國務院新聞辦公室副主任王國慶6月11日上午在成都表示，無論是在抗震救災階段還是在安置災民、恢復生產階段，中國政府都歡迎境外記者赴四川汶川地震災區作采訪報道。

A foreign journalist made news report at a quake-hit area in Yinghua town, Shifang city of Sichuan Province on May, 16, 2008.[Xinhua]

The quake-hit areas are open to overseas journalists during relief and rebuilding work, a senior official said yesterday.

"The open policy remains unchanged. Overseas reporters are welcome to the quake-hit areas to cover relief work, resettlement of residents and reconstruction," said Wang Guoqing, deputy director of the State Council Information Office.

Responding to some foreign reporters' complaints about the difficulty in accessing certain areas in Sichuan province, Wang said: "We will do our best to help them."

"I apologize for the inconvenience," he told reporters of the US National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and The Wall Street Journal who were applying for special passes in Chengdu. "Frankly speaking, we need to improve our work in many ways."

Some restrictive measures had been taken earlier for the safety of journalists.

Journalists who want to go to the quake-hit areas are requested to get passes from the Sichuan provincial information office so that they can get up-to-date information on the dangers posed by potential landslides, floods or strong aftershocks, Wang said.

"We send text messages on their mobile phones to keep them informed of the latest news and email them the contact numbers and other details of our press officers in every county of the province."

NBC news producer Adrienne Mong complained that her colleagues had been denied entry into some off-limit areas without any explanation.

To which Wang said police had indeed cordoned off some areas to avoid disturbing the quake survivors further.

"More than 8 million people in the quake-hit areas are in need of help and are eager to restore normal life. Besides, we have to ensure everyone's safety because aftershocks, building collapse and epidemics still pose a danger."

But these measures were not taken to ban reporters, he said. "There's a lot we can improve. For example, we can dispatch spokespersons to answer your questions outside the cordoned-off areas."

The devastation caused by the May 12 earthquake has drawn a host of journalists, rescue and relief workers, and volunteers to Sichuan.

The provincial information office figures show that at least 545 overseas reporters from 144 media organizations in 30 countries and regions have visited Sichuan to cover the natural disaster. And China's unprecedented transparency in dissemination of information has won praise from across the world.

Wang thanked overseas reporters for risking their own lives to cover the quake, and pledged that the government would ensure more media freedom.

"We still need to make some efforts, though. For example, training of grassroots officials have to be speeded up so that village heads in outer areas are as open to reporters as me."

Media regulations promulgated early last year have given foreign reporters freedom to report from China in the run-up to and during the Beijing Olympic Games.

About 21,600 journalists, with International Olympic Committee accreditation, are expected to cover the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. More than 4,000 non-accredited reporters, too, have applied to cover the two sport events.

（Xinhua）

Vocabulary:

cordon off：用警戒線隔離，阻擋

（英語點津Celene編輯）