China takes stock as it prepares for Cancun
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The Chinese government is busy designing a comprehensive communication strategy to present its position on climate change, which it hopes will help achieve substantial results in global negotiations in Cancun, Mexico later this year.
Based on the experiences and lessons of the UN Copenhagen summit, at which China was described as a scapegoat in the breakdown of negotiations, China's top climate change negotiator, Su Wei, said the strategy will include arrangements on how to timely and effectively communicate the country's stance.
"To prepare for the Cancun summit, we have already started devising our strategy on how to communicate," said Su, director of the climate change department at the National Development and Reform Commission, who described the task as "urgent."
Su announced the plan on Sunday at a climate change and communications seminar in the post-Copenhagen era, jointly held by Oxfam Hong Kong and the Research Center of Journalism and Social Development at Renmin University in Bejing.
"We aim to conduct long-term research on climate change communication and to help the government present its stance and ideas, with proper timing as well as in well-crafted language," professor Zheng Baowei, director of the research center, told China Daily.
Zheng, who described the cross-disciplinary research as pioneering in China, said: "We are working toward saving the Earth by sending out effective messages."
Lot Felizco, policy director for Oxfam Hong Kong, said a record number of NGOs participated in negotiations at the climate summit in Copenhagen.
"We also had staff who supported delegates from developing countries to safeguard their interests."
After Copenhagen, the Western media blamed China for "hijacking" the negotiations, which, they claimed, was responsible for the failure to achieve a legally-binding agreement.
The distorted reporting placed China at a disadvantage in the international community, where its contributions toward tackling climate change at home and in early negotiations in Copenhagen had previously been recognized.
A week after the summit, the Chinese government attempted to correct the distorted image that had been created by the Western media.
However, the government lost momentum in the situation, which the conference will help to see does not happen again, said Zheng.
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