About 90 percent of China's public think being a journalist is a "dangerous but admirable" profession and support legislation to protect journalist's rights, according to a survey released Monday, Nov. 8, China's Journalist Day.

The survey conducted by the Chinese Business View, received 4, 446 respondents, with 64.1 percent aged between 18 and 40 and 75.1 percent residing in big or medium sized Chinese cities.

Over 74 percent of the public regard journalists as "people with great social responsibility." Over 95 percent think journalists have made enormous contributions to social development, and 95.7 percent regard public opinion as "important" in promoting economic development and democracy.

In the public view, journalists are exposed to dangers including assaults, threats, injuries or death, and 92.2 percent of the public support legislation protecting journalist's rights of interviewing, dissemination and supervision through news reporting.

Dangerous as it might be, 74.6 percent of the public consider journalist an admirable profession, and 35 percent said that they would choose journalist as their profession if given the chance.

According to a survey conducted among Chinese journalists in 2003 by the China Journalists Association, an organization that provides legal consultation and legal aid to journalists, over half of the 1,476 journalist respondents have encountered hindrance, assaults and damage to their equipment during interviews.

"Most of the complaints we have received from journalists are hindrance, abuse, damage of equipment, illegal detention during interviews or revenge on them afterwards," said an official with the association. 

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2004)