Chinese officials told to avoid media questions about emergencies

Chinese government officials will no longer be allowed to refrain from commenting on emergencies under new legislative changes aimed at giving journalists better “legal protection”.

In a commentary published Friday in Legal Weekly, a newspaper under the control of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, a Communist Party body with broad oversight over the legal system and security apparatus, it was stated that the amendments to the Emergency Response Act mean: Authorities should not be evasive when answering media questions.

The law was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in 2007 and was revised for the first time in June. The changes came into force this month.

“The implementation of the (amended) Emergency Response Act means government departments can no longer use the ‘no comment’ option to evade media questions about emergencies,” Legal Weekly commented.

“It undoubtedly provides legal protection for news interviews and reports on emergencies.”

The comment highlighted Article 8 of the law, which stipulates that government agencies must “support the news media and public oversight” and that emergency news must be “timely, accurate, objective and fair.”

He also underlined the government’s duty to quickly issue public warnings and other information regarding emergency responses.