O2O SHOPPING: Customers try on clothes at a GXG fashion store in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on May 4, 2014. They get coupons online and pay through WeChat either in or out of the store (LONG WEI)
Improving public service
WeChat has not only changed the life of ordinary citizens, but also the operation of the government.
On April 12, Beijing resident Ning Zifang was glad to see the launch of the Smoke-Free Beijing public account. It was 50 days before the implementation of the new tobacco control regulation in Beijing. After June 1, if anyone finds someone smoking in a non-smoking zone, he or she can lodge a complaint through the Smoke-Free Beijing WeChat public account or by dialing the number 12320.
The Smoke-Free Beijing public account features tobacco-control news and actions. In particular, it reminds smokers that smoking is not only banned at indoor public areas, but also the outdoor public areas of kindergartens, primary and middle schools, stadiums, children's hospitals, and work places. It also provides information to help smokers give up smoking.
After subscribing to the public account, Ning reminded her husband not to smoke any more. "Otherwise I will file a complaint against you," she joked.
"The number of government WeChat accounts has skyrocketed," said Zhang Zhian, dean and professor of the School of Communication and Design of Sun Yat-sen University, which is based in south China's Guangdong Province.
The province has more than 6,000 government WeChat public accounts, ranking it first among Chinese provinces and meaning the province accounts for 15 percent of the national total, according to the white paper newly released by Tencent Research Institute.
Zhejiang Province in east China trails closely behind Guangdong with 14.8 percent of the national total, while Jiangsu Province, also in east China, ranked third with about 3,000 WeChat public accounts run by government agencies.
As of the end of 2014, Guangdong had more than 159 government WeChat accounts offering various services such as medical insurance consulting, marriage registration and reporting corruptive cases. This enables the public to handle these affairs with their mobile phones.
Survey showed that in Guangdong, 46 percent of public accounts could respond to netizens' questions immediately or on the same day, according to Zhang.
Hou Zhaoxun, associate counsel of the State Internet Information Office, said that a relevant reward and punishment system should be established to ensure timely responses.
On August 7, 2014, the State Internet Information Office published the Provisional Regulations for the Development and Management of Instant Messaging Tools and Public Information Services. This circular has been colloquially dubbed as the "10 WeChat Articles." Back then, Peng Bo, Vice Minister of the office, pledged to vigorously promote government WeChat accounts in the next half of the year.
Social media platforms have mushroomed in China in recent years. WeChat is playing catch up with Weibo, a twitter-like microblogging platform offered by Sina.com.
In the end of April 2013, Luohu Court, the first WeChat account of the judicial system, was launched in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. Through the account, smartphone users can make reservations to file and inquire about a case.
In May 2013, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China launched the first WeChat public account run by a government ministry.
Now, government WeChat accounts have become one of the three major channels for promoting the transparency of government work, in addition to the government spokesperson system and government official websites.
The white paper recently issued by Tencent Research Institute made a comprehensive analysis of government WeChat accounts, and found that these accounts have gradually been upgraded from simply releasing news to delivering services.
Nonetheless, the development of government WeChat accounts is uneven across regions, which reflects regional disparity in social economic development, local governments' service capability and attitude, as well as their ability to accept and apply new technology, the white paper revealed.
Among the top 10 provincial-level administrative units in terms of the number of government WeChat accounts, seven are located in east China, while six out of the bottom 10 are situated in west China, the white paper stated.
Provincial-level government agencies are the most proactive in launching WeChat accounts, and they run 84.7 percent of total government WeChat accounts, the white paper showed. Because of their high relevance to people's livelihood, public security and public health agencies are also forerunners in WeChat. Together, they own 36.7 percent of total government WeChat accounts.
At the end of 2014, Tencent's WeChat team began to integrate these government public accounts scattered here and there into one Urban Service interface for easy access. As of this April, the government public accounts of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Wuhan and Shanghai can be assessed through this interface. They cover more than 60 million users and have provided services to more than 11 million people.
