The fame game

For a brief period last week, I was famous. My picture was splashed across China Central Television, which has 300 million viewers, the largest audience in the world. My face appeared on Sina.com and other websites, and I received a stream of mobile phone messages.

The reason for my sudden popularity had nothing to do with my skills, charm or good looks. I had merely attended a government press conference. These are not infrequent events. In a new sign of openness, every month or so the State Council Press Office or some other government body will host a press conference for a national or provincial government office, and will invite several dozen journalists.

Some issues are important - last week's was about a new, capitalist-style policy for investments - and some are inconsequential. I showed up at one briefing by the Guilin city government that I thought was about trade. It turned out to be an advertising campaign for the city's tourism, but at least the posters they handed out were nice.

Security at all of them is tight. Last week, my press card was being renewed and the guards would not accept my business card. A 10-minute wait ensued while they tracked down the relevant official. When I got to the auditorium, my name had been placed on a special list so I could bypass the camera that registers your face against a database. The reason: I am not Chinese.

Inside, half a dozen cameras from CCTV and other channels are trained on the speaker. But they also want shots of the audience. Inevitably, if they catch sight of a well-dressed Caucasian, he or she will feature in their broadcast.

Those with still cameras do the same, which can be annoying as you try to scribble notes. I soon took to hiding my face behind a magazine, or staring directly at the camera, which ruins a spontaneous shot. One colleague from a wire service deliberately wears a suit for these events so that he gets to ask the first question. I am no match for his height and good looks, and the cameras usually pan over to his side of the room.