opened their information to the public on September 30.

Starting from November 30, another 26 government departments closely related to residents' daily life will open their affairs to the public, He said.

By making the information public, residents and organizations will be able to get what they are interested in or concerned about.

To date, people in Changchun can go over information from the Changchun information port, 103 communities and Changchun Archives Administration.

"Since most of the citizens are not familiar with the new emergence of open information, there are only dozens of people that have visited the Changchun Archives Administration to search government information," said Li Hongming, deputy director-general of the Changchun Archives Administration.

Residents can get government information through various means like the Internet, e-mails, letters, fax and telegraphs as well as filling in application forms.

The local government plans to establish one fixed accepting room and one archives reading room to make it easier for citizens to access information, said Zhu Yejing, mayor of Changchun.

In addition, information touching on official secrets, business secrets and individual privacy are not open to the public and the government agency concerned has the right to refuse to answer the applicants.

People have the right to propose policies which touch on the interests of citizens and have great social influence.

However, since all the work has just kicked off, there are still some aspects to improve.

Changchun is looking to learn from Shanghai and Hangzhou which opened up to the public in early May and June.

(China Daily November 23, 2004)