More Olympic press events promised

From the start of next year, foreign reporters covering the Olympics will be able to attend more press conferences and be given more interview opportunities, the spokeswoman for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) said Tuesday.

"Starting from January, we will have two news conferences every week compared with just one now," Wang Hui told China Daily.

About 30,000 reporters from around the world are expected to cover the international event next summer.

"They come with various demands regarding coverage not only of the Games, but also China's economic and social issues," Wang said during a New Year reception held by the State Council Information Office Tuesday.

More than 300 representatives of Chinese ministries, foreign embassies and news agencies from home and abroad attended the reception.

"I am relieved to see that as more overseas reporters come to Beijing and learn more about our country, their reports are getting more objective," Wang said.

The BOCOG is not the only body providing information on the Games.

Cao Qingyao, a spokesman for the State Forestry Administration (SFA), said it too will arrange more on-the-spot interviews for foreign media next year.

"We will have not only news briefings in our media hall, but also take reporters on site visits," Cao told China Daily.

He said the SFA will take reporters to the tiger and panda cultivation bases to help them understand China's achievements and ongoing efforts to preserve wildlife.

The administration will provide timely information on breaking issues via press conferences and news releases, he said.

"Hot topics related to our field will be our focus next year," Cao said.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the ministry will continue to present "a civilized and progressing" China in a more confident, open and cooperative way.

"We are always trying our best to clear up misunderstandings by foreign reporters about China," Jiang said.

There are currently more than 700 foreign reporters in Beijing, twice the number five years ago.

"The increased number of foreign reporters shows that the world has been paying more attention to China and that we have been more open to the outside world," Jiang said.