The Media and Communications Department of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and Beijing municipal information authorities held a New Year reception for information officers of foreign embassies and Beijing-based overseas journalists on Monday.

Jiang Xiaoyu, excutive vice president of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) speaks at the reception.[BOCOG]

BOCOG Executive Vice President Jiang Xiaoyu, who attended the reception, said the recently published Regulations on Reporting Activities in China by Foreign Journalists During the Beijing Olympic Games and the Preparatory Period will come into force as of January 1, 2007.

The announcement and implementation of the Regulations constitute a major move of the Chinese government to abide by the international practices and honor bid promises, which will ensure that the Olympiad related needs be met and quality and convenient services be provided for the foreign journalists.

According to information obtained here, in line with the Regulations, the Beijing municipal government and BOCOG will in 2007 enhance contact and cooperation with foreign embassies and overseas media, provide timely, thorough and convenient services for overseas journalists, with an aim to make Beijing and the Beijing Olympic Games more widely known.

Beginning January 1, the weekly press conference by the Beijing Olympic Press Center will be a regular event to update the press on Beijing's economic development and the progress made in Olympic preparations.

The official website of the BEIJING 2008 Olympic Games will serve as an important window of BOCOG for day-to-day information release through the website's quality delivery.

The Beijing Olympic Press Center will set up a 24-hour working schedule and a working mechanism to provide "one stop service" for the arrangement of news coverage by Chinese and foreign journalists. BOCOG will continue to invite senior journalists and columnists from overseas to visit Beijing for on-spot news coverage.

Over 100 people, including press officers of British, French, Japanese, Italian, Greek, Spanish embassies and the EU mission in Beijing as well as media representatives and journalists from 40 plus countries and regions attended the reception.

Present at the function were Cai Fuchao, member of the Standing Committee and chief of the Publicity Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Vice Mayor of Beijing Lu Hao.