As the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and National People's Congress (NPC) open their respective last annual sessions, we see beyond their agendas an inspiring precedent with far-reaching impact both at home and abroad.
We are talking about the bold new moves in advancing transparency, in particular for media coverage of the sessions.
For the first time in more than half a century of NPC and CPPCC meetings, the two institutions' news centers published all delegations' contact information with addresses accompanied by detailed maps.
Until this year, CPPCC and NPC delegations' whereabouts during their annual sessions in Beijing were considered internal affairs, though no law defines their whereabouts as classified information.
There is another important first journalists from overseas can directly contact CPPCC members and NPC deputies for interviews. In the past, they had to first get approval from the official news centers or press officials of local delegations.
In addition to direct contact, they can still use the news centers for assistance. We congratulate our overseas counterparts on receiving the overdue convenience. We know how frustrating making contact can be when reporting on alien territory.
We appreciate our authorities' honoring their promise of greater convenience for our foreign colleagues before and during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They will not regret showing such hospitality.
Foreign reporters will also feel more at home this year thanks to the authorities' efforts to lower the language barrier. They will no longer be frustrated by difficulties in fathoming the Chinese-only report of the NPC Standing Committee and the texts of proposed laws.
This year, the documents will be translated into English. In addition, the all-important report on government work will be translated into six languages, and the yearly reports on development and budget plans will be in five.
Numerous topics of major interest will be addressed during the two parallel sessions. Better knowledge about the functioning of our political machinery is indispensable for our citizens as well as outsiders.
Better access for the foreign press is an important move in this direction. The authorities will see their courage and consideration pay off.
(China Daily 03/05/2007 page4)
