Police in China are to adopt regular news release systems at all levels to promote transparency of police affairs, said the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) in Beijing on Friday.

Meng Hongwei, assistant to minister, said all public security departments across the country are required to hold press conferences before Jan. 22, the Chinese lunar new year, to mark the official start of the system.

Meng said news releases would be mainly concerned with criminal cases, public order, road accidents, disasters, and measures taken to protect public safety.

The ministry and the public security departments at provincial level would hold press conferences once a month, and departments at municipal level once a fortnight, or every week in actual need.

Public security departments would also file immediate media reports of sudden events, Meng said.

The ministry has appointed its own spokespeople and set up a special task group for them in July 2003.

On Dec. 15, 2003, the ministry issued at its regular press conference a list of the first identified "East Turkistan" terrorist organizations and 11 alleged terrorists.

(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2004)