On April 25, China’s State Council, the chief administrative authority of China, issued a new set of regulations for government information disclosure. Shortly afterwards, Pan Yue, deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), announced that the provisionary measures on the disclosure of environmental information by various environmental departments will go into effect May 1, 2008. These measures — the first departmental rules relating to information disclosure — are a milestone in guaranteeing the public’s right to access environmental information. The measures will also allow wider public participation in environmental issues and will ensure the “rule of law” by relevant environmental administrations.