He publicly responded to the Wang Lijun incident for the first time at the CPPCC press conference

Written by | Zhao Meng Edited | Yang Fan

"Wang Lijun is under investigation by the relevant departments, and has taken leave of absence to attend the 'two sessions'... The Wang Lijun incident is an isolated incident, and it is recommended that you do not overly imagine... If you are interested, you can interview Bo Xilai at the opening of the National People's Congress. ”

At the CPPCC press conference four years ago, spokesman Zhao Qizheng answered a Reuters reporter's question about the "Wang Lijun incident", which still has a profound impact on many people. This is the first time since the Wang Lijun incident that a Beijing official has publicly disclosed his information.

A few days ago, Zhao Qizheng, dean of the School of Journalism at Chinese University, former director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, and former spokesman for the CPPCC National Committee four times, was interviewed by the political circle (WeChat id: wepolitics).

Recalling his experience as a spokesman for the CPPCC National Committee, Zhao Qizheng said that the CPPCC press conference was not arranged in advance as some people say, "That is equivalent to a performance, I can't arrange what foreign reporters ask, otherwise there can't be such sharp questions." ”

Talk about life in the month before the two sessions of the CPPCC press conference

The pace of work is similar to that of the college entrance examination

Zhao Qizheng, 76 years old, can be said to have said that in addition to the spokesman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, there are many familiar labels on this former star ministerial-level official: an expert in the nuclear industry, vice mayor of Shanghai, the earliest pioneer of Pudong New Area, and director of the Information Office of the State Council. Zhao Qizheng also summed up his 50 years of work experience with "20 years of scientific and technological work and 30 years of government work".

At the beginning of 2013, the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference completed its mission, and Zhao Qizheng really "retired" from government work. The most important status for him in recent years is the dean of the School of Journalism at Chinese Min University. On the eve of the interview with Zhao Qizheng, Zhengzhi Circle (WeChat id: wepolitics) met Zhao Qizheng himself at a lecture at the School of Journalism of Chinese University, and that night, he was giving a lecture on "The Mission and Wisdom of Press Release" to the students of the college. Zhao Qizheng on the podium completed the transition from "spokesperson" to "teacher", and at the age of 76, his voice was clear and logical, and when he taught each case, he would explain the problem through a small story of his own experience, and the one-and-a-half-hour lecture passed quickly.

What impressed the political knowledge circle (WeChat id: wepolitics) most was that Zhao Qizheng told the story of how to prepare for the CPPCC press conference, the highlight of the two sessions. He said: "I am a stupid bird to fly first, and a month before the two sessions, the rhythm of my life and work is similar to that of the college entrance examination. We usually find a remote hotel to concentrate on preparing for war. Be aware that February is very cold. We must first go through the main hot spots and sensitive issues and basic situations provided by the major media and government departments in the past year, which has thousands of questions, excluding six or seven hundred duplicates, we must at least know a certain thing that the reporters may mention at the press conference, because the press conference is afraid of not knowing this matter, as for how to answer, we will also do a full study. ”

As for the specific preparation steps, Zhao Qizheng said that they would select the more important two or three hundred questions out of the six or seven hundred questions, and then carefully consider how to answer them, these questions have no caliber, and then select sixty or seventy questions from them as the focus of the questions that are most likely to be asked, and carefully study them. "My PhD students would take a projector, hit the question on the wall, and I would give the basic points of the answer, and then they would give their opinions and make additions. For example, there is a question they asked, is it too harsh to say so, I will also pay attention. ”

Because there are many fields and hot issues involved, some important data and written policy documents, etc. I am difficult to remember, Zhao Qizheng on the computer desktop to distinguish, the upper left corner of the ethnic issues, the upper right corner of international issues, the lower left corner of the medical issues, the lower right corner of the education issues, and so on, easy to consult at any time when asked.

For his performance at the press conference, Zhao Qizheng recalled: "At the 2012 press conference, Wang Lijun's question, answer or not answer? If it is easy to shirk, it is said that the CPPCC has not yet discussed these issues. However, did the CPPCC not participate in the administration and discussion of state affairs, and how could it not participate in and discuss issues? This question has no caliber at all beforehand, which is my response. As far as I know, the central authorities are still very satisfied afterwards. ”

Talk about the press spokesman system

Some officials have concerns about being criticized for saying the wrong thing

In January this year, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection went to the State Council New Office for the first time to hold a press conference. This is a very good phenomenon in the view of Zhao Qizheng, who has gone all out to promote the establishment of a press release system and to bring the press conference hall of the Information Office on Asane Avenue into an active role. "There used to be press conferences, but there were relatively few, and that conference hall was not used several times a year, but now it is used very well, and the special ministers have personally participated."

Zhao Qizheng's comments on China's spokesman system have made Zhao Qizheng feel relieved. "The editor-in-chief of the German newspaper The Mirror once told me that your press conference was remarkable. I asked why, he said, the minister went to speak and broadcast live, in Germany, such a live broadcast is a little afraid, if it is wrong it will cause some problems, even have to resign, your ministers are very confident. Japanese journalists said that your cadres talk about these figures as many as a family treasure, and foreign politicians cannot do it. ”

However, Zhao Qizheng also put forward the areas where the government spokesman urgently needs to be improved, he believes that the central level has been relatively mature and experienced, but the localities still need to improve, and in some places, there are emergencies and delays in not opening the press conference. He cited the Wenzhou train incident as an example, "When the accident occurred only a few minutes, netizens posted on Weibo, 2 hours later, the reporter came, and the press conference was more than 24 hours old."

Talking about how to persuade local officials and the media to communicate better, Zhao Qizheng said bluntly: "It is difficult to convince them, some of them have concerns, afraid of saying the wrong thing and being criticized." ”

Wang Yongping, a former spokesman for the Ministry of Railways, was pushed to the cusp of the storm in 2011 when he answered the question of the "7.23 Wenzhou EMU Accident". At the end of 2015, he retired. Zhao Qizheng also met this former peer some time ago, Zhao Qizheng told the political knowledge circle (WeChat id: wepolitics), he gave encouragement to Wang Yongping, "For the sentence 'As for whether you believe it or not, anyway, I believe it', I think if you don't believe it and say it, isn't it a lie, you believe it before you say it, I think you are honest." In addition to the encouragement, there was also criticism, and Zhao Qizheng believed that Wang Yongping did not go to the scene to personally investigate before the press conference, which was a problem with the working method, which also needed the attention of the spokesman.

For Zhao Qizheng's suggestion, "At that time, Wang Yongping said, 'Thank you for your encouragement and love for me.'" “

Talk about dealing with journalists

Many speakers work hard Reporters ask questions but do not work hard

As a former director of the State Council's new office and spokesman for the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Zhao Qizheng often deals with reporters, and he believes that to be kind to the media is to be kind to himself.

As for "whether he likes foreign journalists or Chinese journalists," he said he did not prefer journalists from any country, but liked sharp questions. "Sharp questions are actually the most important to answer, don't shy away from it. Because sharp issues are generally issues that can represent the broad concern of public opinion. ”

In Zhao Qizheng's view, foreign journalists do have a deep foundation. "Our spokesperson worked hard, but some journalists didn't have to ask questions. Journalists must also work hard, not only to record and convey, but also to have profound thinking and extensive knowledge, so that they can ask good questions. ”

Because he had long been responsible for explaining China's responsibilities to the world, Zhao Qizheng was deeply touched by the huge gap between China and the actual China in international public opinion, and after his retirement, he has also been promoting "public diplomacy" from various fields, introducing China to foreign countries and telling Chinese stories well. "From the moment I joined the CPPCC, I used the term public diplomacy to describe the tasks and activities of the CPPCC Foreign Affairs Committee. Our CPPCC members are representatives of all walks of life and can express China from all angles, so the CPPCC can represent the will of the people and tell wonderful Chinese stories to foreigners. The real China does not need us to whitewash, the real China is the china in progress, and the fundamental way to tell the story of China is to introduce a real China. ”