Govt websites are a means to serve the public

THE BEIJING municipal government recently said that most of the official websites of its agencies and departments would be shut down, but this would not involve any online service being cut. Beijing News comments:

In August 2015, a national census on official websites was conducted with the aim of eliminating those that were redundant. Last month, a report showed the number of government websites nationwide had already been cut from over 84,000 to about 28,000.

Beijing has set a higher goal than the national average by reducing its official websites by more than 90 percent, from about 1,042 to about 80.

Of course, cutting redundant government official websites is only a means to the end of better serving the public. So while taking the measure, the local government of Beijing requires its departments to improve services.

In other words, not only will it shut down its redundant websites, but also the rest will be improved so they can provide a better service. Official government websites should have two main functions: First, to provide more convenience, so that residents can save trips to government departments. Second, promoting government transparency so that taxpayers know how public money is being spent.

Therefore, when deciding which official websites should be shut down, public opinion should be solicited. People should have a bigger say in evaluating government websites, as well as having a bigger say in how to improve the ones that will be kept open.

We hope Beijing will set a good, successful example in this task.