Not much I can add to this Xinhua article:

Most Chinese pay attention to govt. spokesmen, want more transparency

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Wang Weitao, a PhD candidate at China's University of Science and Technology, said Premier Wen Jiabao's manner as a spokesman during press conference impressed him most.

The Premier showed his sincerity, prudence and amicability while elaborating important policies and answering reporters' questions, he noted, adding that Wen had set a good example for all spokesmen.

Like Wang, many Chinese has started to pay attention to spokesmen as a survey last week shows 85.9 percent Chinese have followed spokesman at various levels with interest.

"To watch a press conference given by a spokesman is much more interesting and informative than reading regulations and watching news broadcasts," said Ke Qiang, a college junior in Hubei University.

The week-long survey, conducted by the China Youth Daily, revealed that 84.9 percent of Chinese support the system of making news known through a spokesman.

Well, me too. But Imagethief has always felt that if there is one thing more interesting than news made known through a spokesman, it's news made known through a cheerleading squad. Imagine what that could do for the annual National People's Congress press conference. But no one ever listens to me about these things.