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In general, I surf the Internet to get to know what issues netizens are concerned about, and their opinions and suggestions on the work of the Party and the government,” said Chinese President Hu Jintao on June 20, 2008 during his online dialogue with the netizens of people.com.cn.

In China, following increases in the number of netizens, leaders are paying more and more attention to the Internet, a direct channel through which to contact the broad masses. Hu Qiheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of the Internet Society of China, said, “The Internet has promoted Chinas social progress. It provides a platform for the people to express their opinions, and a platform for political participation of the people.”

New Democratic Channel

“Now we have the General Secretary as our cyber friend,” said a netizen on the BBS. In a 20-minute online dialogue between the General Secretary and netizens Hu Jintao answered questions extemporarily.

By the end of 2008, China had a total of 298 million netizens, surpassing the United States and making it the worlds biggest net-using nation. Hu Jintao said, “The Internet has become a collecting and distribution center of ideological and cultural information, and a magnifier of public opinion. We should fully understand the social influence of the emerging media represented by the Internet.”

On February 13, before the annual NPC and CPPCC sessions, Xinhuanet.com opened a column entitled “Premier, Please Listen to Me.” The lead of the column reads, “Whatever you want to say to our Premier, and anything you are concerned about and want our Premier to know, you may express here.” One of the main tasks of the annual NPC is to make laws.

At a press conference at the 2005 NPC and CPPCC sessions Premier Wen Jiabao said, “I have browsed the pages of Xinhuanet.com. The netizens raised several hundred questions for me to answer. Their suggestions and opinions are worthwhile for me and our government to consider earnestly.” In Luoyang City, Henan Province, four netizens have been recommended as deputies to the local peoples congress and members of the local committee of the CPPCC.

The attention paid to netizens by General Secretary Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao is an “active practice of democratic politics.” According to a survey, 71.9 percent of respondents hold that the Internet will become a new channel through which to build Chinese-style democracy. Wang Yang, secretary of the Guangdong provincial committee of the Chinese Communist Party, who is open-minded about the Internet, is called a “pioneer of Chinas online democratic politics.” Wang Yang once invited netizens to a meeting to listen to their opinions. He said, “What a leader worries about most is failing to listen to real conditions.” A survey on the source of leaders information conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows that 50 percent of leaders hold that the Internet is the most important channel of information.

Government officials browsing the Internet to exchange opinions with netizens is a new phenomenon in the Chinese political arena. It is a trend for administrative officials at various levels to conduct online dialogue with netizens, open blogs and e-mail accounts. The Peoples Daily, an organ of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, carried an editorial in 2007, entitled “2007, Listening to Chinese Netizens.” In the editorial it concluded that Chinese netizens have become an important force in promoting democratic building.

New Platform of Public Supervision

In 2008, the role of supervision played by the Internet saw unprecedentedly excellent performance. It is no longer a difficult thing to supervise officials. Certain officials lost their positions because of Internet exposure. Ma Wen, chief of the China National Bureau of Corruption Prevention, said, “The discipline and supervision departments have assigned personnel to collect clues about corruption from the Internet every day.”

Liu Suhua, an associate professor of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said, “The Internet is promoting the functional change of the government, and netizens have become a strong force making officials misfeasance inescapable.”

On December 11, 2008, a netizen published an article entitled “Investigating Zhou Jiugeng, Director of the Housing Administrative Bureau of Jiangning District, Nanjing City” on Cat898.com, calling on netizens to investigate this government official. Another netizen published an article entitled “Bureau Chief Zhou Jiugeng Smokes Luxurious Cigarettes and Wears Luxurious Wristwatch” on the Internet. From a news photo the netizen discovered that the Constantin-brand wristwatch Zhou Jiugeng wears is priced at RMB 100,000.

On February 9, 2009, the municipal commission of discipline inspection of Nanjing established a special group in charge of this case. Through investigation, the group initially grasped Zhou Jiugengs corruption, whose embezzlement and acceptance of bribes amounted to RMB 2 million. Zhu Shanlu, secretary of the Nanjing municipal committee of the Chinese Communist Party, has reiterated repeatedly, “Party members and cadres must stand the test of Internet supervision.” With the rapid emergence of the Internet, every action of the Party leaders and government officials are under the supervision of the broad masses of the people.

A few weeks later, an anonymous netizen published a report and related receipts of travel on public expenses he found in a Shanghai subway station. From these receipts one can judge that several government officials conducted extravagant travels in the United States and Canada on public money. This has aroused discussions among netizens. After investigation, two officials were removed from their posts and others were also punished accordingly.

Lawyer Hao Jingsong, director of the Beijing Judicial Public Welfare Research Center, said that the channels through which the masses supervise government officials are limited. Netizens conducting “human flesh” searches are exercising their right of supervision endowed by the Constitution.

Hu Yong, a professor with the School of Press and Communication of Peking University, cautioned, “We should not overestimate the functions of Internet opinions.” About 70 percent of the Internet users in China are under the age of 30, and have a strong appetite for news and entertainment. In his book entitled Mass Vociferance (Zhongsheng Xuanhua) he wrote, “At present, the Internet is still at a stage of expression, or so-called ‘mass vociferance. It is no more than a stage of expression, when even consensus is out of the question, let alone any action.”