BEIJING, Aug. 14 -- Government ministries will be pushed to give better access to foreign journalists in a policy called "zero refusal", a senior official of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) said on Thursday.

    "Zero refusal means that the ministries must designate people to deal with calls and interview requests from foreign media and that they have to give a response within 24 hours or the period they prescribed, no matter what the result is," Guo Weimin, director of the SCIO press department, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

    "It doesn't mean all applications will be accepted, but we have to tell the media how we handled it, so they can understand," he said. China gave unprecedented access to foreign journalists in 2007, under a set of provisional regulations for the Beijing Olympics Games in 2008.

    The government, for instance, saved journalists from the troublesome procedure of seeking permission for interviews from local governments; instead they only needed an agreement with the person being interviewed.

    It also lifted a ban on the hiring of Chinese citizens to help with reporting. Such changes were cemented after the Games.

    The changes have been greeted favorably by the more than 700 foreign reporters working in China.

    So far, the reforms are mainly having an effect at ministries closely followed by the media, including the ministries of health, education and public security, as well as the SCIO itself, Guo said.

    "We hope all ministries will welcome interaction with the foreign media," said the director. "If they find calls to ministries unanswered, or are met with a cold manner, they can complain to us."

    Guo said the SCIO is also trying to train major local officials and press officers, from provincial to county levels, to accept and facilitate the work of foreign media.

    Local governments are being asked to provide relevant sources and basic local information when the overseas media ask for help, Guo said.

    All ministries and provinces have been urged to allow overseas media and those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to attend their press conferences.

    Beijing's open attitude in the reporting of the riots in Urumqi, in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, in July reflected the changes in China's media policy, Guo said.

    (Source: chinadaily.com.cn)