GOVERNMENT spokespersons must tell the truth at news conferences and are not allowed to look for excuses to refuse interviews on issues of wide public concern, under a new spokesperson accountability system to be implemented in Shenzhen this year.

The system, evidence of the city’s resolve to open wider to the outside world, will help build a transparent government. It requires spokespeople at all levels to be honest and release in a timely manner information that affects the immediate interests of individuals and groups, according to Wang Jingsheng, chief of the publicity department of the CPC municipal committee.

The Shenzhen government’s information office held 40 press conferences last year, each of which were attended by journalists from an average of 35 media groups.

News of a fire in a small family-run underwear factory in Bao’an District that killed seven in January 2007 was released in five hours, winning international acclaim from media for “quick response and hiding no adverse news from the public.”

The spokesperson system was established in Shenzhen in 1985. The city now has 59 spokespersons with more than 120 assistants, representing 59 bureaus and departments.

Each spokesperson has one or two assistants to help organize news conferences, collect feedback, report to the municipal government’s information office and provide information for journalists.

U.S. President John Adams introduced the spokesperson system during his tenure from 1789 to 1797. The first spokesperson in China was appointed in 1982.(Vivian Li)