A man browses the Internet on his smartphone, in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 21, 2014. (Xinhua file photo)
Accessed by half of China's population, the Internet has become a major platform for public discourse, and President Xi Jinping has specifically pressed officials to use it to better understand the people.
At a symposium on cyber security and informatization on Tuesday, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, urged officials to listen to public opinion on the Internet more often, and be more tolerant and patient to Internet users.
Xie Chuntao, a professor with the CPC Central Committee Party School, considers the remarks a strong signal that the CPC leadership is fully aware of the weight of millions of people active in cyberspace, the majority of whom are young, educated and diverse.
The CPC has had a tradition to nurture close links with ordinary people. The Party considers the Mass Line a "key weapon" in China's revolutionary days and an effective governance tool in the past decades.
"The Internet is an easy way for the Party to connect with the people. Through it, the Party can deliver its messages and explain its policies while gathering what people think and how they respond to policies," the professor said. "This will greatly streamline governance."
Technology has played an increasingly important role in Party-people interactions.
One active and fruitful area has been the anti-graft campaign. The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the top anti-graft agency, received 128,000 tip-offs through its website and mobile app in 2015, up 13 percent year on year. In the first month since the agency opened its WeChat account on Jan. 1, it was sent 16,000 tips.
The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee launched a website this year that publicizes information on the development of the CPC code of conduct education campaign, and engages Party members in online discussions.
In early 2015, three animations, themed around the CPC's Mass Line campaign and featuring Xi, went viral. In the videos, the cartoon figure of the president waves a flag bearing the message "Mass Line campaign," and wields a stick to hit a tiger, in reference to his targeting of high-ranking corrupt officials.
The videos were picked up by major video websites, shared on Weibo and WeChat, and viewed hundreds of thousands times. Netizens lauded the animations for shattering the conventional mystery around Chinese leaders and publicizing government policies in a more attractive, digestible way.
However, not everyone has adjusted to the digital age. Some officials' public faux pas and poor handling of contentious issues have put them in the firing line of savvy netizens.
Shen Yi, deputy director of the Cyberspace Governance Study Center with the Shanghai-based Fudan University, told Xinhua that many Party and government departments and their officials still need to adapt to the age of cyberspace.
"Officials should not ignore public concerns vented online but respond to them, otherwise the issue will spiral out of control. Meanwhile, they should not become online 'yes men' but remember their basic roles and responsibilities," said Shen, who attended Tuesday's symposium. "When an issue draws great attention online, deleting criticism is certainly not a solution."
President Xi has given a refined instruction on how to deal with public discourse online, Shen said.
In his speech Tuesday, Xi said officials must collect suggestions and feedbacks from the Internet, help clarify public misconceptions, dissolve public grudges and grievances, and redress incorrect perceptions.
For well-meant criticism raised on the Internet, be it at the overall work of the Party and the state, or at individual officials, be it gentle or harsh, Xi said, "we not only welcome it, but will carefully study them for future reference."
The tolerant and open attitude toward public concerns online does not go against efforts to manage cyberspace, to regulate it in line with the law and fend off harmful activities such as terrorism, violence and pornography, Prof. Xie said.
The efficient management of cyberspace will create an orderly and positive environment for people to express their opinions, he said.
