Hu Jintao talks with netizens via Qiangguo (Strong China) Forum of People's Daily Online, June 20, 2008.(Photo: Peopledaily.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- China's top leader held his first live online chat with netizens on Friday, telling them divergent voices could be heard in the country.

    After inspecting the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China (CPC), President Hu Jintao, who said he sometimes found time to surf the web, chatted online at people.com.cn, the Internet arm of the daily newspaper.

    Hu said in his chat with netizens, "I try to know through the Internet what people are concerned about and what they think (on a wide range of topics)."

    "I'm willing to get an idea on people's complaints of and proposals to the work of our Party and the government," Hu said.

    China now has the world's largest online population of more than 221 million, most of whom are educated and living in cities. People are remarkably less dependent on traditional news media and find new ways to satisfy their information and entertainment appetite.

    Speaking of the CPC's credo of "putting people first and exercising governance for the people," Hu, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said it is "important to garner national wisdom by hearing opinions from the people."

    "The Internet is an important space to know about people's thoughts," said the president, who revealed that the BBS of people.com.cn was his must-visit while surfing on the web.

    The BBS Hu mentioned is the Qiangguo Forum, with the literal meaning in Chinese of "powering the nation". The virtual reality forum was initiated by netizens to express anger at the U.S.-led NATO forces bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999. Since then, the forum has been one of the most popular venues for netizens to voice their individual opinions.

    Hu's emphasis on the Internet as a channel of communication between people and the government echoed his speech at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee at the beginning of the year. "How well we use the Internet will decide the information security and, ultimately, long-term effective governance and national security," he said.

    The stance of China's top leadership assured people that no voice would be ignored.

    After the leading news portal notified surfers of Hu's online chat, questions flooded in, which triggered a temporary web jam due to too many simultaneous visits.

    Questions covered the jitters of individual investors about the stock exchange downturn, corruption, retail prices, mainland-Taiwan relations, the Beijing Olympics and the pension system. One posting even asked for the president's email address.

    Hu's four-minute live chat with netizens highlighted recent efforts of the government to directly contact the people.

    Premier Wen Jiabao said at a high-profile news conference that he often got to know people's concerns through websites. Another leading news portal, xinhuanet.com even kicked off a bulletin soliciting questions for the premier during the annual legislature session in March 2008.

    Leading legislators and ministers, including former Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, were invited to chat online.

    One prominent communication scholar Yin Yungong said, "The Chinese leadership shows more confidence and open-mindedness as well as their resolve to adopt people-oriented politics".

Chinese president to talk to netizens, questions flood in

    BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao will talk to netizens Friday morning via a major news portal, the first time that a top leader goes online to chat with the public.

    Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, is visiting the People's Daily, where he will communicate with netizens at a forum of people.com.cn, the news portal of the mouthpiece of CPC. Full story

Hu tells as it is, web surfers comment on Party report

    BEIJING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The majority of web surfers who left messages on bbs of China's key websites regarded the political report of Hu Jintao to the 17th Communist Party of China(CPC) National Congress as "very forward-leaning and Hu tells as it is."

    A web surfer who logged on the Xinhuanet.com bbs said Hu's report is an excellent one that highlights people's livelihood. The CPC cares the most for livelihood, prosperity and harmony of the Chinese society, the web surfer said.   Full story

China's State Council to use Internet for public opinion

    BEIJING. Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council, the country's Cabinet, will make use of the Internet as a standard method of inviting public opinion on draft laws and regulations.

    In the second half of 2007, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council established an information management system on its official website to collect opinions on draft laws and regulations on a trial basis. Full story

Internet becomes important channel for Chinese public's political participation

    BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Internet has become an important channel for Chinese public to participate in political affairs, said a senior manager of an internet website on Thursday.

    Now more and more people express their ideas and proposals through websites thanks to a more open and free press and the increasing confidence of the country's leaders, said Chen Tong, vice president of Sina.com. Full story

New applications of Internet communication technology bring common people closer to NPC, CPPCC sessions

    BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Xiao Liu, a staff member of the Longhua District government, Haikou City, South China's Hainan Province, has recently received xinhuanet.com's special edition of Mobile Phone Newspaper for the annual sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

    Particularly, Liu is interested in the interactive sector in which questions are solicited for an exclusive interview program. People can join the interview via Fetion, a mobile instant messaging service. So, Liu sent out a message asking his questions about the social security insurance for migrant workers. Full story