Govts go more transparent on web

BEIJING - China's government bodies are more communicative online as they try to engage with web users, a report said Wednesday.

A China Software Testing Center (CSTC) report titled "Chinese government Websites Evaluation 2012" said governments have become more transparent by timely information disclosure and chats with Internet users on their official websites or microblog accounts.

Official websites have developed into an important channel for government bodies to share information and collect opinions, according to the report.

Zhang Shaotong, vice director of CSTC, said government websites were more communicative with Internet users on important issues this year. Many websites set aside space for netizens to comment or file complaints.

The report said more than 80 percent of government bodies updated documents or policy information in time on their websites or microblogs this year. Also, more than 70 percent of online inquiries from the public were replied within five working days.

Officials also appeared more "human" on the Internet, as 75 percent of provincial-level governments asked senior officials to chat with netizens online, according to the report.

In addition to websites, microblogs also play an important role with increasing significance in communication between governments and the public, according to the report.

So far, more than 60,000 government bodies have run microblog accounts in Sina.com, China's largest tweeting service provider.

Luo Wen, president of CCID, an Internet observing institute, said government microblogs are deeply rooted in China's 500 million netizens and can amplify government voices with the influence of microblogs.

But China has a long way to go as there is still gap between transparency of government websites and expectations of the public.

About 68 percent of government websites have not yet well organized their online information, and 70 percent lack detailed information, the report said.

Xu Yu, director of the information department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said China will further improve government transparency with upgraded technologies to better serve the public.