From Chinese Press

An open Party is welcome

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-05 08:00

Spokespersons for 11 central committee departments of the Communist Party of China (CPC) attended a press conference on June 30, unprecedented in the annals of China.Disclosure of information of Party affairs is the best gift from the CPC on its 89th anniversary, says an article in Shanghai Morning Post. Excerpts:

Disclosure of information of CPC affairs is another necessary step toward honoring the public's rights to know. Establishing a spokespersons' institution to apprise the public of CPC affairs is an important shift from propaganda to presenting a comprehensive and balanced view to people both at home and abroad.

Given that the CPC is the only ruling party in China, the disclosure of information of its affairs is more important than that of the government's activities. The spokespersons for the CPC committees should learn from the existing government information dissemination system and respect the basic rules of information communication and the public's rights to know.

Although some local governments' CPC committees were the first to set up the information disclosure system, their spokespersons are still not sure how much information they should make public. A people-oriented party, however, should not be intimidated by well-informed citizens. The historic group debut of the 11 CPC central committee department spokespersons before the 89th anniversary of the CPC shows the Party's determination to modernize itself.

(China Daily 07/05/2010 page9)