Special report: Premier Wen gives online interview at Chinese medianet,
Government Portal
Backgrounder: China's
central government website
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao holds an
online chat with netizens jointly hosted by the central government website
and Chinese media website in Beijing, China, Feb. 28, 2009. (Chinese media/Yao Dawei)
Photo
Gallery
By Chinese media Writer Li Huizi
BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Chinese media) -- Listening to online
voices is becoming more important for Chinese officials, as was shown in Premier
Wen Jiabao's web chat with netizens on Saturday.
Observers believe it reflects the top leadership's
will to promote "Internet democracy."
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) shakes
hands with staffs of GOV.cn, the official web portal of the Central
People's Government of the People's Republic of China, and Chinese medianet.com,
the online news service of Chinese media News Agency, in Beijing on Feb. 28,
2009. The two portals will jointly interview Wen, which will be shown live
in both text and video.(Chinese media Photo/Fan Rujun)
Photo Gallery
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C, front)
arrives at the building where the offices of two state news portals are
located, to chat with Internet surfers in Beijing, China, Feb. 28, 2009.
The two portals, the central government website (www.gov.cn) and the
Chinese media News Agency website(www.Chinese medianet.com), will jointly interview Wen,
which will be shown live in both text and video.(Chinese media Photo/Yao
Dawei )
Photo
Gallery
"Chinese officials and scholars felt obliged to
notice online views because it keeps them informed of the social situation,"
said Yu Guoming, vice president of the Media College of Beijing-based Renmin
University of China.
"On-line opinions have become an indispensable part
of public voices," he said.
"Reading piles of documents, listening to work
reports and going among the public" might not be an effective way for officials
to gauge society in the information age, Yu said.
According to the China Internet Network Information
Center, an increasing number of Chinese choose cyberspace to express opinions.
As of January, there were more than 300 million
Chinese, or 23.8 percent of the population, who had access to the Internet.
That's up 40 percent year on year.
The figure increases monthly by about 8 million to 9
million. It means the Chinese Internet population has become the world's
largest.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C) waves
tostaff of GOV.cn, the official web portal of the Central People's
Government of the People's Republic of China, and Chinese medianet.com, the
online news service of Chinese media News Agency, in Beijing on Feb. 28, 2009.
The two portals will jointly interview Wen, which will be shown live in
both text and video.(Chinese media Photo/Fan Rujun)
Photo
Gallery
INTERNET
DEMOCRACY
Last year saw the peak in social and political
activity on the Internet with unprecedented media coverage and public attention.
In June, President Hu visited Qiangguo Forum, a
virtual forum under the People's Daily. He chatted with the public for four
minutes and said he got to learn of people's concerns through netizens.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C) talks with
staff of GOV.cn, the official web portal of the Central People's
Government of the People's Republic of China, and Chinese medianet.com, the
online news service of Chinese media News Agency, in Beijing on Feb. 28, 2009.
The two portals will jointly interview Wen, which will be shown live in
both text and video.(Chinese media Photo/Fan Rujun)
Photo Gallery
Premier Wen also said he used the Internet to listen
to public opinions and suggestions. Netizens posted tens of thousands of
questions and advice for Wen on several Chinese news portals.
"I've perceived confidence and strength from people's
suggestions online," Wen said at a press conference held after the National
People's Congress session in 2006.
Netizens also flex their muscles, or fingers, to
advise local government work. In April, 26 active netizens from southern
Guangdong Province were invited to talk face-to-face with Wang Yang, the
provincial Party chief. They were allowed to freely express their views on the
province's development.
"The Internet has increased public participation in
political and social affairs and promoted socialist democracy," said Wang, who
is known for his creative and bold reform ideas.
Meanwhile, Internet vigilantes, known as "human flesh
search engines", tracked government officials, including the deputy head of
Shenzhen's marine affairs bureau, who allegedly tried to molest a teenage girl,
and the director of Nanjing's property bureau, who misused public funds to buy
luxury goods.
Netizens were even invited by the local government to
investigate a controversial death of an inmate who allegedly died during a game
of "hide-and-seek" in a detention house in southwestern Yunnan Province.
Moreover, three people in central Henan Province, who
represent a local netizen association, made headlines last month by becoming
lawmakers and political advisors .
Analysts said it was an unprecedented sign of
"netizens stepping out of virtual space into the real world's political arena."
With this year's top legislature and advisory body's
annual sessions around the corner, some lawmakers and advisors used blogs or
online forums to collect opinions or gain public support for their bills or
proposals.
Similarly, the Internet has become a major channel
for the government to solicit public opinions for draft laws, regulations and
national policies.
Netizens were invited last month to offer suggestions
on guidelines for a national educational program. Last October, the State
Council also solicited online opinions for the country's medical reform program.
Yu said the Internet "offered the most convenient
vent for voices of common people, without any editing."
"Conventional media usually convey only one kind of
view but the Internet allows dissenting views as long as they are in line with
laws," he said.
He said the Internet had become a mainstream medium
in China. Mass communications theories said "20 percent" is the threshold
indicating whether a medium was mainstream.
Yu said the Internet was so popular in China that
people with different ages used it, so it was able to reflect social issues.
The country's top leadership is aware of the
transformation.
In January 2007, Hu, general secretary of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), urged officials at a lecture
attended by members of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, to improve
their Internet literacy and use it to "improve the art of leadership".
"I LOVE
BAOBAO"
Netizens, who dubbed themselves fans of Hu Jintao and
Wen Jiabao, created a website called "Shijinbabaofans" in Chinese last
September.
The site collected accounts of Hu and Wen's
activities, remarks and photos and allowed the public to post suggestions about
government work.
Fans' formed Internet words using Hu and Wen's name
such as "Brother Tao" and "I love Baobao". The latter was brought to the
spotlight when overseas Chinese students carried a large banner with the four
Chinese characters during Wen's recent European visit.
Anonymous fans also built a home page for Wen on the
popular social networking website Facebook. Foreigners and overseas Chinese
students, among others, posted praise and criticism for the work of the Chinese
government.
Some local Chinese politicians also have their own
websites which provide a space for the public to lodge complaints.
President Hu said in June that he would "seriously
read and study" on-line postings sent to him by netizens.
Observers believe the "grassroots democracy,"
reflected by the interaction on the Internet between the public and the
leadership, shows that netizens have become a constructive force in public
affairs.
But they also warn that relevant laws are needed to
better regulate and improve online activity.
"Trip of
confidence"
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UN
meetings
SCO
meeting
Wenvisits
industrial hub
Wen visits
quake-hit Sichuan
Ongov't work
report
On economic
slowdown trend
Wen meets with
Clinton
Int'l meetings,
visit Singapore
SCO meeting, visit
four nations
GMS
Summit
Chinese premier welcomes suggestions
for annual gov't work report
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L, back)
presides over a forum to get suggestions to improve the government work
report from economic and social scholars in Beijing, capital of China,
Feb. 9, 2009. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao invited non-Communists party
members, economic and social scholars, people from business,
technological, educational, health, cultural and sports sectors as well as
workers and farmers to his work place over the past week, soliciting input
for a draft government work report to be submitted to the annual
parliament session next month. Five forums were held between Feb. 6 and 13
at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in downtown Beijing.(Chinese media/Liu
Jiansheng)
Photo
Gallery
BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Chinese media) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
invited non-Communists party members, economic and social scholars, people from
business, technological, educational, health, cultural and sports sectors as
well as workers and farmers to his work place over the past week, soliciting
input for a draft government work report to be submitted to the annual
parliament session next month. Full story
Chinese premier invites grassroots
suggestions for gov't work
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R, front)
shakes hands with representatives of grass roots civilians attending the
forum in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 12, 2009. Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao invited non-Communists party members, economic and social scholars,
people from business, technological, educational, health, cultural and
sports sectors as well as workers and farmers to his work place over the
past week, soliciting input for a draft government work report to be
submitted to the annual parliament session next month. Five forums were
held between Feb. 6 and 13 at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in
downtown Beijing.(Chinese media/Liu Jiansheng)
Photo Gallery
BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Chinese media) -- Thirteen grassroots
representatives - some of them farmers, pig-raisers, migrant workers, college
graduates, doctors and primary school teachers - were invited to the Zhongnanhai
leadership compound in downtown Beijing last week by the premier to voice their
opinions on government work.
Sitting beside an oval table, the 13 people, excited
and nervous, all experienced their first face-to-face talk with Premier Wen
Jiabao. Full story
Chinese Premier urges "top priority"
on drought relief
BEIJING,
Feb. 8 (Chinese media) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has urged officials in drought-hit
areas to place "top priority" on relief work as agricultural stability concerns
China's bid to revive its economy.
The fight against drought has to do not only with the
safety of grain supply but also with the country's efforts to stimulate domestic
demand, Wen said during a visit to central China's drought-hit Henan Province on
Saturday and Sunday. Full story
All-out efforts in employment
expansion urged
BEIJING, Feb. 10
(Chinese media) -- China's State Council, or the cabinet, issued a notice Tuesday that
urged governments at all levels to make every possible effort to expand
employment.
The notice said that the deepening global financial
crisis makes it more difficult to offer jobs for new labor force and
unemployment risks continue to increase. In response, governments should adopt a
more vigorous employment policy to maintain stable employment and social order.
Full story
Ministry: China to create 775,000 jobs
through rural stores by end-2010
BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Chinese media) -- China will establish
250,000 rural retail stores by next year to create 775,000 jobs for migrant
workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the global economic crisis, a
Ministry of Commerce official said Monday.
Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei said this year
the ministry would set up 150,000 stores. This and the building of ancillary
services, including delivery centers and post offices, which would create "a
large amount of jobs" for migrant workers. Full story
Rising unemployment becomes China's
top challenge
BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Chinese media) -- A survey conducted by
China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center predicted that rising unemployment
would be the biggest challenge for China's economy this year.
The survey showed, more than 90 percent of the 100
economists surveyed expressed their worries over the country's increasing
unemployment rate, which had added woes to a world economic downturn. Full story
Chinese Vice Premier: boost
employment, guarantee people's living
BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Chinese media) -- Chinese Vice Premier Li
Keqiang said Monday that employment and people's livelihood should be
guaranteed.
Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the
Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the
remarks when visiting the southern Guangdong Province, a major base for
export-oriented manufacturers that had provided jobs for many migrant
workers. Full story
Hu underscores stable agricultural,
rural economic
development
BEIJING, Jan. 24
(Chinese media) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao urged the promotion of stable
agricultural and rural economic development and said issues concerning
agriculture, countryside and farmers should continue to be the top priority of
the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Hu, also General Secretary of the CPC Central
Committee, made the remarks during a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC
Central Committee on Friday. Attendees at the meeting studied the means to
promote agricultural modernization with Chinese characteristics.Full story
China to take measures to spur
consumption, stimulate foreign trade
BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Chinese media) -- More measures will be
taken to stimulate consumption and support foreign trade, according to
Wednesday's executive meeting of China's State Council, or the cabinet.
A document released after the meeting, chaired by
Premier Wen Jiabao, said to stimulate domestic consumption, efforts should be
made to improve the rural circulation network, increase the variety of
commodities available in rural markets, improve urban community
service-facilities, promote upgrade of durable goods, support development of
circulation companies, stimulate holiday consumption through exhibitions, and
step up supervision over product quality and safety.Full story
China legislature hears State Council report on financial
crisis
BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Chinese media) -- The
legislature heard here on Wednesday a somber report on how the intensifying
impact of the world financial and economic crisis is reverberating through
China's economy.
Zhang Ping, minister in charge of
the National Development and Reform Commission, representing the State Council
(cabinet), outlined the situation to the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress. Full story
China GDP grew 9.9% in 1st three quarters:
official
BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Chinese media) -- A
senior cabinet member supervising the national economy said here on Wednesday
that China's economy grew 9.9 percent in the first three quarters of this year.
Zhang Ping, minister in charge of
the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), reported the
implementation of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) on national economic and
social development to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
(NPC). Full story
China opens top economic work meeting
with focus on stable growth
BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Chinese media) -- China's annual
Central Economic Work Conference opened here Monday to set tone for the economic
development next year.
Observers believed the three-day event
would give priority to efforts to maintain stable economic growth. Full story
China adopts "active" fiscal,
"moderately easy" monetary policies to boost economy
BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Chinese media) -- China
has decided to adopt active fiscal policy and moderately easy monetary policies
to boost fast but steady economic growth by expanding domestic demand, according
to an executive meeting of the State Council on Sunday.
It is estimated that investment into
infrastructure, social welfare and other key sectors will amount to four
trillion yuan by the end of 2010. Full story
China's 4 trillion yuan stimulus to
boost economy, domestic demand
BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Chinese media) -- China said
on Sunday it will loosen credit conditions, cut taxes and embark on a massive
infrastructure spending program in a wide-ranging effort to offset adverse
global economic conditions by boosting domestic demand.
This is a shift long advocated by
analysts of the Chinese economy and by some within the government. It comes amid
indications that economic growth, exports and various industries are
slowing. Full story
Chinese premier visits industrial
hub
TIANJIN, Feb. 16 (Chinese media) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
went on a morale boosting tour in the northern port municipality of Tianjin, an
industrial hub near Beijing, Sunday and Monday.
Wen talked with textile workers, steel makers, tire
manufacturers and students during the tour to see how the city is weathering the
global financial crisis. Full story
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