Den kinesiska gästforskaren Xiaowei Chen är i Sverige för att forska om den svenska offentlighetsprincipen och jämföra den med den tyska och den kinesiska motsvarigheten. Både den tyska och den kinesiska är relativt nya i förhållande till Sveriges 250-åriga offentlighetsprincip. Syftet med studierna är att kunna ta med lärdomar hem till Tyskland men främst till Kina. Forskningen sker mellan 1/5 och 30/6 2017.
Vill du ta kontakt med Xiaowei Chen för intervju eller annat ändamål kopplat till hennes forskning når du henne via de följande uppgifterna:
E-post: [email protected]
Alternativ e-post: mattias[at]okfn[dot]se
Här nedan följer frågor som vi ställt henne angående hennes gästforskning här i Sverige.
What brings you to research this topic of Freedom of Information in Sweden?
– I came from Beijing last September to Berlin and have been researching about the Freedom of Information in Germany under the support of Alexander Humboldt Foundation and Open Knowledge Foundation Germany. I want to do a comparison between Germany and Sweden.
What is your intention with your research in Sweden?
– Sweden has his reputation and tradition for being an international leader of transparency. Germany is relatively young with the law “Informationsfreiheitsgesetz” (Freedom of Information) since 2006 and China has a regulation only since 2008. Both countries have a lot to learn from Sweden.
What do you hope to get out of your research here?
– Through the eight weeks in Sweden I will try to understand the governmental structure and its social impact, what media and NGO does to keep a transparent environment. And I am particularly interested in the development of the governmental tradition in this country, which is unthinkable in China and even in Germany.
What have you found out during your research in Germany so far?
– I have spoken to some German government officers, lawyers, journalists and NGOs. Already I find the Swedish term public servant more interesting than government officer used in Germany and China. I think the Germans do carry out their law seriously – which is compared to many other countries a great thing! Yet there are a lot of things to improve: The law itself could be improved at many points, and the German government could also show more willingness to cooperate with social communities on this issue.
What could help your research in Sweden?
– I’m extremely grateful to the support of Open Knowledge Sweden, in the past two weeks I have tried to organize meetings with public servant, lawyers, journalists and NGOs. It would be great if to meet a lot of people who could take some time for an interview, and also great if they can recommend someone or some organization which I can interview or make use of in some way for my research!
How will you relate this research to China and the current situation there?
– China is making some efforts but this will take a long period, and it also takes a lot of courage and wisdom. The culture and tradition is completely different, if not opposite. I think it’s important to show Chinese people, especially the young generation, that there are different ways to run a government.
Open Knowledge Sverige har äran att bjuda in och vara värd för Ms. Xiaowei Chen, gästforskare från The Alexander Humboldt Foundation. Ms. Xiaowei Chen besöker Stockholm och Sverige för forskning från och med 1/5 till och med 30/6 2017. Om du är intresserad av att ta kontakt med Ms. Xiaowei Chen för att stödja hennes forskning och tillhandahålla inlägg vänligen se kontaktdetaljer i början av denna pressrelease.
Open Knowledge Sverige är väldigt stolta att få facilitera besöket av Ms. Xiaowei Chen som en forskare som studerar och granskar den svenska offentlighetsprincipen.
English:
Open Knowledge Sweden have the honor to invite and host Ms. Xiaowei Chen, visiting scholar from The Alexander Humboldt Foundation. Ms. Xiaowei Chen is visiting Stockholm and Sweden for research between 1st of May 2017 until 30th of June 2017. If you are interested to get in touch with Ms. Xiaowei Chen to support the research and provide input please see contact details in the beginning of this press release.
Open Knowledge Sweden are very proud to facilitate the visit of Ms. Xiaowei Chen as a scholar to research and scrutinize Swedish Freedom of Information law.
