Government spokesmen must be truthful

Government spokesmen must be truthful and not mouthpieces of vested interests, says an article in China Business News. (excerpts below).

Liu Tienan, the deputy director of China's top development planning organ, the National Development and Reform Commission, was sacked after an investigation into a breach of Party discipline.

An informer from an investigative magazine in China, who exposed Liu's misconduct, had been criticized by a spokesman from Liu's department as a spreader of rumors.

The position and role of spokesmen and women is vital for the government to gets its message across. But this does not mean they should just automatically say what they are told to say. They have to be objective.

Many government spokesmen were civil servants before taking the post. They lack professional training and do not know how to do the job to its full potential.

They can represent their departments without losing perspective or just represent the views of an individual. Failure to do this can result in harm to their department.