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)