The increasing number of press conferences convened by the State Council Information Office, other central government departments and local governments is a gesture of the country's resolve to open wider to the outside world.

Cai Wu, minister of the State Council Information Office, revealed yesterday that the total number of such conferences surpassed 1,400 this year, some 300 more than 2006 and touched a much wider range of topics.

The regular training of spokespersons organized by the office has undoubtedly contributed to the progress of the country's press releases and the system. And the ever-increasing awareness of the importance of press releases by officials at various levels has also contributed to its boom.

As a matter of fact, the country's opening to the outside world in the past three decades is also a process for the country's governments at various levels to learn to establish the right channels to communicate with both the domestic and foreign press.

In this respect, the initiation and development of the press release and spokesperson system makes a difference not only to the knowledge about China by outside world but also to the general public of this country, who are entitled to be told about what their governments are doing.

To be honest, the information explosion characterized by the rapid development of the Internet has made it imperative for governments to open channels to keep the general public informed about their work.

The press conferences convened by the governments focused on such issues as energy resources, product quality, food safety, healthcare reform and other matters of concern to the daily life of residents. Such communication brings the general public closer to their governments.

The fact that the initial cover-up of death tolls in disastrous incidents as the one about SARS (special acute respiratory syndrome) in 2003 has seldom occurred in the past four years represents conspicuous progress of this system.

Of course, we cannot say for sure that there is no possibility of information spinning by administrative departments in their favor. But the momentum in building a clean and honest government will certainly push the progress of the press release and spokesperson system in the years to come.

(China Daily December 28, 2007)