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NPC's first spokeswoman shares her experience

By Wang Zhenghua (chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2015-03-11 17:37:08

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The first spokeswoman in the history of China's top legislative body said all questions will be answered and her job was to accurately convey the message of the congress.

In an interview with The Beijing News, Fu Ying, who has been named as the spokesperson for the annual NPC session for the third time, shared how she prepares for the NPC news conferences and her experiences working as a spokeswoman.

Fu, 62, answered a total of 15 questions at the opening press conference for the Third Session of the 12th NPC on Mar 10, impressing the public with her intellectual demeanor and elegance.

"We need to learn the hot topics that drew society and the media's attention before each year's NPC press conference," she was quoted as saying in a report published on Wednesday.

"On top of that we collected the materials and got ready for all kinds of questions."

Most of the law-related materials are provided by NPC's different commissions and its standing committee, with many originating from the work report by Zhang Dejiang, the country's top legislator.

"What really takes time is to translate the statements into everyday language. You have to be clear and express the message in the most effective way," she said.

When answering a question about recent frictions between some mainland Chinese tourists and Hong Kong residents at Mar 10's press conference, for example, Fu said the two sides, which she described as "brothers", should practice mutual respect and "think more of each other's good".

"We tried to cover all the sections when preparing," she said. "On principle, all the questions that people are concerned with should be answered."

She called the NPC press conference a "very serious" platform, and the aim is to deliver the correct message instead of giving credence to rumors.

Working in the foreign affairs section for decades, Fu was promoted in 2010 to vice-foreign minister, in charge of Asian, border and oceanic affairs, including China's territorial disputes with Japan.

Two years ago, the woman moved to a brand new stage in her life when she was named the NPC's spokeswoman at the age of 60.

"It's hard to take a new role at my age," she said. "All my knowledge and experience was related to foreign affairs, but my job now covers many sectors of internal affairs."

She said she read quite a number of thick books and tried to adapt to the role by taking part in the NPC discussions about lawmaking issues.

She also said the questions by the Chinese media always hit the point and the trick to replying to foreign media is to tread a very fine line.