China issues new rules giving foreign journalists more freedom

    BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's new rules on foreign media reflected the country's determination to carry on the policy of opening up to the outside world, a senior information official said here Saturday, hours after the issuing of the new rules.

    Wang Chen said this in a ceremony for the establishment of "Israel Epstein Research Center" of Qinghua University.

    Wang pointed out that the new rules draw on the experience of providing service and managerial assistance for foreign correspondents during Beijing Olympics, and they will make foreign correspondents reporting activities in China more convenient.

    "Chinese government welcomes foreign media and reporters, and we hope more stories about the country will be told to the world. We will spare no effort to provide help and service to them," he said," meanwhile, we hope foreign media and reporters could abide by Chinese laws and professional morals, to report unbiasedly and justly, so to promote understanding and cooperation between China and the rest of the world."

    According to the new rules, foreign reporters wishing to interview organizations or individuals in China no longer need to be received and accompanied by the Chinese organizations.

    An item in the old version was also cancelled, which asked foreign reporters to get approval from the local government's foreign affairs department when they wanted to do reporting in the regions open to them.

    Seymour Topping, a famous journalist from the United States and the former administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, told Xinhua that the removal of the restrictions on foreign correspondents may mark an important progress of China,

    China should learn to tolerate the judgement of the outside world, be it positive or negative. That will show a more confident China, he said.

    Huang Youyi, deputy director-general and editor-in-chief of China International Publishing Group, said:" Sadly some foreign media reported inaccurately about China. But I believe with more foreign reporters coming, the proportion of accurate reports will increase."

    "How great it is!" Wang Yu, who lives in Haidian District of Beijing smiled when she heard about the new rules," the foreign reporters will see that the world is a family, and Chinese people do have speech freedom."

    A backpacker named Wang Shaofei from Hainan Province in the south of China said:" if any foreign reporters come to me, I will tell them the new development and changes of my hometown. Maybe I could know more about the cultures abroad, too."