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ISSUE 69 Some people believe it is often necessary, even desirable, for political leaders to withhold information from the public. Others believe that the public has a right to be fully informed.
Political leaders, largely representing theirparty, are in most cases funded by the public. It is natural for a politicalleader to make his public informed on daily operations and future project. Thisrelationship is particularly analogous to some research foundations and labs:The patrons give out their money voluntarily in exchange for some future achievementsbeneficial to their own, and without doubt, they have the right to keep focusedon the ongoing progress and expenditure.
This righteous demand, however, issometimes contradicted by political leaders, in the name of "maintainingthe public security", especially when they are in the control of a stateor nation. They often show their confidence in security and their leadershipgroups, and then claim that they have given the public the best choice that aleader can offer. But historically, it has been repeatedly proved a vicious wayof maintain their political power, and a self-fish disguise of pursing theirown interest, but with no regard to their people. Let's take the Chernobylmeltdown, for example. When the reactor exploded, the then Ukrainianauthorities and Soviet officials, who were in fear of the potential riot, made thenews confidential and insidiously covered up everything. Though ironically, itwas known to everyone in the upper echelons, the authorities still launched a campaignto persuade Ukrainians nothing was wrong. The people in town of Chernobyl,which was just nine miles from the reactor, not evacuated in time, thus sufferedtragically, and thousands of cases of cancer aroused are now thought to belinked to the disaster.
Essential though it might be, it is actuallyimpractical, and also impossible, to ask a political leader to unveil all theinformation, since there indeed exists some projects or documents, which, forinstance, may aim at eliminating terrorists. In the consideration of nationalsecurity, no one in the country will deny the importance of confidentiality.But in fact, the public are not so concerned with the information itself, butcare more about the freedom of practicing their rights. The public can never bedeprived of this justifiable right, but the corresponding response frompolitical leaders then becomes a tricky problem.
Fortunately, we have another element in thesociety. The law, which is always dependent of both the public and politicalleaders, can serve as a fair solution, since the leaders then could beprotected under the provision of law. As a result, the law provides a win-winsolution, and brings this game to an end -- both sides finally manage to seek abalance that is most profitable. As the public are endowed with rights to makesure there's no corruption, they will not be discontent with the politicalleaders and the political leaders, on the other hand, would be pleased to findthemselves no longer stuck in a dilemma between revealing the official secretsand facing public censure. |
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