The Forum on Government Publicity and Spokesperson System was held on November 9 in Beijing to mark the 10th anniversary of establishing government spokesperson system in China. Around 100 spokespersons across the nation discussed the history and prospect for Chinese government publicity and transparency, which was promoted via spokesperson system in the aftermath of SARS crisis in 2003. As one of the trainers for the first generation government spokespersons in China, Professor Shi Anbin, Associate Dean of the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication and Executive Director of Israel Epstein Center for Global Media and Communication, Tsinghua University (CGMC), delivered a keynote to highlight the importance of legal authorization and professionalization for the current publicity and spokesperson system. He also called for the urgency of "governing with social media" for Chinese leaders at central and local levels.

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