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City opens official microblog to interact with public

SHANGHAI Municipal Government Information Office opened its official microblog account yesterday to serve as an interactive communication channel between the government and the public.

Called Shanghaicity, the microblog offers real-time updates on government issues, traffic and weather conditions, city life and multimedia city guide, as well as quick official responses to public concerns on Weibo.com, t.qq.com, t.eastday.com and t.xinmin.cn.

Online discussions, events and surveys will also be held regularly on these social networking websites, officials said.

"The microblog brings us citizens a more open channel to talk with the government," a local resident told Shanghai TV yesterday. But others wonder if the government microblog would address people's complaints and concerns in an efficient manner.

The official microblog updated 14 posts yesterday on weather, real-time traffic condition, air quality and vegetable prices, all useful information for daily life.

Since its launch yesterday morning, Shanghaicity attracted more than 106,000 followers on Weibo.com by 8pm yesterday.

This morning, other municipal departments opened their official microblogs, including the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, Shanghai Commercial and Industrial Administration, and some district governments.

"We are rookies (in microblogging) but we will grow under the care of general public," said Zhang Xuebing, director of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. "Fast spread is a key feature of microblog but it is also prone to blunders. I hope people can excuse us for occasional mistakes in the microblog."

To date, nearly 600 Shanghai government offices and institutions have started their official microblogs and about 300 city officials use real names to publish posts, covering issues from public security, urban transportation, tourism to environmental protection, civil affairs, education and volunteer groups.

But some of their microblogs are not updated daily and rarely interact with the netizens.

Shanghai Metro operator now boasts more than 1.15 million followers attached to its Weibo microblog, one of the most visited official microblogs in China.



 

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