(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-02 07:45

The building of government websites should be improved to attract more visits, says an article in the China Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt:

A report by CCW Research showed that 57.5 percent of people in China never visit government websites. The survey covered six cites: Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Nanchang, Harbin and Chengdu.

"No need" was the stock answer, accounting for 55.7 percent of the respondents surveyed. The survey showed government websites have a low degree of recognition, and much room for improvement.

It showed that the public's need to know and governments' electronic-way of handling affairs do not go hand-in-hand.

First is the construction of the websites. Although governments at different levels have built websites, some of them are used only for "image building". The websites only publicize some regulations and reports leaving out important details like government administrative procedures and results. Slow updating of information and excessive use of articles taken from the media are common problems. This goes against the intention of these websites - to give the public a better understanding of government affairs.

Second, the way governments disclose information is still one-dimensional. Only they decide when and how to make information public. This infringes on the public's right to know.

(China Daily 01/02/2008 page8)