Government portal websites using the domain name of "gov.cn" in
China had surpassed 12,000 by the end of June, according to China
Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) statistics.
China's first government portal website was set up ten years ago
by south China's Hainan provincial government. Over 90 percent of
departments under the State Council, provincial and city
governments, as well as 77 percent of county governments have their
own websites now.
The former State Economic and Trade Commission, now known as
National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), along with other
40 departments and ministries, launched an online-government
project in 1999. The State Council general office issued a
five-year plan in 2001 on the nationwide implementation of
government affairs informatization, which has greatly boosted the
development of government portal websites at all levels.
As contents are enriched and functions consistently
strengthened, government websites have evolved into an important
platform for the transparency of government affairs and fostering
of a service government.
The central government portal website was officially opened on
January 1, 2006, providing latest updates on hot topics concerning
the general public, official explanations of laws and regulations
and the latest features on government affairs. Since its opening,
the website has posted over 500 State Council documents, and 250
issues from State Council Gazettes. Nearly 60 news briefings by the
State Council and other departments were broadcasted live through
the website. About 1,000 news items, both in Chinese and English,
were posted on the website daily, making it an important source for
people both at home and abroad to educate themselves about China's
government affairs.
Timely, accurate and complete government information published
by government websites at all levels play an important role in
improving the government image and transparency. Highlighting one
example, the Ministry of Commerce's website published over 1,700
business news items, 2600 laws and rules relating to commerce, and
nearly 560,000 commercial news items over the pass three years,
becoming a major source for the public to discover the country's
business policies.
These government websites have also sought to improve their
online service quality. Shanghai municipal government's website
provides over 1,670 kinds of service items, including
the?option to download 6,000 forms for different services.
The Ministry of Agriculture opened an online office complex to
provide "all-in-one" services including policy consultation,
guidelines and result inquiry service for those waiting for
administrative approval.?
New forms are also used by government websites to communicate
with the general public. The central government portal website
invites some officials from governments, both central and local, to
conduct online dialogues every month. The interactive communication
has attracted more people to participate in the social economic
activities through the government website.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Yunxing, December 29, 2006)