Online plan needs substance to keep it from sinking

Online plan needs substance to keep it from sinking

Fei Li
China Daily/Asia News Network
Beijing

When the Government Online Initiative was launched in 1999
with great fanfare, hopes were high that the project would lead
to a more efficient information flow and interaction between the
government and public.

During the past six years, the number of government websites
has boomed. Those sites have become a convenient way for the
public to learn about government policies, a move that deserves
loud applause.

But not all of the sites bridge the gap between the government
and public. For example, many of the sites put up by municipal
departments in Zhengzhou, capital city of Central China's Henan
Province, did not make the grade, according to a report on
government websites.

It rated the performance of the government departments out of
a total of 100, and gave 14 of the 91 Zhengzhou departments zero.

Among the 14, eight departments did not even bother to create
a website. The sites of the remaining six were no longer
accessible. In addition to many sites not being accessible, the
report found that there were problems such as a lack of content
and with content being updated, in addition to problems with
"interactiveness."

They are the same problems that bogged down our traditional
government information disclosure system. The e-government
initiative was intended to resolve such difficulties.

Considering all government departments were put on one year's
notice to improve their websites, Zhengzhou's case is even more
mind-boggling.

It may not necessarily be representative of all government
websites across the country. However, it would not be the
exception, either.

Originally designed to offer one more avenue for the public to
access government information and for government to elicit
citizens' views, the online project was warmly welcomed by
residents.

It shows respect for the public's right to know and should be
helpful in making the government more transparent and open. But
in reality, many of the sites exist because they have to, not for
any greater good.
It is no secret that many websites are constructed to score
political points. With that in mind, the formality is important
but the substance, which is the whole idea, falls by the wayside.

Problems that the project is encountering in Zhengzhou remind
us that we should see the real picture behind the big number of
government websites. At a time when building a transparent
government is the emphasis, making the government online project
really work is imperative.

We need to be able to see a virtual government and to see how
it is going about its business, which would allow the public to
have more of a say in the decision-making process. This demands
the content be sufficient and updated regularly.

Government websites should become a medium through which the
public and the government can work with each other in an
interactive process. We should guard against this well-intended
project from becoming a lemon.