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Openness to foreign media to remain after Games

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-30 20:01

BEIJING - China will remain open to foreign media after the Olympic Games, a senior official in charge of press and publishing industry said on Wednesday.

Liu Binjie, the General Administration of Press and Publication minister, said openness to the foreign media was a long-term policy rather than a makeshift "puff of wind."

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"China's open door to the foreign media will not close after the Games," he said.

"We regard the May 12 earthquake and the Olympic Games as an 'important test' of the media operation system reforms and will explore building a more open and transparent media system after the Games."

The government issued a series of regulations at the end of 2006, which stipulated foreign journalists could conduct interviews in China as long as they had consent from the intended interviewees.

However, some feared the open door would be shut after the Games, since these regulations would expire in October.

"We are mapping out a new regulation that we are confident will make China's media still more open and transparent," he said, without giving further details.

Liu said media openness and transparency was in line with China's interests.

"With the country's media coverage of emergencies becoming more timely, rumors are losing ground," he noted. "The timely and transparent coverage of the May 12 earthquake functioned as a bridge, showing the world a real and open China."

Some critics have said that since thousands of domestic and foreign journalists were expected to flood into the country during the August Games, the government would be extremely nervous about possible negative reports.

"We always welcome goodwill and constructive criticism," Liu said. "We are confident of being challenged by journalists after 30 years of reform and opening-up."

"The open-door policy has shown the confidence of the Chinese government," said Yin Yungong, a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences senior journalism expert.

"The negative reports, which can be seen in every country, cannot negate what China has achieved over the past 30 years."

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