第一新聞發言人(dìyī xīnwén fāyánrén): First spokesperson

The Beijing municipal government has recently proposed that the authority should hold press conferences within 24 hours after significant emergencies take place, and the chief of an administrative department or agency should be the first spokesperson. This move is regarded as a good example for other local authorities.

At the beginning of this year, Premier Li Keqiang required the top leaders of various departments of the State Council, China's Cabinet, to become their departments' spokesperson. During the annual two sessions of the top legislature and political advisory body in March this year, 34 ministers held news conferences to answer questions, which was one of the highlights of this year's meetings.

It is not only an important move to make government affairs more transparent to the public, but also a necessity to respond to public concerns. Making government affairs public can be a good supervision mechanism and win public recognition.

China's government news conference system was established in 2003. But the system still leaves a lot of room for improvement, such as not providing enough timely information when emergencies occur. Making top leaders the first spokespersons could guarantee the timeliness and accuracy of the information released at news conferences and so better meet people's right to know, which is of great significance to administrative reform.