At a year-end press briefing held on Tuesday, officials from the State Council Information Office (SCIO) vowed to increase press accessibility and train more official spokespersons.

 

On the same day, the office published a list of 75 spokespersons for the 62 departments under the State Council that have started the news release scheme. It is the first time such a list has been made available.

 

SCIO Minister Zhao Qizheng said the list would be updated annually in the future.

 

The past year has seen dramatic improvement in the release of information regarding emergencies such as prevention and cure of bird flu, mining accidents and floods, according to Zhao.

 

"In the past, all the data had to be complete before the tragedies were made public. Now whatever information is available will be released," he stated.

 

The SCIO sponsored 60 news briefings involving 50 ministries and seven provinces in 2004, a significant change from the handful given a decade ago.

 

Ahead of each news briefing, notice of topic, time and venue is provided on the China Internet Information Center website (www.china.org.cn). In most cases, TV and radio stations and websites, including www.china.org.cn, offer live coverage of the conferences.

 

"Except for the Foreign Ministry and the Taiwan Affairs Office, ministries did not have a system for regular press briefings," he said. "We are pushing in that direction, but they must get the ball rolling."

 

After-hours accessibility, which will make government spokespersons available after normal working hours, is another area on the SCIO's agenda.

 

Despite this progress, some government departments have not been as responsive to press needs as they should be, said SCIO Vice Minister Wang Guoqing.

 

Some officials have not had much experience with the media, and some know little of media operations or their needs. "But things will gradually change," said Zhao.

 

In 2005, the SCIO will give priority when arranging news briefings to subjects that call for urgent media attention: those that concern the nation's economy, social planning, key policies and public livelihood.

 

It will also encourage large state-owned enterprises to appoint spokespeople based on the government model, and help set up similar systems at hospitals, schools and financial institutions.

 

For increased transparency of Party organizations, it will invite more senior officials from the Communist Party of China to its news conferences.

 

It will fine-tune the mechanism for releasing crisis-related information by organizing more timely briefings.

 

"We are the coordinator and organizer, not the one who makes the call," said Zhao, "but we encourage government spokespersons to talk more and improve their communications with media. That will increase the transparency and accountability of our governance."

 

 

The year in numbers: 2004

 

l        The State Council Information Office held 60 news briefings that involved 50 ministerial-level departments and seven provinces;

 

l        Forty-four State Council departments held their own news briefings, for a total of 270;

 

l        Twenty-eight provinces held a total of 460 news briefings;

 

l        Sixty-two State Council departments have developed spokesperson systems and have trained 75 spokespersons;

 

l        Twenty-three of 31 mainland provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have set up news release systems and 20 have official spokespersons;

 

l        A total of 2,000 spokespersons received training in two SCIO-based seminars and 14 others held locally.

 

(China.org.cn, China Daily December 29, 2004)