The Office of the Government Spokesperson and the Government Information Bureau will step up efforts to facilitate the work of the local media, in order to ensure Government policies and information are communicated effectively to the public.

The Government Spokesperson and Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping, today said that the establishment in 2010 of the government spokesperson system had facilitated better communication between the Government, the media and the public.

Mr Chan made the remark during a gathering attended by representatives of local media organisations and associations, correspondents of media organisations based in Macao, and press coordinators of Government secretariat offices.

Looking ahead, he said the Government would continue to: strengthen the spokesperson system; provide assistance to public departments and secretariats regarding news dissemination; arrange more seminars and exchange sessions; and formulate a Government internal guideline for the dissemination of information.

Regarding the topic of how news information is given by the Government and received by the media, the Government Information Bureau had dedicated further efforts to the use of new media platforms, with a view to releasing information in a more systematic manner, Mr Chan said.

In 2016, the Bureau’s WeChat account had added 4,400 subscribers, taking the total number of subscribers to 10,457 by year-end. The Bureau had also provided in-depth news content via YouTube, including clips of interviews with principal officials as well as feature stories.

The Bureau planned to open Facebook and Instagram accounts in order to diversify the sources by which the public receive information from the Government. The greater use of new media platforms was believed to be effective in promoting further the Government’s participation in the development of the country’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (collectively known as “Belt and Road” initiative) and the collaboration efforts with Guangdong Province and Fujian Province.

In the future, Mr Chan said the Government would continue to strengthen internal coordination procedures in order to respond – in a more effective manner – to media enquiries, and to enhance training for Government officials in relation to skills necessary for efficient interaction with the media.

Reviewing the work done in 2016, he said the Office of the Government Spokesperson and the Government Information Bureau had played an active role in supporting the media’s work. The efforts included: coordinating efforts to facilitate Government officials in attending television programmes and phone-in radio programmes in order to explain further the Government’s policies; assistance on arranging media interviews; release of information and photographs; and assistance – including services at a dedicated centre for the media – to more than 500 local and overseas reporters to cover the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, which was held in Macao in October.

Mr Chan said the Government would continue to support the local media sector by encouraging the availability of professional training; by allocating more resources for enhancement of the competiveness of the sector; by providing local media with medical insurance; and by facilitating further exchanges with media organisations in other places, such as visits to Macao for mainland media correspondents that had previously held a posting in the city.

The Office of the Government Spokesperson and the Government Information Bureau will step up efforts to facilitate the work of the local media, in order to ensure Government policies and information are communicated effectively to the public.

The Government Spokesperson and Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping, today said that the establishment in 2010 of the government spokesperson system had facilitated better communication between the Government, the media and the public.

Mr Chan made the remark during a gathering attended by representatives of local media organisations and associations, correspondents of media organizations based in macao, and press coordinators of Government secretariat offices.

Looking ahead, he said the Government would continue to: strengthen the spokesperson system; provide assistance to public departments and secretariats regarding news dissemination; arrange more seminars and exchange sessions; and formulate a Government internal guideline for the dissemination of information.

Regarding the topic of how news information is given by the Government and received by the media, the Government Information Bureau had dedicated further efforts to the use of new media platforms, with a view to releasing information in a more systematic manner, Mr Chan said.

In 2016, the Bureau’s WeChat account had added 4,400 subscribers, taking the total number of subscribers to 10,457 by year-end. The Bureau had also provided in-depth news content via YouTube, including clips of interviews with principal officials as well as feature stories.

The Bureau planned to open Facebook and Instagram accounts in order to diversify the sources by which the public receive information from the Government. The greater use of new media platforms was believed to be effective in promoting further the Government’s participation in the development of the country’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (collectively known as “Belt and Road” initiative) and the collaboration efforts with Guangdong Province and Fujian Province.

In the future, Mr Chan said the Government would continue to strengthen internal coordination procedures in order to respond – in a more effective manner – to media enquiries, and to enhance training for Government officials in relation to skills necessary for efficient interaction with the media.

Reviewing the work done in 2016, he said the Office of the Government Spokesperson and the Government Information Bureau had played an active role in supporting the media’s work. The efforts included: coordinating efforts to facilitate Government officials in attending television programmes and phone-in radio programmes in order to explain further the Government’s policies; assistance on arranging media interviews; release of information and photographs; and assistance – including services at a dedicated centre for the media – to more than 500 local and overseas reporters to cover the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, which was held in Macao in October.

Mr Chan said the Government would continue to support the local media sector by encouraging the availability of professional training; by allocating more resources for enhancement of the competiveness of the sector; by providing local media with medical insurance; and by facilitating further exchanges with media organisations in other places, such as visits to Macao for mainland media correspondents that had previously held a posting in the city.