What was less predictable was the dynamism of the Chinese public's response to this new channel for interacting with their government,evidence of the increasing awareness of their rights and interests as citizens and taxpayers of the People's Republic.Indeed,the Regulations seem to already be having an impact within Chinese society and on government policy First,a wide variety of citizens and groups across the country are using the Regulations. From the very first business day after the Regulations took effect,retired workers,farmers, artists,motorcyclists,dog owners and displaced homeowners,as well as professors,lawyers and other professionals,have been exercising their right to file information requests and to take the government to court if they are refused.Requested information ranges from data relating to one's own personal situation,such as retirement benefits,real estate records,compensation standards for urban redevelopment,pet and education fees,to more "public interest"topics such as details on government expenses and budgets,the unpopular re-education-through-labor system,the use of fees imposed for the construction of the controversial Three Gorges Dam and for toll roads, environmental pollution and administrative penalties. The media,while not yet actively using the Regulations themselves,has been reporting and commenting on these cases enthusiastically,creating what was called a media"storm"in just the first week of their coming into effect and helping to educate the public about the new OGI system.In one reported case,a newspaper reporter did use the Regulations to obtain a copy of the official environmental impact assessment that approved construction of a controversial Paraxylene(PX)plant in Zhangzhou,after that plant was forced by citizen protests to relocate from Xiamen.[6] China's emerging civil society has also started using the Regulations to further their policy and advocacy goals.The Chinese environmental protection community,bolstered by the environmental protection agency's quick adoption of implementing measures on environmental information disclosure that extended to polluting companies,[7]has been particularly well organized in using the Regulations.Within the first several months,several non-profits had issued local citizen's guides to obtaining environmental information and held workshops and training sessions about how to use the Regulations.[8]In September 2008,the non-profit Chinese Institute of Public Environmental Affairs,in cooperation with the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council,filed OGI requests with 113 cities across China for a list of polluters that had been penalized by the government and a list of local complaints and how they were handled, both categories of information that environmental protection bureaus are required to disclose on their own initiative.[9]The published results in June 2009 revealed uneven success in obtaining information and that only four of the cities scored above 60 points out of a possible 100 points, while the average score of all 113 cities was barely over 30 points.Nonetheless,the report observed the very fact they were able to conduct the assessment,as well as the results themselves, showed the"historic progress"already made in environmental transparency and public participation in China.[10] Another civic project that is tracking and rating government performance is the Peking University-based Center for Public Participation Studies and Supports,which under the leadership of Professor Wang Xixin conducted the OGI implementation evaluation mentioned above and which has formed an OGI Watch Alliance among academics around the country to freedominfo.org 4-23-2010 Page 2freedominfo.org     4‐23‐2010  Page 2  What was less predictable was the dynamism of the Chinese public’s response to this new channel for interacting with their government, evidence of the increasing awareness of their rights and interests as citizens and taxpayers of the People’s Republic. Indeed, the Regulations seem to already be having an impact within Chinese society and on government policy. First, a wide variety of citizens and groups across the country are using the Regulations. From the very first business day after the Regulations took effect, retired workers, farmers, artists, motorcyclists, dog owners and displaced homeowners, as well as professors, lawyers and other professionals, have been exercising their right to file information requests and to take the government to court if they are refused. Requested information ranges from data relating to one’s own personal situation, such as retirement benefits, real estate records, compensation standards for urban redevelopment, pet and education fees, to more “public interest” topics such as details on government expenses and budgets, the unpopular re-education-through-labor system, the use of fees imposed for the construction of the controversial Three Gorges Dam and for toll roads, environmental pollution and administrative penalties. The media, while not yet actively using the Regulations themselves, has been reporting and commenting on these cases enthusiastically, creating what was called a media “storm” in just the first week of their coming into effect and helping to educate the public about the new OGI system. In one reported case, a newspaper reporter did use the Regulations to obtain a copy of the official environmental impact assessment that approved construction of a controversial Paraxylene (PX) plant in Zhangzhou, after that plant was forced by citizen protests to relocate from Xiamen.[6] China’s emerging civil society has also started using the Regulations to further their policy and advocacy goals. The Chinese environmental protection community, bolstered by the environmental protection agency’s quick adoption of implementing measures on environmental information disclosure that extended to polluting companies,[7] has been particularly well organized in using the Regulations. Within the first several months, several non-profits had issued local citizen’s guides to obtaining environmental information and held workshops and training sessions about how to use the Regulations.[8] In September 2008, the non-profit Chinese Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, in cooperation with the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council, filed OGI requests with 113 cities across China for a list of polluters that had been penalized by the government and a list of local complaints and how they were handled, both categories of information that environmental protection bureaus are required to disclose on their own initiative.[9] The published results in June 2009 revealed uneven success in obtaining information and that only four of the cities scored above 60 points out of a possible 100 points, while the average score of all 113 cities was barely over 30 points. Nonetheless, the report observed the very fact they were able to conduct the assessment, as well as the results themselves, showed the “historic progress” already made in environmental transparency and public participation in China.[10] Another civic project that is tracking and rating government performance is the Peking University-based Center for Public Participation Studies and Supports, which under the leadership of Professor Wang Xixin conducted the OGI implementation evaluation mentioned above and which has formed an OGI Watch Alliance among academics around the country to