Li Ruihuan, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), has urged China's newspapers to always tell the truth and make themselves more appealing to their readers.
Li, who heads China's top government advisory body, made this call during a visit to the Beijing-based CPPCC Journal Thursday afternoon.
"A newspaper must report the truth and the lifeline of news lies in its truthfulness," Li told reporters and editors of the newspaper. "This is not only the requirement of the Party Central Committee, but also the aspiration of the general public."
He went on to say that a good, successful newspaper must be interesting, appealing and attractive to its readership.
"To be able to correctly guide public opinion, newspapers should also make every effort possible to gain still greater popularity among their readers," he said.
To achieve this goal, the newspapers must stress timeliness in news coverage, publish shorter yet better stories, and add more human interest to their reports, Li suggested.
(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2003)
