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作者：By Raymond Zhou
来源：
发表时间：2006-02-25
浏览次数： 字号：大 中 小 |
2004 年 1 月 5 日
China Daily
Copyright 2004 China Daily Information Company. All rights reserved.
Chinese officials may have a reputation for being reserved and reticent when facing
the media, but a new generation is determined to spruce up that image. They are in
their prime, both in age and career. They dress smart and carry themselves with
poise. And they are ready to talk ?as the nation's spokespersons at various
government agencies ?177 of them went through special training programmes organized
by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in September and November. They came
from 66 central or provincial-level government agencies. Classes were given by such
luminaries as Zhao Qizheng, SCIO minister; Kong Quan, Foreign Ministry spokesman;
Li Xiguang, Tsinghua University professor of media studies; and Bai Yansong, CCTV
anchor. At the end of the one-week programme, a simulated news briefing was held
and several of the future talking heads had a chance to be grilled by a
make-believe press, with their performances instantly reviewed by their lecturers.
The improvement of this fresh crop of spokespersons certainly made an impact, but
more dramatic is the underlying force of change that is refining the mechanism of
government communication. "We stepped up our training efforts since last year,?Wang
Xingming, SCIO Human Resources director, admits. "As the 16th Party Congress report
says, China should form an administrative management system that is standard,
well-coordinated, fair, transparent, efficient and corruption-free. The task of the
spokesperson is to enhance transparency.? The government and the public tend to see
things from different angles, analyzes Yu Guoming, president of the Media Research
Institute at Renmin University of China, and the government needs more than one
channel in order to break down the wall of communication barriers. Professional
spokespersons perform this function by releasing public information on a regular
basis through the mass media. The trainees were told that "No comment?is a big
no-no. A spokesperson should have in his grasp whatever information his department
is supposed to be responsible for. "Doing the daily homework is a necessary basic
skill,?says Miu Xuping, deputy director of the housing management bureau for
Shapingba District, Chongqing, who recently assumed the post of her department's
spokeswoman. Her "homework?includes catching up with the latest development in her
field as well as reading up media reports on these topics. Miu says she can now
face the media with no trepidation. "Even if it's an unplanned negative incident,
one should not fear that the public will learn about it. What I fear is they do not
get the news from sources like me, but from grapevine gossip that usually swirls in
the aftermath of this kind of event.? Candour and cordiality The pace of reform
picked up during last year's SARS epidemic, when it was shown unambiguously that
government release of correct information was the most effective remedy for
dispelling rumours and calming public panic. A breed of spokespersons has come into
being. SCIO officials reveals that Shanghai's attempt to set up a municipal
government spokesperson system had been delayed from 2000 and, shortly after SARS,
it finally became a reality. According to Professor Yu Guoming, some government
officials mistakenly believe that the system exempts them from being responsive to
media inquiries. Every official should receive this kind of training, he says, and
the main difference between a professional spokesperson and a regular official is
that the former takes an active approach to the job and the latter does it
passively. Yu attributes the reluctance of many officials to talk to the media to
inherent imperfections in the system. When the withholding of information causes
damage, the official is usually not liable; but the release of it may put him under
pressure, he says. Since human beings are risk-averse, they would naturally choose
to remain silent. Even professional spokespersons should be given leeway when they
make small errors, he argues. "If they are only allowed to recite the pre-written
text, they would tend to be rigid and evasive, which will negate their
usefulness.?A spokesperson is not only a mouthpiece, he adds, but also a
participant in the debate and decision-making process before he takes the message
to the media. In other words, a true insider. Yu Guoming has found that some
departments have limited the function of the spokesperson to promoting
achievements. "This is certainly one of the purposes, but more important than that
is to respond to the questions and doubts from the public.?Yu cites Beijing acting
mayor Wang Qishan's handling of the April SARS news conference as the most
impressive he has seen. As for training programmes to enhance Q&A techniques and
refine personal deportment, they are a good first step, says Yu. And they should be
followed up by other measures of making government more transparent and
accountable. "Our officials generally are of high quality. They have the special
knowledge. And some have the unique talent and charm to act as spokespersons. They
should be good listeners and good communicators, to bring government policies a
giant step closer to the ordinary people.? "China's news spokesperson system has
taken form, but more efforts are needed to perfect it,?says Zhao Qizheng, SCIO
minister. It looks like the days of rumours and panic spread by text messages
during unexpected crises are numbered. (Copyright 2001 by China Daily). |
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