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No sense in spiking news

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-16 07:38

Openness in information should not be considered an Olympic-driven expediency; rather, it is a product of social and economic progress, says an article in Beijing News. The following is an excerpt:

Information on two accidents that occurred in Beijing on Saturday was made available for the public on time. Some may prefer filtering of bad news during the coming Olympic period just for the sake of holding the games perfectly, but it is an outdated mindset in the information age.

In an open society, ensuring people timely access to information is a basic obligation for the government. And only the lack of such an access could be negative news.

Admittedly, for a relatively long time, keeping things confidential has been the routine practice of government officials. People were unable to know government information or progress on major emergencies. However, the level of security does not grow with the number of secrets; more often than not, it is only the opposite.

To meet the need for information during the Games, which will bring China into worldwide focus, we should both speed up and scale up our work on opening up information. Only by this way, can we nip rumors in the bud. And in this regard, the treatment to the two accidents, one a helicopter crash and the other the interruption in the subway because of a man jumping onto it, made a good start.

No country in the world can avoid bad news. Releasing them on time can not only defend civil rights and save social costs, but also win time for both public and official efforts in dealing with them.

To show the world a real China, we also display our country's openness. In this respect, the Olympics offers a chance to review the progress we have gradually made in pursuing openness in information during the past 30 years.

(China Daily 07/16/2008 page8)