(7) The right to be heard

The state will take effective measures to develop the press and publications industry and ensure that all channels are unblocked to guarantee citizens' right to be heard.

- Institutional guarantees for the legitimate rights of news agencies and journalists will be strengthened, the legitimate rights and interests of news agencies, journalists, editors and the person(s) concerned in news items safeguarded, and journalists' right to gathering materials, criticize, comment and publish ensured in accordance with the law. The government will continue to push forward the reform and development of television stations, radio stations, the Internet and the newspaper industry. Efforts will be made to reach the goal of 1,000 people having 90 daily newspapers and every family having 0.3 news-paper, on average, by 2010.

- Laws, regulations and rules governing the Internet will be improved to promote the orderly development and application of the Internet and guarantee citizens' right to use the Internet in accordance with the law.

- Laws and regulations related to the press, publishing, radio, film and television will be improved. The amendment of the Regulations on the Administration of Publications will be launched, and the responsibility of people's governments at all levels in protecting legal publications will be clearly spelled out. The government will research and draft the Regulations on Copyright Protection of Folk Literature and Artistic Works, and improve the legislation and systems regarding the guarantee of radio and television transmission, and motion pictures.

- The state will give full play to the positive role of social organizations in expanding public participation and reporting their petitions for improvement of the self-governance capability of society. The proportions of deputies from social organizations to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC) at all levels will be increased. People's governments at all levels, when formulating major laws, regulations and public policies, will solicit opinions and comments from social organizations. Industry associations and chambers of commerce will solicit suggestions from their respective trades and enterprises; learned societies and research societies will study the demands of the common people; foundations and organizations of a public welfare nature will report to authorities the appeals and demands of the underprivileged; and neighborhood organizations in both urban and rural areas will get to know social conditions and public opinions better. All these measures are aimed at guiding people to express their opinions in a reasonable way and participate in public affairs in an orderly way.

- The channels for people to make complaints in the form of letters and visits will be broadened and remain unblocked. The government will open up different channels, including Green Post, special telephone lines, online complaints and agencies, to ensure that the people can voice their petitions by letter, fax, e-mail or other written forms. A nationwide complaint information system will be built, a state-level office to deal with complaints set up, and a system to solicit suggestions from the people established and improved, so as to make it convenient for the people to voice their petitions, report problems and offer suggestions. We will persist in the system that Party and government leaders read letters from the people and make comments or issue instructions on them and receive visitors on a regular basis. Efforts will be made to improve the system in which Party and government leaders, deputies to Party congresses, deputies to people's congresses and CPPCC members take the initiative to contact people who make complaints through letters and visits, so as to safeguard the people's legitimate rights and interests.