Chang Xiaobing, director of the Telecommunication Management Bureau under the Ministry of Information Industry and Yang Shukun, secretary-general of the China Society of Consumers, made the pledge at a press conference yesterday.

Officials from the Telecommunication Management Bureau under the Ministry of Information Industry, the China Society of Consumers and China Telecom revealed at the conference that March 15, or "Consumers' Day," will be used to publicize the efforts being made to protect the rights of telecommunication customers. They will also invite experts to answer questions from the customers.

The calculation of telephone fees is a matter of concern not only to the public but also to NPC delegates.

Bu Zhongkuan, a member of the CPPCC, submitted a proposal for the adoption of a second-based charging system.

Chang Xiaobing explained at the press conference that the fee-per-second calculation is not practical at present due to technical and financial reasons. To replace the present fee-per-minute calculation system with a fee-per-second system would involve dramatic changes to the present facilities, currently beyond the capacity of the industry, said Chang.

The issue of offering local phone call lists at the request of users was also addressed in the conference. Officials said that the present system is not able to record local telephone calls, and thus the telecommunication bureaux can not offer such lists.

It is a common practice of most countries in the world, including many developed countries, not to offer such a service, Chang added.

(China Daily)