日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
China
Home / China / View

Internet and governance in China

By Tian Zhihui | China Daily | Updated: 2012-11-16 08:04

Internet and governance in China

The Internet is influencing governance in China - in most cases for the better. The impact the Internet is having on governance can be gauged from an event on Tuesday, small in scale but huge in significance. The media center of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China organized online discussions between CPC delegates and netizens, which showed how important a channel the Internet has become for the Party to solicit people's opinions.

In 1997, only 1,500 websites were operating on the Chinese mainland. Today, there are about 2.5 million. More than 388 million Chinese surf the Internet on their mobile phones, accounting for 72.2 percent of the total netizens' population in China. And on average an Internet user stays online for 2.8 hours a day.

Few people could have foretold the Internet's influence on governance in China 15 years ago. Almost all governments, from the central to county levels, across China now have their own websites and regard the Internet as the most efficient medium to disseminate information and seek feedbacks from the people.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, too, communicate with the people through the Internet and think government officials should listen to netizens' voices and keep on improving governance.

Some departments in the fields of public security, charity, transport and healthcare now mainly depend on the Internet to provide public services.

The number of Internet users in China increased from 620,000 in 1997 to 87 million in 2005. Since 2005, when blogs and social networks became popular, the Internet has not only raised people's awareness about freedom of expression and the right to know, but also created the conditions for them to exercise these rights. That the number of Chinese netizens increased to 538 million in June 2012 shows how powerful and effective the Internet has been in improving governance. Surprisingly, about one-fifth of Chinese netizens are farmers.

Today, opinions can be formed quickly in public spheres such as forums and social networks, increasing the pressure on the authorities to meet the public demand for transparent governance and timely disclosure of information.

Responding timely to the changing situation, the State Council passed China's first Government Information Disclosure Rules in January 2007. Since May 2008, when the rules were enforced, governments at all levels have made stable progress in making governance more transparent. For instance, disclosures of detailed fiscal budgets, government expenditures and enrollment of civil servants have given the public the opportunity to supervise and scrutinize the exercise of power by many departments.

More importantly, the authorities have been very responsive to public opinion. Let's take one example. On the website of the Nanjing housing administration department in Jiangsu province, netizens in 2008 found a photograph of an official smoking exorbitantly expensive cigarettes. Immediately, they began questioning how an official in his position could afford to smoke such expensive cigarettes and whether he was involved in corruption. In response, the authorities launched an investigation, found the official was indeed corrupt and sentenced him to 11 years in prison in 2009.

So netizens not only dig information, but also positively influence decisions.

Netizens get their power not from individual Internet users but from the network mechanism that lowers the cost of communication to such a degree that a hierarchical or scattered society can be quickly mobilized and united on a particular topic. Sometimes, netizens' reactions can even influence the country's foreign policies.

This integrating power of the Internet has become, in many ways, the fundamental driving force behind effective interactions between the people and the authorities, with timely and active response by officials making the interactions constructively meaningful.

A recent case is the law against child abuse. A kindergarten teacher posted a series of photographs showing her mistreating children. The photographs evoked widespread criticism and anger on the Internet. Yielding to netizens' pressure, local authorities investigated into the incident. Though there is no specific law against child abuse in China, some lawmakers are considering enacting one at the earliest to better protect children's rights.

The Internet has filled the emptiness left by an underdeveloped society on its march toward industrialization. That social organizations in China are not fully developed is well known. So when some social problems transform into conflicts between individuals and governments, the Internet provides an ideal and flexible cushion in between.

As long as the authorities earnestly heed public concern, are open to suggestions and dispel people's suspicions by disclosing the right information at the right time, they can solve many problems before they snowball into major incidents.

But the Internet also has its drawbacks. Netizens can easily fabricate and/or spread rumors for personal gains. Since there are no special laws on Internet users in China, judicial authorities do not have the legal basis to punish rumormongers. So China needs to pass relevant laws to regulate the information network and deter potential troublemakers. But such laws should not compromise people's freedom of expression and right to know.

China was connected to the World Wide Web on April 20, 1994. But today tools or applications for linking to the Internet are so easily available that the online and offline worlds have become deeply intertwined. Online rumors, arguments or dialogues could easily lead to offline protests and actions. As the number of social media users increases at a blistering pace in China, personal microphones are becoming louder. Now it is hard to believe how governments in China can function without the Internet, which has become a coherent network reconstructing Chinese society and an indispensable link between governments and citizens.

The author is a professor of new media studies and the deputy dean of Graduate School at the Communication University of China, Beijing.

 

Editor's picks
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美精品午夜论理电影 | 国产在线不卡 | 男女在线观看啪网站 | 亚洲色图偷拍视频 | 牛票票全部晒票 | 人人草草 | 35pao强力打造 | 99久久精品国产高清一区二区 | 91福利在线视频 | 看免费的毛片 | 五月六月婷婷 | 天天干天天草 | 免费国产黄频在线观看视频 | 加勒比综合| 国产福利专区精品视频 | 亚洲色图综合 | 久草在线视频在线 | 亚洲欧洲视频 | 波多野结衣一区二区三区四区 | 成人网免费视频 | 国产无遮挡裸体免费视频 | 久久久久中文 | caoporn视频 | 99热这里有免费国产精品 | 国产精欧美一区二区三区 | a级成人毛片久久 | 成人一区二区三区 | 国产免费网址 | www国产精品 | 亚洲久草 | а√天堂资源中文最新版地址 | 天天操天天碰 | 久久一本久综合久久爱 | 欧美a级成人淫片免费看 | 久久美女 | 欧美交换乱理伦片120秒 | 亚洲欧美成人中文在线网站 | 欧美不卡一区二区三区免 | 色在线看| 欧美另类视频 | 日本一区欧美 |