News websites at all levels should focus on the reporting and
promotion of World Expo 2010 Shanghai, a senior official urged
Monday at a forum held in Shanghai, aiming to enhance the
cooperation among the country's online news media.
Officials from the country's 25 news websites and well-known
commercial websites gathered Monday in Shanghai signing a
memorandum to enhance cooperation on coverage of the Expo.
"Prophase reporting and promotion of World Expo 2010 Shanghai is
very important. Key news websites should put it on the agenda,
improve contact with organizers, and give priority to staff
arrangement and website reconstruction," said Li Wufeng, director
of the Network Bureau under the State Council Information
Office.?
Chen Tong, chief editor of Nasdaq-listed Sina.com, said: "As an
influential Chinese portal website, Sina.com participated in the
event from the very beginning when Shanghai was chosen as the host
city for World Expo 2010."
"We also invited related officials, experts, and famous people
around China to online thematic chat with netizens. New measures
will also be taken to widen ways of communication," Chen noted.
In order to promote the public awareness of World Expo 2010 in
China and encourage the whole country to participate in this event,
the Department of Publicity of the CPC Central Committee organized
a press corps consisting of journalists from both central and
provincial media in Shanghai for a 6-day interview program from
February 26 to March 3, 2007.
Zhao Zhiguo, deputy director of the telecom regulatory
department of the Ministry of Information Industry, said the forum
is another great opportunity not only for World Expo 2010 Shanghai
but also for the nation's news websites to improve influence.
He Jiazheng, CEO of peoplesdaily.com, said that key news
websites should give full support to the reporting and promotion of
World Expo 2010 Shanghai, as it is not only a chance for a city,
but for a whole nation. Over 20,000 Expo-related reports have been
collected since peoplesdaily.com opened a special feature for the
Expo. Special staff was also arranged to maintain contact with the
Bureau of Shanghai World Expo to get first-hand information.
A survey of Chinese people's recognition of World Expo 2010
Shanghai was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics between
the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007. Some 16,500 families in
46 major cities were sampled. A draft report will be released soon,
Chen Xianjin, deputy director of Bureau of Shanghai World Expo
Coordination told a press briefing on Tuesday.
Chen revealed that Shanghai people's recognition of the Expo is
much higher than those in central and western regions. He noted
that online media's reporting and promotion of the Expo is vital to
the event, since most Chinese people get information about the
Shanghai World Expo through television.
Construction of the Expo park and resettlement of residents
inside the park are going smoothly. 18,000 families had moved into
newly built homes, with a documented 20 families forced to move.
But, an official from the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo
Coordination, who asked not to be named, estimates that the number
is actually at least 30.
The 184-day event runs from May 1, 2010 to October 31, 2010, and
is expected to attract 70 million-plus visitors, making it the
biggest in history.
As of April 6, 2007, 127 countries and international
organizations had confirmed attendance for the World Expo 2010
Shanghai, with organizers expecting the number to reach at least
200.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Zhang Yunxing, April 10,
2007)
