French journalist Caroline Puel wants to present the real China
to her readers, who are eager to know more about the country with
the Beijing Olympic Games just eight months
away.
"Most of the time, when you speak about China in France, people
think about the ancient culture, the history and traditions, not
much about the China (as it is) today," Puel said on Friday. "My
job is to present modern China to my readers."
Puel is Asia bureau chief of Le Point, a weekly French
magazine, and has been in China for 20 years. The fluent
Putonghua-speaker was one of the international journalists and
diplomats who shared their experiences at a reception held by the
Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
(BOCOG) on Friday.
China's best gymnasts performed a male vocal quintet and the
national synchronized swimming team gave a group dance recital,
enthralling journalists from 63 news agencies and diplomats from
more than 85 countries.
"Sports is the last thing we want to cover (about the Beijing
Games). Instead, we are more interested in the kind of sports
common people are doing with," Puel said.
Even for China, the Olympic Games is more than a sports event.
It's a window to show the world the modern image of the
country.
"Beijing is the third city in Asia to host the Games (Tokyo and
Seoul hosted it before), and people in Japan will be very happy to
see China host a successful Games," said Fumihiro Kawakami,
counselor of the Japanese embassy.
Most of the international journalists want to cover how Chinese
sportspersons are preparing for the Games, the construction of the
Olympic venues, and transport and tourist facilities, said Gregorio
Laso, press and information counselor of the Spanish embassy.
China has pledged to intensify efforts to facilitate reporting
on the Olympic Games.
A new rule published early this year made reporting for foreign
journalists a lot easier. And in July, BOCOG began a one-stop media
service to help international journalists get Olympics-related
interviews.
(China Daily December 8, 2007)