Administrative litigation is another,albeit possibly even more difficult,channel for seeking to enforce requester rights to information.Shanghai reported 283 OGI-related lawsuits in 2008,the results of which were not disclosed.However,a separate study found that Shanghai plaintiffs overwhelmingly lose their OGI cases.Indeed,the only reported OGI plaintiff victory in nearly 400 lawsuits between 2004-8 was the 2008 case of Shitou Dyestuffs Company vs.Shanghai Science and Technology Commission,in which the Huangpu District Court ruled that portions of the requested information concerning certification procedures and materials on "Shanghai High Technology Enterprise"status issued since 1994 were not covered by the asserted commercial secrets and pre-decisional information exemptions and should be released.[27] While requesters outside of Shanghai also typically lose their administrative appeals and lawsuits, some have prevailed against the government.The first reported court victory was a case filed by a young man,represented by the Wuhan University Center for Protecting Disadvantaged Persons, who wanted to purchase a motorcycle and requested relevant regulatory information from the Huangzhou District Transportation Bureau in Huangqu City,Hubei province.When the bureau did not respond to his written request,he filed suit and,on October 7,2008,the Huangzhou District Court found the bureau guilty of non-performance of its statutory duty to respond and further ordered the bureau to bear the 50 yuan RMB litigation costs.[28]Soon thereafter,a court in scenic Hangzhou,Zhejiang province ruled,after two hearings,in favor a group of retired workers from a tranportation company who had long sought a 2006 Hangzhou Government record of a meeting that discussed their stock rights.When they heard the verdict ordering the government to provide the document within 10 days,several of the elderly workers wept.[29] A 27-year old computer technician in Nanyang,Hebei province gained notoriety after filing multiple information requests with 181 government departments in 2009.When he encountered refusals to disclose on different grounds,and even suspicion of"being a spy,"he pursued administrative appeals and some lawsuits,eventually obtaining some information,athough not even one complete response.He explained the catalyst for his civic activism:a few years back, he became suspicious about a construction site he passed daily on his way to work and,when he asked the sales department whether they had a land certificate,they said they did but refused to show it to him.When the Land Resources Bureau also refused to show him the relevant documents,he took them to court.After the court ordered the bureau to provide a response,he was able to confirm his suspicion that they did not have the required land certificate.[30] In another case,a 66-year old pig farmer won a lawsuit against the Baoding Land Resources Bureau for refusing to respond to his request for information about his land use rights.Even though the bureau finally provided a response during the course of the lawsuit,the plaintiff farmer refused to withdraw the complaint,and the court found the government defendant in violation of the Regulations for not having responded within the required 15-day time period.[31] Third,the demand for greater government disclosure is beginning to have an impact on changing government policies.Even when specific information requests and lawsuits are not successful,they may still result in positive changes in law and policy.For example,a group of law professors at Xiangtan University in Hunan province filed a request on May 4,2008,three days after the Regulations went into effect,for information on how toll fees charged for three bridges were being used and eventually sued for complete disclosure.[32]While it was never freedominfo.org 4-23-2010 Page 5freedominfo.org     4‐23‐2010  Page 5  Administrative litigation is another, albeit possibly even more difficult, channel for seeking to enforce requester rights to information. Shanghai reported 283 OGI-related lawsuits in 2008, the results of which were not disclosed. However, a separate study found that Shanghai plaintiffs overwhelmingly lose their OGI cases. Indeed, the only reported OGI plaintiff victory in nearly 400 lawsuits between 2004-8 was the 2008 case of Shitou Dyestuffs Company vs. Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, in which the Huangpu District Court ruled that portions of the requested information concerning certification procedures and materials on “Shanghai High Technology Enterprise” status issued since 1994 were not covered by the asserted commercial secrets and pre-decisional information exemptions and should be released.[27] While requesters outside of Shanghai also typically lose their administrative appeals and lawsuits, some have prevailed against the government. The first reported court victory was a case filed by a young man, represented by the Wuhan University Center for Protecting Disadvantaged Persons, who wanted to purchase a motorcycle and requested relevant regulatory information from the Huangzhou District Transportation Bureau in Huangqu City, Hubei province. When the bureau did not respond to his written request, he filed suit and, on October 7, 2008, the Huangzhou District Court found the bureau guilty of non-performance of its statutory duty to respond and further ordered the bureau to bear the 50 yuan RMB litigation costs.[28] Soon thereafter, a court in scenic Hangzhou, Zhejiang province ruled, after two hearings, in favor a group of retired workers from a tranportation company who had long sought a 2006 Hangzhou Government record of a meeting that discussed their stock rights. When they heard the verdict ordering the government to provide the document within 10 days, several of the elderly workers wept.[29] A 27-year old computer technician in Nanyang, Hebei province gained notoriety after filing multiple information requests with 181 government departments in 2009. When he encountered refusals to disclose on different grounds, and even suspicion of “being a spy,” he pursued administrative appeals and some lawsuits, eventually obtaining some information, athough not even one complete response. He explained the catalyst for his civic activism: a few years back, he became suspicious about a construction site he passed daily on his way to work and, when he asked the sales department whether they had a land certificate, they said they did but refused to show it to him. When the Land Resources Bureau also refused to show him the relevant documents, he took them to court. After the court ordered the bureau to provide a response, he was able to confirm his suspicion that they did not have the required land certificate.[30] In another case, a 66-year old pig farmer won a lawsuit against the Baoding Land Resources Bureau for refusing to respond to his request for information about his land use rights. Even though the bureau finally provided a response during the course of the lawsuit, the plaintiff farmer refused to withdraw the complaint, and the court found the government defendant in violation of the Regulations for not having responded within the required 15-day time period.[31] Third, the demand for greater government disclosure is beginning to have an impact on changing government policies. Even when specific information requests and lawsuits are not successful, they may still result in positive changes in law and policy. For example, a group of law professors at Xiangtan University in Hunan province filed a request on May 4, 2008, three days after the Regulations went into effect, for information on how toll fees charged for three bridges were being used and eventually sued for complete disclosure.[32] While it was never