Some of my colleagues in Beijing Review and I attended almost all press conferences hosted by the Information Office of the State Council. I find that as more conferences are held, the quality is also rising. What's your opinion on this progress?

Since 2003, the number of press conferences hosted in the name of the Information Office has greatly increased, from 41 that year to 60 in 2004 and further to 68 in 2005. Plus the press conferences hosted by various departments under the State Council and those at the provincial level, the number totaled 1,088 last year, up 17 percent over 2004. The exploration and efforts in the past 13 years--in the past three years in particular--have made the Information Office's press conferences a "knockout product" of far-reaching influence.

As far as quality is concerned, the large amount of information issued by the Information Office is authoritative. The overall coordination and careful preparation ensure that the information is timely issued. Meanwhile, the method of information issuing is becoming standardized. It's true that the quality of press conferences has improved. At present, press conferences hosted by the Information Office as important channels for the issuing of government news are expanding their influence and becoming a window for the international community to know about China's government affairs. This function of these press conferences is reflected in the following four aspects:

First, conferences focus on crucial issues, hot topics and public incidents. As for such important issues as Sino-U.S. and China-European textile trade talks, the success of China's second manned space flight, as well as the outbreak, prevention and control of bird flu, the Information Office has invited heads of relevant departments to meet the media, briefing them on the situation and showing the government's standpoints.

Second, press conferences help a lot to promote the transparency of government and Party affairs. In 2005, those present at the Information Office's press conferences were not only heads from the Central Financial Work Leading Group, the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, but also leaders of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. They answered sensitive questions that the outside world was concerned about. The news and information and also the information issuing process are highly appreciated by both Chinese and foreign media.

Third, press conferences are organized before important activities, meetings and the issuing of important white papers. For instance, when activities about the 10th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women were held in Beijing, we invited vice-chairmen of the National People's Congress and the president and vice presidents of the All-China Women's Federation to attend the relevant press conference. There, they informed domestic and foreign journalists about the improvement of Chinese women's condition since the Fourth World Conference on Women was convened 10 years before in Beijing.

Fourth, press conferences are held to meet journalists' demand for information on the overall development of China's economy and society. In line with the development in China's economic, political, cultural, educational and other fields, we timely invite personnel from relevant government departments to introduce the latest development in these areas.

While news spokespersons are attracting more and more attention from the public and "media stars" are produced among them with the further development of the government's news release system, the system is still not standard enough in some government departments and localities. Additionally, some spokespersons "do not want to say," "are afraid to say" or "do not know how to say" when facing certain questions. What do you think about all this?

The function of news release can be generally described as the following: to brief the media on facts, explain policies, remove doubts, rebut rumors, clarify facts and guide the public opinion. As news releases are aimed at both the domestic and international public, spokespersons must be very competent. They are required not only to hold correct viewpoints and stands, but also to master the skills of communication and international cultural exchange. Most of the spokespersons in China are quite competent, but it's true that the news release system in some areas do not live up to the standard. The fact that some spokespersons "are reluctant to say" certain things reveals that although the news release system has been set up, specific rights and responsibilities are still obscure. Some spokespersons' fear of releasing information results from their unfamiliarity with the implementation of government policies, the decision-making process and overall work of the government. As for those who "do not know how to say," although the speech skills of these spokespersons have been greatly improved, there is still a lot to be done and their ability at information release needs to be further enhanced.

Spokespersons are people of "special identities" and are often seen on TV, which has put them in the limelight. The hardships and difficulties of this job, however, are always kept only to themselves. This job poses strict demands on every spokesperson and on everything they do in their work. Therefore, the Information Office of the State Council has spokespersons at three levels trained, and organized training courses in all provinces.