Society

Foreign scribes 'welcome'

By Chen Jia and Li Yingqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-26 07:51

KUNMING: When Khieu Kola, a Cambodian television journalist, arrived in Kunming to cover the 11th Yunnan provincial people's congress session, he never imagined he would become the story.

Wu Hao, deputy director of the publicity department of the Party Committee of Yunnan, gave Kola the opportunity to be the second to ask his questions right after State-run Xinhua News Agency was done with theirs.

This is the second year that the local government has allowed foreign journalists to attend the annual "two sessions", which conclude on Jan 26, and received eight applications from six countries.

Yunnan is the only province in China to have left the doors of the political meetings open to foreign scribes.

"I wonder when Kunming and Phnom Penh (capital of Cambodia) would become 'friendship cities'," Kola asked Wu.

"This is my first visit to China and I am impressed with Yunnan's economic development and the boost in tourism," Kola told China Daily on the sidelines of the meeting.

Some other foreign applicants, who are covering this year's sessions, are from Thailand, Pakistan, Laos and Vietnam.

Masood Sattar Khan, the special correspondent of the Associated Press (AP) in Pakistan, was here last year too.

"I am glad to see that more officials could speak English during interviews this year, and that makes our communication more direct and clear," he said.

Kong Keo of the Lao News Agency said she is impressed that women have also occupied some important posts in the government.

"I heard that the governor of Xishuangbanna (the southernmost prefecture of Yunnan) is a female. I'd like to have a chance to interview her," she said.

Kirana Inchaya, a journalist from Thairath newspaper, said her interviews with officials would focus on "education exchange and cooperation" between the two sides.

"Chinese has become a compulsory course in public schools in Thailand," she said, adding that an increasing number of Thai youngsters are keen on learning Chinese, thanks to the blossoming bilateral ties.