A China Daily editorial calls for revisions to the State Secrets Law, which has often been criticized for being too vague and ambiguous in its definitions:
The 1988 legislation needs an immediate reshuffle. It is a poorly conceived work of jurisprudence because it allows state organs and their functionaries virtually unlimited authority in defining and maintaining so-called “state secrets”.
Under the current law’s definition of a “state secret”, official establishments and their staff can easily stick that label to everything they want to hide from the public.
Even township officials can classify information in the name of the state. Such information, once classified, can be withheld forever.
Each of these major defects will, to a degree, be modified in the proposed revisions, which is why we are anxious to see them pass legislative scrutiny.
Read more about the state secrets law via CDT.