(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-05 07:32

Citizens have the right to know the truth, says an article in Beijing News. The following is an excerpt:

Li Yizhong, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, said he wished he would never need to appear in front of the public to tell of disasters; Huang Yi, spokesman of the administration, made a similar comment, saying that if he were the spokesman for only disasters, he hoped the less he showed up, the better. Both of them expressed their wish that disasters would not happen.

But citizens can understand the spokesman. He speaks the truth to the public so that they will know what is going on. Although people hate to be informed of mining disasters, they cannot evade the cruel facts.

Citizens have the right to know the truth - the number of deaths, the reason behind the tragedy, and progress of the investigation.

If the truth cannot be made public, justice cannot be seen to be done. Therefore, the teller of truths is always welcomed by the public, no matter whether the news is good or bad.

The value of spokesmen does not lie in good or bad news, but in the truth.

(China Daily 03/05/2008 page9)