China to shorten name of new media regulator

BEIJING - The lengthy name of China's reorganized media regulatory body is expected to be shortened in response to public complaints, the secretariat of the annual parliamentary session said Wednesday.

The Chinese name of the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television will be shortened from 14characters to 10, according to the secretariat of first session of the 12th National People's Congress, the top legislature.

Many netizens have complained about the length of the body's name on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

The secretariat did not mention a change for the body's English name.

The State Council, or China's cabinet, on Sunday announced a plan to merge the country's press and broadcasting regulators to oversee the press, publication, radio, film and television sectors as part of efforts to cut red tape and reduce administrative intervention.

According to the plan, the General Administration of Press and Publication and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television will be integrated into the proposed ministerial-level State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.