Beijing: If freedom granted to foreign journalists ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games prove beneficial to its development, China might think of opening up the foreign press even after the mega sports event ends.
China had issued a new set of regulations granting foreign journalists more freedom to report in China on December 1.
The country’s top publicity official Cai Wu gave more hints at granting even more freedom on Thursday.
The regulations will come into force on January 1, 2007, and expire on October 17, 2008, said a Xinhua report.
"If the new regulations prove beneficial to our development and to exchanges between us and foreign media, and if they aid communication with the international community, then I imagine there will be no need to change the policy,” said Cai, speaking to reporters in Beijing.
However, he pointed out these were his "personal views" and not a formal announcement.
Cai said that the new regulations contained several changes from the "Regulations on the Supervision of Foreign Journalists and Resident Foreign News Organs" issued in 1990.
Currently there are 606 resident journalists from 319 foreign news organisations of 49 countries working in China, even as about 3000-5000 foreign journalists visit the country each year, according to rough estimates.
Comments
0 comment