As a consequence, relationships between Chinese and Western entities are often undermined by dysfunctional patterns of language and behavior that emerge from disparate assumptions about openness as a political value. Despite changes in Chinese attitudes towards international agreements, including commitments requiring the surrender of previously guarded information, this uniquely Western and essentially moral disposition towards information is not shared by many Chinese individuals or generally recognized as important to the proper functioning of Chinese institutions. This is because both philosophically, and practically, they have an adversarial relationship with their public institutions, whose powers are checked by the individual's ability to examine and expose the actions of persons acting in a public capacity. Most Westerners perceive transparency as an intrinsic good and regard access to information, especially regarding the actions of public institutions and organizations, as an individual right. Many complain that the pace of behavioral change in China is too slow and that current practice reflects greater skill at managing information but not a change of norms. Western individuals who engage Chinese institutions have generally high expectations regarding access to information that are conditioned by their political values. Increased acceptance of transparency in economic behavior has facilitated greater openness in other areas of government activity, including the development and implementation of military and security policy. The Chinese Communist Party has pursued a development strategy requiring greater integration with the international economy that has obliged policy-makers to adopt more transparent practices and to develop an approach to information management that, while significantly different than those prevalent in most Western democracies, seems to be based on the premise that increased access to accurate information is generally beneficial to both individual Chinese citizens and the national interest. There are no objective standards used to measure transparency, but compared to its own past practice the Chinese government has increased the amount and frequency of information it releases to the public, expanded social competition over ideas, and relaxed its controls over information. ![]() The Chinese government is relatively non-transparent when compared to many other political institutions and organizations, but is becoming more open over time in response to evolving international expectations.
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