Editor's note: Since the beginning of this year, Beijing Foreign Affairs Office has coordinated and mobilized resources from all parties especially by fully tapping into resources from sister cities, thus contributing to the success of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Related efforts include hosting promotion events, providing protocol services during foreign events, improving the international language environment, handling foreign-related security affairs and providing foreign-related services.
Recently, the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress reviewed and adopted the Regulations at its 35th Meeting.
The introduction of the Regulations will further standardize and enhance the overall development of Beijing's international language environment and provide targeted measures to solve some existing problems, which include irregular usage of foreign language signs, lack of access to foreign language services in the public sector, lack of public interests and underparticipation from the private sector.
The building of an international language environment is a crucial support for building Beijing into the center for international exchanges. It has been included in the Plan for Strengthening Beijing's Role as the Center for International Exchange During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period. Next, Beijing will meticulously implement the Regulations.
Press conference
1. Standardize the management of foreign language signs. Foreign language signs are the showcase of the city's image and international services. As the Regulations is introduced, relevant municipal authorities will further standardize the management of foreign language signs. First, formulate supporting documents. According to the provisions of Article 5 of the Regulations, five categories of public places that should be set up with foreign language signs will be specified based on the actual needs of international exchanges and services. A catalogue of such places across the city with certain types of information that should use foreign language signs will be available to the public. The catalogue will nail down the specific names of key public places and the industries they belong to, to ensure that the responsibilities are assigned to these places. Second, optimize the process of law enforcement. Work with the city's law enforcement authority to draw up the normative documents for law enforcement, so as to provide a basis for law enforcement departments to fully perform their duties and effectively enforce the Regulations. Third, enhance supervision and law enforcement. The competent departments and districts should strengthen the supervision of foreign language signs, with focus on public places such as government service centers, tourist attractions, museums, transit stations, important business circles and foreign talent communities. The city's comprehensive law enforcement authority should add up efforts to ensure the effective implementation of the Regulations with its binding effect.
2. Provide accessible foreign language services in public service sectors. Give full play to the city-level coordination mechanism for building the international language environment, so that relevant departments will fully perform their duties in regards to the Regulations, and provide foreigners and foreign-funded institutions with accessible information and related services in foreign languages. First, the foreign affairs office should strengthen coordination and supervision, and provide technical guidance to other departments. Second, the government service administration should further improve the building and management of the government's multi-language portal website. The release of policy documents and service information on investment, work, study, life and tourism should be timely, and the translation should be accurate and up to standards. Third, foreign language services should be refined in the 12345 citizen hotline, emergency hotlines such as 110, 120 and 119, government service centers at all levels, and service sectors including culture, tourism, health care, emergency warning, foreign talent communities, so that the city's foreign services will continue to be improved.
3. Promote dissemination of the Regulations. As the first local regulations in China for building international language environment, the Regulations requires the attention and support from all sectors of the society to jointly enhance the sense of responsibility, initiative and participation. To this end, we will greatly promote the dissemination of the Regulations. First, bilingual promotional videos, policy interpretation pictures and posters will be disseminated through the news media to explain the importance of this work to the public, and guide enterprises, public institutions, self-employed businesses and the general public to participate in it so as to raise the overall awareness to standardize the use of foreign language signs. Second, law popularization activities and training sessions will be held among Party organs, government departments and enterprises, whereby experts and members of the drafting group will be invited to explain the key parts of the Regulations and raise the awareness of relevant departments to provide accessible foreign language environment services in accordance with the Regulations. Foreign affairs offices and competent departments shall better assume their administrative responsibilities and ensure that public service providers and departments administering foreign language signs truly understand and implement the Regulations.
4. Encourage social participation. The improvement of the international language environment relies on multiple stakeholders,including Party and government departments, public institutions, enterprises and individuals, which are both beneficiaries and contributors. Thus, a work mechanism based on joint contribution, co-governance and shared benefits should be built. First, government departments, public institutions, enterprises, people's organizations and social organizations are encouraged to participate in foreign language voluntary services. Foreign language professionals and foreigners are most welcomed. Foreign language volunteer teams will be built by relying on universities and colleges in Beijing. Second, more guidance shall be given to the city's translation association, to strengthen the self-discipline of the translation industry and improve its service quality and standards. Third, enterprises in related fields are encouraged to provide multilingual products and services, and use technological tools to further improve foreign language communication capabilities and service standards, thus contributing to the building of an international language environment in Beijing.
Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office will continue to improve the law enforcement of the Regulations based on new situations and problems identified during the implementation, and create a sound environment for the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
