Xinhua office wants name change to reflect true role

Xinhua's SAR branch wants to change its name to reflect its role more accurately.

Describing the office as 'not a news agency', Deputy Director Wang Fengcao said a change was necessary.

'In Hong Kong, this body should have transparency. It is not a news agency,' Mr Wang said.

He said the organisation was named a news agency before the handover because of special circumstances.

'The name of a news agency was given before 1997 under the special historic conditions,' Mr Wang said.

'Now that Hong Kong has returned [to the mainland], we should make the public aware that the name of the organisation should be in line with what it does.' Xinhua has reportedly considered renaming itself the Central Government's Representative Office.