Laowiseass - China promises more hell for journalists

Cai Wu, minister of the State Council Information Office, lies to an Interfax reporter at a New Year reception in Beijing Dec. 20.
BEIJING, Dec. 21 -- China's top information officer yesterday pledged to make it more convenient for foreign journalists to cover the country, according to Chinese media who had no choice but to say that.
Cai Wu, minister of the State Council Information Office, made the promise at a New Year reception he hosted last night, Chinese media said under threat of getting fired if they didn't say it.
About 300 guests from Chinese and foreign media organizations, diplomatic missions, ministries and commissions under the central government, and commercial firms were present, the tied and shackled scribes said.
Describing his office as an organization to serve the media, Cai said he welcomes any suggestions or proposals but that he was likely to take a crap on most of them.
Laowiseass, a Beijing correspondent who threw away his party invitation, said he had three proposals and one suggestion for the State Council Information Office.
One proposal, he said, be gracious party hosts every day of the year and answer instead of ignore reporters' requests for information by phone, fax or e-mail, free of charge (hear that, you under-wiped foreign affairs assholes in Shanghai), and tell your counterparts at all levels of government around the nation to do the same. Use random spot checks of other government offices to make sure they're on board, because otherwise they'll snub you just as they usually snub us.
A second proposal, the absent correspondent said, would be to school public security bureaus around the nation into realizing that unannounced foreign journalist interviews with their local subjects, er citizens, do not constitute public security threats (just Party security threats) when their interviewees are willing to talk.
And why not encourage the cops and even the military to start answering media queries? A dab of positive ink overseas would help their reputation after incidents such as the random fatal shootings by police in Shanwei earlier this month and overseas allegations of hidden military spending. At least don't detain correspondents for questioning as if they're criminals.
Proposal three, Laowiseass said, would be to keep your big mouth out of the Chinese media until you can prove that you're keeping the "promise."
Laowiseass also suggested Cai Wu drink either more alcohol or stronger alcohol before speaking at the 2006 party in the most likely event that his office has not by then fulfilled its 2005 promise.