Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-Premier Huang Ju have called for the faster and more
comprehensive development of government websites in order to
provide the public with better and more transparent online
services.
Premier Wen, who is also the head of National Leading Group on
Information, said in a message delivered at a national meeting on
Monday that e-governance should be accelerated to boost the reform
of government administration and management, improve efficiency and
services to the public and allow the public to participate in the
decision-making process.
E-governance allows governments to use information and
communication technologies to improve the delivery of information
and services, encourage citizen input and make governments more
accountable, transparent and effective.
Vice-Premier Huang Ju, deputy head of the leading group, told
the meeting that e-governance is an important aspect of government
reform and it can improve government administration and
efficiency.
China has made a lot of progress in e-governance, Huang said and
called on governments at all levels to further coordinate
development of e-governance with economic and social
development.
According to a recently released survey by the information
office under the State Council, China had more than 2.6 million
websites by the end of 2005, of which more than 100,000 were
government portals.
Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan, who is also a deputy head of the
leading group, said that the goal of e-governance development is to
set up a national electronic governance network by 2010 to provide
a mechanism for information sharing.
Government web portals should become an important channel for
the public to access government information and more than 50
percent of administratively approved programs will be published
online by 2010, Zeng said.
China launched its central government website, www.gov.cn, on
January 1, 2006. The website, in both Chinese and English, contains
links to all provincial and city-level governments.
(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2006)