What will your office do to improve it?

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway will bring challenges to our government’s work for new thoughts will flood in where people’s thinking used to be shut off from the outside world. Therefore, we have to be more open-minded.

With the opening up of Tibet, the outside world has an increasing interest in this place, in its politics, economy and social affairs. In the past, the information outflow from Tibet was largely carried out by traditional media. With the Internet so prevalent, more people are resorting to the Web for information. But the construction of online information platforms is still backward here in Tibet with too few portals for people to turn to.

In many public emergencies the voice of the government is quite important to maintaining social stability. If the government wants to have its voice heard first, it should be open and tell the truth since we all know we are living in a world where the media are so strong that no happenings can escape their eyes.

We will also endeavor to perfect the spokesperson system and cultivate a stronger spokesperson team to adapt to the new reality.

What is your personal experience as a major proponent of the spokesperson system in Tibet?

I took this job in July 2004. At my first press conference, I was a little nervous because I was not so familiar with the procedures and was afraid of unexpected sharp questions from the reporters. Anyway, it turned out to be fine.

After spending some time on this post, I began to think about two things. The first one is to get more spokespersons used to this system, to get a better understanding of the relationship between government agencies and the news media. The other is to raise the requirement for reporters. I hope they can make good use of a news conference to provide a real picture of Tibet to the outside world. This is an interactive approach, and later I found the two sides worked together better than before.

As for myself, I have attempted to insert more human interest and less government jargon into my press conferences. I also do my best to help those who want to get in touch with the outside world through the channel of press conferences. Now the officials in Tibet have become more open and brave to face the cameras and reporters.

I feel both honor and a heavy responsibility on my shoulders to serve as a spokeswoman for Tibet. But as some government leaders still pay insufficient attention to this platform, I often find press conferences not so interactive or vibrant. I hope reporters can challenge the spokespersons and our spokespersons can handle their questions with more humor. However, such an occurrence is rare. I’m content with most of the 44 press conferences over which I’ve presided. We have some improvements to make in regard to the system, the mindset and the foresight. Tibet, as it is gradually approaching the outside world, will show its glamour and confidence based on its own development.