Overseas journalists covering the annual
sessions of the NPC and CPPCC can for the first time contact and
interview lawmakers and political advisers "directly".
In the past, overseas journalists who
intended to interview NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee
members during the "two sessions" were required to contact the "two
sessions" press center first and ask the press center's staff to
contact lawmakers and political advisors.
The Fifth Session of Tenth National
People's Congress and the Fifth Session of the Tenth National
Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC), or "two sessions", are slated to begin on March 5 and
March 3.
The "two sessions" are the first after
China issued regulations granting foreign, Hong Kong, Macao and
Taiwan journalists more freedom to report in China in the run-up to
and during the 2008 Olympic Games. The "two sessions" press center
has vowed to provide more convenience to overseas
journalists.
The new regulation, which took effect on
January 1, gives foreign reporters free access to report from China
in the run-up to, and during, the 2008 Olympic Games.
The regulation also allows foreign
reporters to interview and report on all aspects of China, not just
the Olympics.
In line with the new regulation, foreign
reporters covering the two sessions can interview NPC deputies or
CPPCC members directly, if those being interviewed approve,
according to the media centers of the two sessions.
The reporters could, if they wish, contact
the media centers directly or the coordinator of every delegation
beforehand to seek out interviewees.
By 5:00 PM Thursday, 2,309 journalists
from the Chinese mainland and overseas areas had been registered at
the press center to report the upcoming "two sessions", including
1,413 Chinese mainland journalists, 392 journalists from Hong Kong,
Macao and Taiwan, and 504 foreign journalists, according to Xinhua
News Agency.
The press center releases a digital map on
its website on which the accommodation addresses of all 35 NPC
delegations are marked and provides detailed background information
about NPC deputies, relevant laws and sessions of NPC Standing
Committee.
Also for the first time, the press center
provides electronic application forms for journalists. Journalists
who wan to cover the "two sessions" can download application forms
from the press center website and send it back after filling in
them.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Wang Ke
March 7, 2007)