adminAddressing information and media officers from different stables in Zimbabwe during the on-going three-week seminar in Beijing, the chief director of the Information Office of the State Council, Mr Hu Kai Hong, said a lot still needs to be done to ensure that information got to the intended benefactors on time.
Speaking through a translator, he said the main function of the office is to introduce and explain to the world what China is doing.
Mr Hu said China has put in place a three tier press release system, which covers the central government, ministries of central government, provincial and municipal levels.
He said as a way of improving information flow, the information office was now holding at least two press conferences per week and have more than 10 000 officers to date.
Mr Hu noted that the system was now maturing in line with the country’s rapid economic development as a result of its opening up and reform policies.
China, he said, has around 300 foreign media organisations operating in the country with about 800 journalists.
The registration of the journalists to operate China is the prerogative of the Foreign Office and their operations are guided by the 537 State Orders of 2008.
Once registered, the media practitioners are expected to operate under the laws of China, he said.
Mr Hu said press conferences were held when the Government puts forward new strategies or policies, when a white paper is being launched and when there are contingencies or emergencies.
The Information Office of the State Council facilitates and organises press conferences while government officials, mainly deputy ministers, who are spokespersons in most instances, do briefings.
He said despite the huge steps that have been made in this area, there was a need for more improvement as the office still received complaints from media practitioners, especially foreign ones.
While his office prefers joint interviews for all media houses, Mr Hu noted that some media practitioners prefer individual interviews “so that they come up with their own story”.
The visiting journalists and information officers have so far visited the Stadium of Olympic Games, the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall, and the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall.
On Wednesday, the group visited Hancunhe Village, which is one of the model villages established in the 1990s in line with China’s plans to bring development to the rural areas.
derick.khumalo