After Chinese President Hu Jintao's online chat with Internet users, 52.4 percent citizens think the Internet in China will become a livelier forum for debate, and can develop into a form of social participation.

Hu began chatting to Internet users online in a forum of news portal People.com.cn at 10:26 on the morning of June 20. He stayed online for 22 minutes, during which so much traffic hit the website that it slowed to a crawl. President Hu was dubbed "Number one Netizen of China" by Internet users many of whom called on the president to publish a personal Blog, open a messenger chat account, create a website, and publicize his E-mail address.

After the online chat, the Beijing Youth Daily polled 2,874 people. 67.1 percent of those polled said that the influence of the Internet is growing rapidly and it has already become a way for Chinese officials to consult public opinion; 61.7 percent believe the government should pay more attention to communicating with ordinary people and that online chats can become mechanism for the democratic expression of opinion.

Liang Yuqing, an employee of a non-profit organization, said that although some officials had already published blogs, President Hu's decision to communicate directly with netizens had caused a sensation. 

"It shows the government values the Internet as a mechanism for consulting public opinion," said Yan Jirong, a professor at the School of Government in Peking University and associate director of Institute of Political Development and Governance. "The government is looking for innovative ways to allow people to express their views. It is in line with the concept of a people-oriented and service-oriented government."

The poll showed 56.8 percent citizens think the President's chat will lead the government bodies to pay more attention to public opinion.

The poll revealed that 47.7 percent of Chinese Internet users often express opinions online, and 43.6 percent sometimes express opinions online. Of the three most popular web portals, 60.5 percent use qq.com or QQ messenger; 44.5 percent use Sina.com; 44.1 percent use Netease.com. According to the investigation, close rivals to the big three are Taobao.com (37.1 percent), Sohu.com (27.5 percent), campus local networks (25.1 percent), Tianya.com (20.1 percent), MSN (14.2 percent) and online gaming sites (14.3 percent). People regularly read online news on mainstream sites like Xinhua News Agency (13.1 percent), People's Daily (11.9 percent), Phoenix TV (7.3 percent), China.com.cn (6.3 percent), China Youth Online (5.5 percent) and CCTV.com (4.7 percent).

The number of Internet users in China has reached 230 million. They have become a driving force for social progress that is not to be trifled with. Because of the interactivity and convenience of the Internet, it could gradually turn into a channel of communication between government and the public.

Many People's Congress deputies said in March that they collected opinions through Internet before making legislative proposals this year.

Wang Yang, secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, held a meeting with 26 netizens in April to collect suggestions.

Su Rong, secretary of the CPC Jiangxi Provincial Committee, participated in an online forum with Internet users in June to discuss solutions to the most pressing problems of the Province.

The poll shows that 71.9 percent Chinese citizens think the Internet can become a new democratic channel between leaders and ordinary people; 68 percent believe it is a way for ordinary people to raise suggestions on the overall development of the country; and 57.3 percent believe it will help improve relations between the government and the public.

Yan Jirong said, "Compared with face-to-face meetings, the Internet more accurately reflects the real opinions of public, especially when it comes to investigating the grass roots effects of government policies after they are implemented in the localities.

67.2 percent think the Internet can bridge the gap between classes and that all netizens are equal; 66.9 percent believe that because of the speed of Internet access, important problems and opinions can come under the spotlight very fast; 65.1 percent believe because of the interactivity, it's a convenient way to exchange opinions online; 61.4 percent said that its anonymity allows citizens to express their true thoughts.

"The accuracy of the Internet in reflecting public opinion has yet to be tested, but it certainly makes it easier to get to know the feelings of the public," Yan said.

"I log on to view domestic and foreign news, to learn what interests people on the Internet, and to solicit their advice and opinions about the work of our government and Party," said President Hu during his online chat.

His statement provoked a huge response from citizens. They inundated the BBS with their opinions, and suggested a regular official channel should be set up online to collect the opinions of the public.

Han Jun said government websites could be used to consult public opinion, conduct online polls and questionnaires. The government could employ an opinion polling service to collect the information. 73.5 percent suggest setup of a regular official channel for expressing public opinion; 64.3 percent think there should be legislation to oblige the Party and government to regularly consult public opinion.

But Yan Jirong said, "The present situation is OK. If the government was to set up an official channel, the 'flavor' of the responses might change." In official channels, some information is bound to get filtered out. "We should encourage the development of free expression on Internet. The most important thing is to give people free space. Otherwise it will turn out the same as all those unused service hotlines or public mail boxes."

"But we also hope that netizens express themselves reasonably," Yan continued, "and especially avoid insulting people online. People should express themselves politely, no matter whether their point of view is conservative or radical."

66.9 percent of those polled said netizens should be self-disciplined; 56.58 percent said people should be open about their online identities but only 26 percent would support a real-name registration system.

(China.org.cn by Chen Lin, July 3, 2008)