Public information disclosure practices and civic participation: The roles of social justice perceptions and internet use

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between public information disclosure practices and civic participation and the roles of social justice perceptions and internet use in that relationship. Our data comes from the 2019 Chinese Social Survey (CSS, 2019), a large nationwide household survey across 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities). To ensure data relevance to our main variables, we conducted screening, resulting in the retention of data from 9 621 participants (female= 56. 73%; mean age= 46.62 years, SD = 14.22 years). The results indicated that public information disclosure practices were associated with higher levels of civic participation. Specifically, public information disclosure practices positively affected institutional civic participation and negatively affected non-institutional civic participation. Moreover, citizens’ perception of social justice indirectly mediated civic participation. Internet use moderated the relationship between public information disclosure practices and the perception of social justice. These findings underscore the importance of types of public information disclosures in routine civil society governance. By implication, public information disclosures are tools for empowered civic participation with social justice.