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Press Law Under Study in China
Relevant government departments are seriously studying the possibility of enacting a press law in response to proposals put forward by deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) last year, according to sources with the NPC Standing Committee.
The issue has been one of the top concerns of the NPC Standing Committee ever since the Seventh NPC (1988-93), and a drafting group has been set up and has conducted a lot of studies on the subject.
At the last annual NPC session, 95 NPC deputies jointly proposed enacting a Press and Public Opinion Law and a Press and Public Opinion Supervision Law. The proposals received priority attention from the Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee of the Ninth NPC.
The committee agrees with the NPC deputies that it is of great importance to govern the press by law as China is creating a favorable environment for its citizens to enjoy freedom of expression. Meanwhile, the press is playing an increasingly bigger role in the country.
According to official figures, in addition to Xinhua, the official news agency, China has more than 2,000 newspapers, over 2,000 radio and TV stations, and a booming online news service, with a total staff of 550,000.
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