BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Chinese media) -- Osman Erol, a Turkish
reporter based in Beijing, says it's much easier to interview local government
officials or state company managers this year.
"Local officials were often afraid of talking with
foreign reporters as they were worried about making mistakes," said the Beijing
Bureau Chief of Turkey's Cihan News Agency.
He became a correspondent in China in 2004. Back
then, he said permission from the local foreign affairs departments was required
to report outside the country's capital.
"The permits often took hours or even days to get,
which is quite inconvenient," Erol said.
China's new foreign media rules, issued Friday, would
make reporting in China more convenient, the State Council Information Office
Director (SCIO) Wang Chen told Chinese media.
Worries about whether China would continue being open
to the foreign media after the Games, surfaced months ago.
Liu Binjie, the General Administration of Press and
Publication minister, told Chinese media in July that being open to foreign media was a
long-term policy rather than a makeshift "puff of wind."
According to the new rules, foreign journalists no
longer need the accompany of relevant departments while interviewing
organizations or individuals in China.
The new rules went in to effect Oct. 17. They also
replace temporary media regulations introduced on Jan. 1, 2007 for the Beijing
Olympics. That was the first time the country removed media restrictions on
foreign reporters.
"The new regulations are an important step toward
making China more open," said Jocelyn Ford, a correspondent for U.S. Public
Radio.
"The free flow of information is important for China
and important for the world. The more global influence a nation wields, the more
responsibility it has to be transparent and accountable."
The new rules, coherent to the Olympic regulations,
are significantly different from those issued in 1990. In the form of a
long-lasting law, the 23-point rules make the temporary arrangement a standard
practice, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao.
According to the rules, foreign reporters now only
need permission from the person or organization being interviewed although there
are some exceptions.
"Foreign reporters still need to ask for permission
to do reporting in Tibet and other areas that are off-limits to foreign
reporters, like some military facilities," Liu said.
OPEN POLICY STRENGTHENED
China's new rules for foreign media reflect the
country's determination to carry on the policy of opening-up to the outside
world, SCIO Director Wang said.
He said the new rules draw on the experience of
providing service and managerial assistance for foreign correspondents during
the Beijing Olympics.
"Chinese government welcomes foreign media and
reporters and we hope more stories about the country will be told to the world.
We will spare no effort to provide help and service to them," Wang said.
Analysts believe the new foreign media rules
institutionalize the country's current openness and transparency.
Liu Xiaoying, professor with the International
Communication College under the China Communication University said, "The free
flow of information had become an irreversible trend in China."
He added, "The speed of openness has become
increasingly fast in recent years and it is much better than being closed off."
A week before the Olympics, President Hu Jintao
pledged China would continue to welcome foreign journalists and facilitate their
reporting whether it was before or after the Games. Hu made the statement during
a joint interview with journalists from 25 international news organizations in
the Great Hall of the People.
"China has always opened its door to the outside
world," the president said.
The rules on government information transparency,
which took effect on May 1, required governments at all levels to open
information involving public interests, policies or activities to the public.
They also said people are entitled to know bureaucratic setups, functions and
procedures, and any other information legally defined as "public".
Statistics show the SCIO organized 72 news
conferences last year. Central government departments held 547 press conferences
and local governments held 789.
Huang Youyi, deputy director-general and
editor-in-chief of China International Publishing Group, said, "Sadly some
foreign media reported inaccurate information about China. I believe with more
foreign reporters coming, the proportion of accurate reports will increase."
Ford said, "It is normal for influential nations to
face critical reports from around the world. The free flow of information plays
an important role in helping societies correct problems before they become too
big, for example in the case of the current milk scandal."
She also added, "It's difficult for foreign
correspondents to report accurately about China if we are not able to travel
freely and talk freely with a wide variety of people, or if authorities
discourage some Chinese citizens from sharing their views with us. When
government authorities refuse interviews, we also cannot reflect their views."
Professor Liu, who offers professional training to
local government spokesmen, said some people still felt nervous and tried to
shun foreign reporters.
Those occurrences made overseas reporters believe
that central Chinese departments were easier to speak with but local officials
hard to get close to.
"The situation is changing now. Some local
departments have become very open while dealing with the media," Liu said.
Erol, the reporter from Turkey, said many officials
and members of the public are now more willing to be interviewed by foreign
reporters, making his work in China easier.
He noticed that there were fewer negative reports
from journalists about China during the Olympics because foreign reporters could
gain a better understanding of the country.
"A lack of understanding can lead news reports to be
unsatisfactory or misleading," said Erol.
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