Sound bites

(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-10 07:58

Some officials and there are more than a few of them are afraid to talk to the press because they fear they will lose their official positions. In front of a camera, nobody can be sure what is said is 100 percent correct. So they should be given some slack in media communication. When meeting the foreign press, one should be truthful, objective and comprehensive. What are we Chinese embarking on? How much have we done? What problems have we encountered? What goals are we seeking? All these questions should be clarified, and that will help facilitate a more objective media environment.

Cai Wu

Minister of the State Council Information Office and CPPCC member

Public diplomacy is a major form of communication that is conveyed to a foreign public. Those engaged in it not only include government organizations, but more often NGOs, such as grass-roots organizations, academia, media and people with clout. This kind of diplomacy may manifest itself in a big cultural exhibition, or in a trade fair, or even between Chinese tourists and those foreigners they meet on their trips. Misunderstandings and prejudices that some foreigners have against China is not good for the country, nor is it good for Western countries. They will derail those countries' China policies. We want the world to know the real China, and we must start with ourselves.

Zhao Qizheng

Dean of the Journalism School at Renmin University of China and CPPCC member

New cultural products, new cultural phenomena, should be given more observation, more exploration, more guidance, and we should refrain from brandishing labels and ideology and abusing the power of prohibition. Many people criticize Supergirls as lowbrow, but as long as it satisfies the cultural needs of the public, and as long as it is not vulgar, being lowbrow is not something to be feared. Our cultural industry should have more flexibility and more tolerance for new trends, especially when it comes to popular things. We should not insist that everything be elitist. And the idea that something that is not beneficial must be harmful is wrong and must change.

Li Yiheng

CPPCC member from Hunan Province

(China Daily 03/10/2007 page3)