The widely read reports on the Internet that a public cemetery
for revolutionary martyrs was opened for business purposes in
Luoyang, a city in Henan Province, has generated much chatter in
recent days.
The heated discussions surrounding the case, as with most of the
controversies that have started or been fueled by the Internet,
demonstrate that the World Wide Web has become an important
platform for the expression of public opinion. It is playing an
increasingly important role in shaping public discourse that should
not be ignored.
China was home to 162 million netizens as of June last year,
just behind the United States. And there were some 130 bulletin
boards, giving China the most Internet forums of any country,
according to the yearly bluebook on social development, published
by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Thursday.
Meanwhile, blogging has also become an important channel for
people to voice their opinions about important events. Some 50
million people nationwide frequently read blogs, according to the
bluebook.
That 51 percent of netizens are under the age of 25, and 70
percent are under the age of 30 means young people are perhaps the
most active when it comes to expressing their opinions on various
issues. The flip side is that their opinions tend to be immoderate,
and some even go to extremes by hurling violent verbal attacks at
those who hold different opinions.
There is little question that the Internet will have an
immeasurable impact on the building of the country's democracy and
the strengthening of the rule of law over the long term. It has
already become an important tool for checking the abuse of power
and other irregularities.
Government bodies are fortunate to have such convenient access
to the public voice so they can improve their work and identify
their weak points. The bluebook points out that public commentary
should be recorded and analyzed for such purposes.
We are happy to note that governments at various levels have set
up their own websites and bulletin board systems, and that some
leaders have even started to address the concerns of netizens by
writing blogs of their own.
Of course, fair play guaranteed by effective rules is important.
Both the central and local governments are obliged to make sure
Internet portals observe the rules when it comes to managing
bulletin boards so that abusive behavior is minimized and the free
expression of opinions proceeds without fear or favor.
(China Daily January 5, 2008)