Internet a mixed blessing to government

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-04-16 09:16

The government has sought to show a positive attitude towards the net.

During the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, President and Communist Party of China (CPC) General Secretary Hu Jintao made the first public statement by a Chinese leader on the Internet, saying, "I have seen good advice on the Internet (to combat SARS)."

Premier Wen has since said, "As the people's government, we should be subject to the democratic will of the people, and listen to the numerous viewpoints on the Internet."

During this year's annual session of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), more than 30,000 Internet users voted on the topics that concerned them most. The top three issues were corruption, the widening gap between rich and poor, and arbitrary education fees.

A survey last year by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences found 62.8 percent of users thought the Internet could help raise political awareness and 60.4 percent thought it could guide government officials on public opinion.

NPC deputy Zhou Hongyu has his own blog on the blog.people.com.cn site run by the People's Daily.

"With this blog, I'll be better able to listen to the general public and learn about their daily lives. It will help me fulfill my duties as an NPC deputy," Zhou, a vocal proponent of educational reform, writes in his introduction.

Tang Weihong, editor of the website, said that all NPC deputies and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body, were free to have blogs on the website.

"They have to go through an identity verification process, of course," she said.

President of the People's Daily website He Jiazheng said, "Some ministries have even asked us to invite public opinion on certain issues that concern the CPC, the state and society at large, including the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection."

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