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Vigorous Internet shows openness
By Zuo Yuanfeng and Ding Yimin |
January 12, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ON his public servant's salary, Zhou Jiugeng couldn't afford the expensive cigarettes and a Vacheron Constantin watch he was seen with in an Internet photo taken in 2007.
Netizens were outraged by Zhou's extravagance. The uproar triggered an official investigation that finally brought down the Nanjing (in Jiangsu Province) district real estate administrator at the end of December, 2008.
For a populous country in the information age, the Internet has become a new channel for people to express their opinions.
On June 20 last year, President Hu Jintao visited a news portal. For the first time he chatted with Netizens about issues that are sometimes hotly debated.
Hu's stance for openness and transparency was echoed by the extraordinarily active publicity of various levels of government.
The central and provincial governments in 2008 hosted 1,587 press conferences, up 179 year on year. That was the highest number in the country's history.
The welcoming policy of the Chinese government toward journalists from around the world was announced in October.
While presenting itself to the world as honest and reasonable, China became more confident of accepting diversified opinions from various channels.
The Internet was also a tool for soliciting a huge number of opinions about ?? some even opposing ?? public policies and draft laws.
The open-minded attitude and tolerance toward dissenting opinions showcases China's confidence of bettering its governance.
However, a regular and effective system linking governance to new media is yet to come.
Convenient as it seems, the Internet, like newspapers and television, is no more than a medium. The country needs formal procedures to monitor online information and carry out investigations accordingly.
Netizens were outraged by Zhou's extravagance. The uproar triggered an official investigation that finally brought down the Nanjing (in Jiangsu Province) district real estate administrator at the end of December, 2008.
For a populous country in the information age, the Internet has become a new channel for people to express their opinions.
On June 20 last year, President Hu Jintao visited a news portal. For the first time he chatted with Netizens about issues that are sometimes hotly debated.
Hu's stance for openness and transparency was echoed by the extraordinarily active publicity of various levels of government.
The central and provincial governments in 2008 hosted 1,587 press conferences, up 179 year on year. That was the highest number in the country's history.
The welcoming policy of the Chinese government toward journalists from around the world was announced in October.
While presenting itself to the world as honest and reasonable, China became more confident of accepting diversified opinions from various channels.
The Internet was also a tool for soliciting a huge number of opinions about ?? some even opposing ?? public policies and draft laws.
The open-minded attitude and tolerance toward dissenting opinions showcases China's confidence of bettering its governance.
However, a regular and effective system linking governance to new media is yet to come.
Convenient as it seems, the Internet, like newspapers and television, is no more than a medium. The country needs formal procedures to monitor online information and carry out investigations accordingly.
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