Qiao Zeyuan, chief spokesperson of Beijing Lizheng Software Design Co. Ltd, which is actively involved in the construction of digital Beijing, says there is a key difference between a digital and traditional city.

?The most obvious difference is the higher efficiency. The construction of a digital city not only improves government efficiency and transparency, but can also bring great convenience to people?s lives and work.?

For example, if an enterprise needs a license to operate, it can download the appropriate form from the relevant government departments. After filling it in, the company can send it back and wait for final approval. During the whole process, the two parties never meet, which greatly reduces the possibility of corruption.

Qiao Zeyuan says the construction of a digital city is done in three steps. First, information infrastructure construction. This deals mainly with setting up high-speed broadband and computer networks. But currently, these networks are still underdeveloped in many Chinese cities, so there?s still a long way to go.

The second step is to establish the city database, which is based on the Geographic Information System, or GIS. According to a recent survey, 80% of our daily information is related to geography, so the compilation of a geographic information database plays a key role in the construction of a digital city.

For instance, if you visit a shopping mall in the digital city platform, you can get access to detailed information about the place, such as information on goods, the building?s structure, and so on.

And Mr. Qiao believes this can be achieved only by establishing a governmental information center.

?We are proposing the establishment of an information management center in the city. With that, all the scattered information in the city can be integrated by the government with a unified standard. After that, the information can make it easier for government departments to draw up their policies and serve the public and enterprises more efficiently.?

The last step for digital city construction, Mr. Qiao says, is to establish an information management system.

?No city construction can be achieved without a scientific management system, which is crucial to the realization of e-governance, e-business and so on.?

Finally, Mr. Qiao says since the rate of development of cities in China is uneven, the basic framework for a digital city will come out in about 3 to 5 years.

(cri.com.cn July 26, 2002)