The recent call by Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng to advance the work of open government information is a move toward a responsible, clean, and law-abiding system.

Shanghai was one of the first Chinese cities to implement provisions for the release of government information back in 2004, four years before a national provision came into effect.

Over the past few years, local government departments have disclosed a total of 417,000 pieces of information, through channels such as press conferences, government bulletins, interactive websites, archives and public libraries.