Long way to online governance

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By He Bolin (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-02 08:34

Though governments at almost all levels in China have built their own web pages with increasing enthusiasm in recent years, there is still room for improvement. This is the finding of some officials, netizens and experts.

Given the large number - 50,000-plus government websites - the Internet has in fact become indispensable for providing effective and efficient governance, according to Professor Wang Yukai from China National School of Administration.

Still, these websites are facing challenges as more and more people take these as channels for seeking from the government answers and solutions to personal issues, concerns and complaints.

"The old mindset of governance must be changed from controlling and managing to providing services because on the one hand, the Internet is beyond government full control, while on the other hand, the government can improve its image, increase people's satisfaction, ensure social stability and sustain economic growth by developing a responsible online presence," Wang said.

An often mistaken idea by the government and its officials is that it's the Internet that brings so many complaints from people against their work. Rather, the complaints expose work failures that were covered up in the past.

Judged by the number of government websites, almost every county and many townships have established their official websites, but their service quality is spotty.

"Geographically, government websites of cities in eastern areas are better than those in central and western China," Wang said.

Governments in relatively more prosperous areas have developed a mutually beneficial relationship with the locals through the Internet. They offer more useful and convenient public service and release information in time through the Internet while the web serves as a speedy and efficient driving force for economic growth.

But the situation is not that promising in less developed regions in central and western China. In Wang's opinion, underdevelopment and lack of infrastructure in these areas are to blame.

Such an imbalance has been causing inconvenience to many, such as a netizen called Fan Ge who now works as a chef in Foshan of Guangdong province.

"Government's online service in Foshan is much more helpful, like guiding me to finish place-to-place residence registration, than in my hometown," Fan said in a message left online about his experience.

Besides geographical imbalance, many government websites were suspected of being image-building projects on which visitors can hardly find useful information or helpful administrative solutions to their problems.

Many websites run by local governments lack timely updates. News on these websites may be months or even years old. And, it could be difficult for people to seek public services, such as applying for a business license, through these seldom-maintained websites. Moreover, some sites, like those of the price and education bureaus of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, were once redirected by hackers to porn pages.

Some government websites' operational failure reveals how important people are in the scheme of some officials. Some experts say these officials used to be controllers and they are a world away from being sincere civil servants.

Yet there are government websites that have won great applause.

Last August, Chen Jianhua, Party chief of the city of Heyuan, Guangdong province, opened his real name e-mail box, asking for all kinds of opinion and soon became popular.

Chen's box was filled up and updated with people's letters, asking for investigation of unfair situations, appealing for government help, or offering suggestions for urban management. These letters were either handed over to relevant functional departments or answered by Chen himself.

In a recent letter, a local resident named Pan Jin complained to Chen about the unfair treatment he got in a years-long unsolved property dispute involving corrupt local officials. Pan found that based on his complaints, an investigation was launched within seven days of his letter to Chen.

Doubtless, because of Chen, Heyuan's e-government has run well and become a good example. But can we promote this in other places across the country? "Establishing and implementing the laws and regulations are the best way to improve governments' online service as relevant authorities will thus be bound by their legal responsibility rather than individual moral obligation," Wang said.

If information openness is one side of the e-government coin, then information security is the other side, Wang warned, citing the great loss suffered by the country' s steel industry in a recent espionage case.

"A big difference between China and other economies is that we have many State-owned enterprises that are vital to our national economy, and information about them should be treated as secrets; and, that's what we didn't do well in the past," Wang said.

"In formulating laws and regulation for e-government projects, it is essential for people in charge to consider all three facets - transparency, efficiency and security," Wang added.

(China Daily 09/02/2009 page8)