China will improve the reporting environment for foreign journalists as the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games draw closer, according to new regulations released on Friday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao assured foreign journalists: "When you interview a person, you only need the consent of the interviewee."

The spokesman said foreign journalists will not have to apply to local foreign affairs offices for permission to conduct an interview, and local officials cannot ask "what are you doing here?"

However, Liu stressed, foreign journalists are not exempt from procedures necessary for all foreign travellers to western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region.

The new regulations, which will take effect on January 1, 2007 and expire on October 17, 2008, are applicable to journalists based in China and those coming for temporary reporting missions.

Liu did not comment directly on whether China would then shift back to the current management of foreign reporters, adopted in 1990, saying simply that the reporting environment in China would improve.

He also said the new rules do not limit foreign journalists to sporting issues even though they are accredited for the Olympic Games. "So we added the phrase 'related matters' which actually expands the scope of foreign journalists for coverage in China into fields including politics, economy and society," he said.

In response to reporters' concerns on how the local government will adhere to the rules, Liu said officials at various levels will be well instructed in a bid to implement the regulation in a faithful and comprehensive way.

As for reporters from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said relevant authorities are considering drafting a corresponding new set of regulations.

Foreign reporters welcomed the news. Jaime FlorCruz, CNN's Beijing bureau chief, said the new rules would greatly facilitate communication between China and the rest of the world.

"We can see that the Olympics is changing China and the country is getting more and more open. I hope the spirit of the regulation can be well transmitted to the local authorities," he said.

Petra Kolonko, bureau chief of German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine, said she has been in China for five years and has been waiting for such rules for long time.

"The biggest change in the new rules is that I am able to go to other places in addition to Beijing to cover the story more freely, and I am really happy about that," she said.

Other major changes in the regulation include more scope to bring in and use equipment, and relaxation on the rules about hiring Chinese nationals to work for foreign news organizations.

China is expecting tens of thousands more journalists from overseas to come to Beijing for the 2008 Games.

(China Daily 12/02/2006 page1)