South China Morning Post

 

Friday March 5 2010

 

Delegates take tentative step to using new media with microblogs

 

Ivan Zhai

 

Sheng Lianxi was posting on his microblog about an hour after the opening ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on Wednesday.

 

'The CPPCC is paying more attention to the problems concerning people's livelihoods,' he told his readership of more than 5,900.

 

Some might view the posts by Sheng - the Communist Party secretary of Northeast Normal University in Changchun, Jilin province - as propaganda, but the key is the tool he used. He is among the first delegates to the CPPCC or the National People's Congress to communicate using new media.

 

Following their top leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, mainland officials and delegates are turning to the internet to reach out to the public and make their voices heard. Blogs, webcasting and online interviews are becoming increasingly popular as, by the end of last year, the mainland had 380 million internet users, more than any other country.

 

When Hu became the first to visit and chat with internet users on the website of the People's Daily in June 2008, communications experts said it reflected how the government was adapting to the internet era and starting to use the new tools to collect public opinion.

 

Wen spoke with internet users for the second year on Sunday as state media said the premier's 'online chat' before the annual sessions of the CPPCC and NPC, two of the most important annual political events in China, might become routine.

 

About 10 of more than 2,000 CPPCC representatives and four of nearly 3,000 NPC delegates are posting on two of the mainland's biggest microblog platforms, most of them registered just a few days ahead of this year's sessions.

 

Sheng, who first posted on Monday, had contributed 20 posts by last night, and the one he sent on Tuesday night earned him the most feedback, as 98 microbloggers commented on his request for suggestions on his proposal this year: 'We are asking for advice on the educational reform and development outline. Any good ideas?'

 

According to a People's Daily survey early this week, more than 90 per cent of the 97 NPC delegates who responded said they considered new media 'important for them to gather information' from the people.

 

Analysts said it would also be interesting to see how the new online tools - such as microblogs and other social networking systems, which were used effectively for US President Barack Obama's campaign victory in 2008 - would change China.

 

Wang Zechu, an adviser to the Guangdong government, said officials' efforts to engage internet users was just one of the ways the public can become involved in politics.

 

'I believe the reliable way of involving people in politics is still the representative system, not just collecting public opinion online,' he said.

 

Beijing-based internet expert Hu Yong agreed. 'We do not know how the delegates can really represent the public nor how the public opinion they collect will impact policymaking, so we shouldn't give the trend too much significance.'