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Blog opened for law-makers, political advisors
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-03-04 10:40
Zhou Hongyu, a deputy to China's lawmaking National People's Congress (NPC),
said Friday he felt something special about this year's NPC session, scheduled
to open Sunday.
A blog site has been opened for him and other NPC deputies a week before the
session, grouped under the title of "deputies' blogs."
"With this blog, I'll be better able to hear voices from the general public
and learn about their lives. It will help me fulfill my duties as an NPC
deputy," Zhou, a vocal proponent of educational reform, writes in the opening
remarks on his personal blog.
Zhou has also written down motions and proposals he brought to the session in
his blog, including proposals on curbing arbitrary collection of fees in
schools, improving the quality of rural school teachers and protecting the
interests of laid-off workers.
Tang Weihong, who is in charge of the website, blog.people.com. cn, which
hosts the deputies' blog sites, said all NPC deputies and members of the
National Committee of the CPPCC, China's top political advisory body, are free
to open blog sites with the website.
"They have to go through an identity verification process, of course," she
said.
The annual sessions of the NPC and National Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in March are considered the most
important annual political events of China.
So far, eight NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members have opened
blogs on the website, administered by the People's Daily. More are in the
process of application, said Tang.
"We hope such blogs will help the NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee
members to better communicate with the public," she said. "There is a demand for
such channels of communication. The public wants to know what the NPC deputies
and CPPCC National Committee members are doing. Many deputies and members are
also willing to tell the people about their work."
There have already been lots of responses to messages on deputies' blogs. One
of them says: It's a good thing to open deputies' blogs before the NPC session,
which will help the deputies know the thoughts of the public and bring them to
the NPC session.
After reading a blog article of Zhu Yongxin, a CPPCC National Committee
member, a correspondent of a Japanese news service left a message showing his
interest in the article and asked for an interview with Zhu.
Tang said NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members may post their
thoughts and feelings during the annual sessions. They may also reveal what kind
of motions and proposals they have brought to the sessions.
"They may keep their blogs on the website as long as they like, even after
the annual sessions close," she said. The two sessions last for around two
weeks.
The emergence of blog sites of NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee
members marks a new development in China for using the latest communication
technology, including the Internet and mobile phone text messages, to enhance
the transparency of public affairs.
Live broadcasts of major political meetings and news conferences on the
Internet, along with TV and radio, have become a commonplace.
Leading Chinese websites, including www.xinhuanet.com, www. people.com.cn,
www.China.com.cn and the Chinese central government website www.gov.cn, all have
applied and won approval to broadcast live the NPC and CPPCC sessions of this
year.
The news conferences held by the Information Office of the State Council
these days are invariably broadcast live by the leading websites.
"As far as I know, China is ahead of many other countries in this field,"
said an executive with xinhuanet.
A survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences revealed that by
November last year, about 16 million netizens in China wrote blogs on the
Internet.
However, some NPC deputies worry the spread of blogs might lead to problems
and difficulties in management.
"Blog may give one the right to speak, but it may also be a breeding ground
for spiteful attacks or vulgar tastes," said Shi Chunsheng, an NPC deputy from
Tianjin, a leading port city in north China.
To ensure blog sites serve as a platform for individuals to express personal
views freely, lawmakers have urged a better legal environment for the management
of blog sites to prevent vituperations in the virtual world from extending to
people's daily life and to protect citizens' privacy.
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