Beijing: Struggling to gel with people with
its poor image as party with intrigue and scandals, China's
ruling Communist Party (CPC), has launched a public relations
exercise promising to lift the veil of secrecy on its
activities.
Ahead of its 89th anniversary tomorrow, the party has
launched a bold measure to dispel the veil of secrecy on its
operations and bring about a measure of transparency to the
governance, Party's long standing mouth piece, 'Peoples Daily'
reported today.
The party has lined up 11 spokespersons who would take
questions from the media and vast network of 78 million party
cadre and answer their queries about the policy and
functioning of the party.
"From now on, reporters are expected to shoot their
questions at the spokespersons and the information offices of
the Party's major departments", the report in the daily said
today.
"The spokesperson system is key to making Party affairs
public, promoting intra-party democracy, improving the party's
governance capability and to cultivating a favourable
environment for the development of the CPC and China," Wang
Chen, head of the International Communication Office under the
CPC Central Committee said.
According to the official media, Wang met the press for
the second time this week.
He said the International Communication Office was
currently working with relevant CPC departments to further
perfect the spokesperson system, in order to disclose party
affairs in a timely manner and further enhance the
transparency of party affairs. The spokespersons would
include nine men and two females.
Founded in 1921, by Mao Zedong, who later emerged as a
cult figure heading the most violent revolutionary movement
followed by mass purges during Cultural Revolution cleansing
the society of liberals, specially educated, the party
witnessed a sea change when more liberal Deng Xiaoping took
over the reins of the party in 1978.
Since then, the CPC brought about a vast variety of
changes introducing mostly economic reforms that brought
billions of dollars for foreign investment followed by
introduction of concept private property, which was virtually
abolished by Mao.
The party however remained in full control of the
government under a new line propounded by the party,
"socialism with Chinese characteristics".
The party is also rocked by series of scandals with a
number of high level party officials arrested for corruption.
With new system of "openness" the party hopes to
re-establish contacts with people taking advantage with the
vast reach of the print and television official media in the
country.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 17:29