Reporting on accidents shows govt's new governing concept

From fires to coal mine explosions, from bird flu to air crashes, Chinese media have provided unprecedentedly intensive reporting on a variety of accidents in 2004, drawing wide attention both at home and overseas.

"It's not that more accidents happened in 2004 than in other years, but Chinese media's reporting on accidents became increasingly transparent and down-to-earth, under the influence of the Chinese government's new administrative position of 'putting people the first,'" said Prof. Wu Jiang at the State Administrative College.

In the past, Chinese media often omitted or limited reports on tragedies, considering accidents to be negative news. Today, the effectiveness and depth of reports on accidents have become the major criteria to measure the competitive force of Chinese news organizations.

Prof. Wu acknowledged that Chinese media's current timely and in-depth reporting on accidents should be owed to the government's new open and transparent administrative style and increased respect for citizens' legitimate right of being informed.

Since the killer diseases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) broke out in China in early 2003, the Chinese government has taken a series of substantial measures to become more transparent and open.

All ministries and commissions under the State Council, or the Chinese central government, as well as most local government departments have added the practice of spokespersons and regular news release.

Some regulations were stipulated after the outbreak of the SARS, saying that the officials who deliberately hid the epidemic relevant matters will be severely punished.

In some foreigners' eyes, Chinese media's reporting on accidents paid more attention to "human approaches."

Jenny Leal, a language consultant at the Chinese Central Television (CCTV), noted that when reporting accidents, the CCTV's close-ups tend to be about local citizens, instead of the leading officials' instructions which once dominated Chinese TV screens.

In 2004, the media in China paid more and more attention to tracking down those accountable for mishaps, noted Miss Wang at a newsstand at Xuanwumen subway station in western Beijing district. Officials responsible for the Lantern Festival stampede in suburban Miyun county on Beijing's northeast outskirts on Feb. 5 which claimed 37 lives, have been jailed or removed from their posts.

Ma Fucai, general manager of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), resigned in April after 243 people had lost their lives in a gas blowout that occurred at 10:00 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2003 at a natural gas field in Kaixian county in southwestern Chongqing municipality.

"Officials are always given criminal or administrative penalties after the occurrence of accidents, which I learnt from

media's coverage, showed that our government was very responsible and prone to be self-criticized," said Li Fangran, a clerk working at Beijing Agriculture Bank.

Fan Zengsheng, NPC deputy and consultant of the Shanghai Municipal Government said that the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee vowed to strengthen its ruling capacity this year. "I believe the dramatic changes in accident reporting exactly epitomize the marked improvement of the CPC's ruling capacity and will help the CPC and the Chinese government further enhance ruling capacity."

Source: Xinhua