The increasing number of press conferences convened by the State
Council Information Office, other central government departments
and local governments is a gesture of the country's resolve to open
wider to the outside world.
Cai Wu, minister of the State Council Information Office,
revealed yesterday that the total number of such conferences
surpassed 1,400 this year, some 300 more than 2006 and touched a
much wider range of topics.
The regular training of spokespersons organized by the office has
undoubtedly contributed to the progress of the country's press
releases and the system. And the ever-increasing awareness of the
importance of press releases by officials at various levels has
also contributed to its boom.
As a matter of fact, the country's opening to the outside world
in the past three decades is also a process for the country's
governments at various levels to learn to establish the right
channels to communicate with both the domestic and foreign
press.
In this respect, the initiation and development of the press
release and spokesperson system makes a difference not only to the
knowledge about China by outside world but also to the general
public of this country, who are entitled to be told about what
their governments are doing.
To be honest, the information explosion characterized by the
rapid development of the Internet has made it imperative for
governments to open channels to keep the general public informed
about their work.
The press conferences convened by the governments focused on
such issues as energy resources, product quality, food safety,
healthcare reform and other matters of concern to the daily life of
residents. Such communication brings the general public closer to
their governments.
The fact that the initial cover-up of death tolls in disastrous
incidents as the one about SARS (special acute respiratory
syndrome) in 2003 has seldom occurred in the past four years
represents conspicuous progress of this system.
Of course, we cannot say for sure that there is no possibility
of information spinning by administrative departments in their
favor. But the momentum in building a clean and honest government
will certainly push the progress of the press release and
spokesperson system in the years to come.
(China Daily December 28, 2007)