At a news briefing held here Wednesday, Zhang explained that the national China Central Television Station's Channel 4 programs aired in Taiwan for the past decade have registered better and better ratings and have become an important method for Taiwan compatriots to get information about the Chinese mainland.

People from the journalistic community in Taiwan say they do not understand the motive for the blocking of CCTV Channel 4 in Taiwan, noting that it will be detrimental to the exchange of news across the Taiwan Straits, Zhang went on.

"We hope the relevant departments of Taiwan will not treat this matter as a political issue and that they will discontinue the blocking of the CCTV Channel 4 programs, taking into consideration the exchange of news across the Straits and meeting the demand the majority of Taiwanese viewers," said Zhang.

The exchange of news across the Straits is unbalanced, Zhang said. "The proportion of the number of Taiwanese journalists covering the Chinese mainland to the number of Chinese mainland correspondents covering Taiwan is 20 to 1," said Zhang," We have not imposed any restrictions on resident journalists from Taiwan covering the Chinese mainland, but only four media organizations from the Chinese mainland are allowed to cover Taiwan, and the number of resident journalists from each mainland media organization is limited to two people for each term."

"With respect to the exchange of news, the Chinese mainland is open-minded, active, and welcomes different media organizations from Taiwan to cover news on the mainland, but the Taiwan authorities take the opposite approach," said Zhang.

The Chinese mainland's attitude of advancing cross-Straits news exchange will not change, but the ban on CCTV Channel 4 programs imposed by the Taiwanese side will, without a doubt, produce a negative impact on the mainland's enthusiasm to promote the issue of picking up Taiwanese programs, Zhang said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2003)