China is revising its law on state secrets, which dates back to 1969, to include the Internet and other technology developments. The draft law covers efforts to safeguard secrets and prevent leaks. A recent government study showed that 70 percent of leaks occurred through the Internet. The new law includes adding firewalls and ensuring that computers with state secrets are not connected to the Internet, but the focus is on greater efficiency. Xinhua reports that while the United States generates about 100,000 classified documents a year China has millions, but some progress has been made in reducing the number. “In 2004, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declassified diplomatic documents compiled after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, a pioneering move among government agencies. In 2005 . . . it was announced that death tolls in natural disasters and related information were no longer considered as state secrets.”

Posted by Ellen Wallace on 23 June 2009 at 6:47 | permalink
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News story, GenevaLunch, 23 June 2009.

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