China Spokespersons Forum was held in Beijing on Sunday. The event drew attendees from around the country, including spokespersons from central and local governments, and representatives of media outlets and academia.
The forum focused on the development and innovation of China's spokespersons system. The participants discussed the system's role in state-governance, national image, and China's economic reform and opening up.
China's spokespersons system began with the country's Foreign Ministry in 1983. It has seen a rapid growth, especially in the past 15 years.
Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, Xu Lin, said Beijing hopes spokespeople can become a bridge to better connect China with the rest of the world, serve as a window to further present the country, and act as a channel to fully and deeply share information about China.
“We aim to communicate with people, and create a transparent government,” said Liu Xiaoying, the director of International Journalism Research Center at the Communication University of China.
Beijing issued regulations on governmental information disclosure in 2007, which serve as a legal foundation for the spokespersons system.
A spokeswoman of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Lyu Jing, says that the system has become more transparent and open.
“We take the initiative in releasing our information, such as issuing reports on China's development in science and technology every year. We have press briefings on all important news events, and all the information is published on our website, so the society can play a supervisory role.”
With China more involved in international affairs, spokespersons deal with foreign media outlets more often.
A spokeswoman with China's National Health Commission, Song Shuli, says that information transparency is the key.
“Transparency is the best cure to clarify misunderstandings. Take organ transplants for example, we organized foreign media outlets to visit local hospitals. They saw the organ donation system, and how they are distributed in person. There is nothing to hide. We want foreign media to come here to see the real China.”