New highlights in China's democratic politics
Gauging public opinion on the Internet becomes a fashion
At the end of November 2009, the number of Chinese netizens hit 360 million, up 20.8 percent compared to last year. The scale of China's Internet ranked No. 1 in the world. Not long before, www.people.com.cn jointly conducted an online survey with National School of Administration and Renmin University of China. The survey showed 69 percent of Chinese netizens think gauging public opinion on the Internet is an effective means, and they hold great expectations on promoting China's democracy through it.
These figures show it has become an important feature of and a new approach to China's democratic politics in 2009.
More officials become "netizens"
More ministries and local governments have set up message boards, blogs and emails on the Internet to answer netizens' questions.
June 20 last year, President Hu Jintao communicated with netizens online through www.people.com.cn. He pointed out the internet is an important channel for getting things done, making decisions, gauging public opinion and gathering wisdom. Following him, Premier Wen Jiabao had dialogues with netizens on www.gov.cn February 28 this year. This has further promoted the fashion of gauging public opinion online among government officials.
Over the past year, people have been delighted to see more central and local government officials attach importance to online opinion. The Internet is actually becoming a green path for them to get the public opinion. And gauging public opinion online has become a fashion.
14 ministries including the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Land and Resources and Ministry of Education have set up message boards, emails and blogs on the Internet to gather public opinion. They have also replied to netizens' online messages and appointed a network spokesman.
December 16, 2009, Governor of Jiangxi province Wu Xinxiong said in a letter to netizens on www.people.com.cn, Jiangxi's development is inseparable from the concern and support of the netizens. He will improve the working mechanism of dealing with netizens' messages.
Shi Zongyuan, Party Committee Secretary of Guizhou province, reads through the netizens' messages every day. He has already made this a habit.
Wang Yang, Party Committee Secretary of Guangdong province left a message online – I sincerely welcome you to contribute your opinions and suggestions on the development of Guangdong and timely voice the demands of people from all walks.
According to www.people.com.cn, till the middle of December, its message board for local leaders had altogether 420,000 messages by netizens. 38 Provincial Party Committee Secretaries and Governors, more than 90 city-level officials have publicly replied to the messages and more than 7,000 problems raised by netizens have been solved
At the end of November 2009, the number of Chinese netizens hit 360 million, up 20.8 percent compared to last year. The scale of China's Internet ranked No. 1 in the world. Not long before, www.people.com.cn jointly conducted an online survey with National School of Administration and Renmin University of China. The survey showed 69 percent of Chinese netizens think gauging public opinion on the Internet is an effective means, and they hold great expectations on promoting China's democracy through it.
These figures show it has become an important feature of and a new approach to China's democratic politics in 2009.
More officials become "netizens"
More ministries and local governments have set up message boards, blogs and emails on the Internet to answer netizens' questions.
June 20 last year, President Hu Jintao communicated with netizens online through www.people.com.cn. He pointed out the internet is an important channel for getting things done, making decisions, gauging public opinion and gathering wisdom. Following him, Premier Wen Jiabao had dialogues with netizens on www.gov.cn February 28 this year. This has further promoted the fashion of gauging public opinion online among government officials.
Over the past year, people have been delighted to see more central and local government officials attach importance to online opinion. The Internet is actually becoming a green path for them to get the public opinion. And gauging public opinion online has become a fashion.
14 ministries including the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Land and Resources and Ministry of Education have set up message boards, emails and blogs on the Internet to gather public opinion. They have also replied to netizens' online messages and appointed a network spokesman.
December 16, 2009, Governor of Jiangxi province Wu Xinxiong said in a letter to netizens on www.people.com.cn, Jiangxi's development is inseparable from the concern and support of the netizens. He will improve the working mechanism of dealing with netizens' messages.
Shi Zongyuan, Party Committee Secretary of Guizhou province, reads through the netizens' messages every day. He has already made this a habit.
Wang Yang, Party Committee Secretary of Guangdong province left a message online – I sincerely welcome you to contribute your opinions and suggestions on the development of Guangdong and timely voice the demands of people from all walks.
According to www.people.com.cn, till the middle of December, its message board for local leaders had altogether 420,000 messages by netizens. 38 Provincial Party Committee Secretaries and Governors, more than 90 city-level officials have publicly replied to the messages and more than 7,000 problems raised by netizens have been solved
New form of public participation in politics and a platform for scientific policy-making Expressing appeals through the Internet is becoming a new form of public participation in politics. People are using the Internet - an interoperable platform where they can express themselves freely and talk equally - to voice appeals and suggestions. The public opinion can be delivered directly through it to officials of all levels. This greatly stimulates public enthusiasm.A netizen of www.people.com.cn said as long as the content abides with the law, every ordinary netizen has the right to express their will freely and make comments and suggestions to the Party and the government by leaving messages and writing blogs. A netizen of www.xinhuanet.com said in a message that the immediacy, interactivity and timeliness of the Internet enable public opinion to be expressed more conveniently and quickly. In a survey by www.people.com.cn, the questions covered all aspects of life. A netizen said he hoped officials can really get close to ordinary people through the Internet and make replying to netizens' messages online a convention. He also wished officials can treat netizens' suggestions seriously instead of regarding the Internet as a platform for self-promotion. Zhang Chunxian, Party Committee Secretary of Hunan province, said attaching importance to public opinion online can not be lip service, but should be presented by solving practical problems brought by netizens. July 16, a netizen said he hoped Zhang could listen to what the front-line teachers said on the appointment of heads of provincial colleges and universities in Hunan province. Then in no more than 20 hours, Zhang sent for relevant officials, requesting them to listen to suggestions from all aspects especially the public opinion online. He requested them to assess and select officials according to the will of the people. Currently, Hunan Provincial Party Committee Organization Department has made listening to feedback from front-line teachers as an absolute requirement for assessing the heads of colleges and universities and has implemented this in practical work. Gauging public opinion online should be combined with that in real life. Gauging public opinion is the core, while the Internet is just a carrier. Qiao Xinsheng, president of the Communications Law Research Association of Hubei Law Society and professor at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Hubei, said the Internet is an indispensable force in the development of Chinese democratic politics. However, we should not overestimate its role or depend on it too much. If the officials just sit in the office, sending orders and communicating with the public through the Internet, they will soon become far removed from real life. How far can gauging public opinion through the Internet go? The answer does not lie in the Internet itself. Qiao gave the following points. First of all, we can not regard online public opinion as the whole public opinion. We should eliminate the false and retain the true through carefully selecting and analyzing the information online. Otherwise, the governments are likely to be misled and their policy-making may be controlled by some people with ulterior motivations.Secondly, establish the legal liability system on disclosing information online. According to China's Government Information Disclosure Regulation, the government should timely disclose the information that must be made public according to laws and administrative regulations. Inquiring information online is an effective way of implementing the government information disclosure system. If government organs do not perform their duties accordingly, they shall bear legal liability. The third point is the right of speech should be given to the public rather than monopolized by the party and government organs. On the one hand, we should establish a mechanism of responsible expression; while on the other hand, we should create a favorable environment, enabling the public to know the overall working situation of the party and government organs through the Internet. The last but not least, a unified platform for information release should be established to prevent overlapping of administration on the Internet. Some party and government organs as well as their subordinate departments all release information through their own websites. In the information transmission process, overlapping and even contradictions emerge in their information. Therefore, a unified information release platform should be established to enable the public to express their ideas through designated websites
Election: Deputies to the NPC in rural areas should be elected by the same proportion of the population as cities. At the 12th session of the 11th NPC (National People's Congress) Standing Committee December 22, an amendment (draft) of the Electoral Law of the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses was submitted for second review.The biggest highlight of the draft is that China will adopt the same proportion in the election of deputies to the NPC in rural areas as in cities. This regulation has attracted extensive attention and been highly valued since it was submitted. Many experts think this is an imperative for the development of China's socialist democratic politics and an important measure of building a harmonious socialist society. The report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China said we should safeguard the deputies to the NPC to exercise their powers, strengthen their contacts with the people and implement the same proportion of the population in their elections in rural area as in cities. This amendment is a specific step of implementing the spirit of the 17th National Congress. Looking back into history, in the electoral law 50 years ago rural deputies were disproportionately representing 8 times as many people than their counterparts in the cities. In 1995, this figure was narrowed down to 4 times. Today, rural areas are enjoying the same representation as cities. This is big progress in our democratic politics.By People's Daliy Online
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