Foreigners in the east China coastal city of Ningbo can now
enjoy English news briefings in an initiative launched by the local
government on Wednesday. Ningbo is a major city in Zhejiang Province.
News released by the local government will be in both Chinese
and English and published on an English version homepage of the
government's website simultaneously, according to officials.
Local television and radio stations will also broadcast the
English news briefings and the government spokesmen will respond to
written questions from foreign media. .
Until now no other cities on the Chinese mainland have carried
out such a news-release program.
"This is an important step towards improving the awareness of
the work of the Ningbo government, attracting more overseas media
to cover the great changes here and facilitating foreign residents'
understanding of city," said Yu Danhua, spokesman for municipal
government.
Yu said the program would improve Ningbo's image and expand
overseas awareness. It would also allow the city to promote
economic and social development.
According to incomplete statistics there are about 3,000
foreigners living in Ningbo with a further 280,000 visiting for
business or just travel each year.
"Besides large numbers of foreign residents in Ningbo our city
has attracted hundreds of overseas media to find news stories,”
said Yu. "Therefore, we should provide sufficient and timely
information in English."
For foreign companies in Ningbo, who pay special attention to
government policies, they can consult the Foreign Affairs Office of
the government in writing about such issues, Yu added.
A foreign student in the city welcomed the bilingual news
briefings venture. Wiza, 25, an international student from Zambia
at Ningbo University, said: "The new program will bring great
convenience to my daily life as I can have easy access to fresh
government news."
In recent years the local government has attached great
importance to the promotion of Ningbo as an international city with
the right image. ?.
In February 2006 the government released an English version of
its work report becoming one of the few cities on the Chinese
mainland such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen to have an English
version of government work reports.
In fact the city’s official website is in five
languages--English, German, French, Japanese and Korean.
(China Daily May 12, 2006)