By+Li+Li

‘I have been waiting and waiting. Here comes the north wind. The haze is finally leaving us. This post， appearing on the microblog page of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau on October 29， 2013， grabbed a lot of attention online as this useful weather forecast was an adaptation of a famous Chinese prose， Spring. The original reads， “I have been waiting and waiting. Here comes the east wind. The spring is finally walking toward us.”

This creative weather update epitomizes the efforts and determination of government agencies in China to enhance their communication with the public through social media， a trend that has been developing rapidly over the past two years.

According to Peoples Daily， at the end of September 2013， the number of verified government microblogs on Chinas two most popular microblogging platforms—Sina Weibo and T.qq.com—totaled 243，000. The accounts included 161，000 run by organizations and 82，000 by individual civil officials.

Last December， Sina.com， which owns Weibo， issued a report on the development of government microblogs in 2013， in conjunction with the Public Opinion Analysis Office of People.com.cn. It said that there were 100，000 government microblog accounts on Sina Weibo at the end of October， an increase of 67 percent from the previous year.

Some 66，800 of these accounts are run by Communist Party of China （CPC） committees， legislatures， government departments， political advisory bodies， Party disciplinary watchdogs as well as judicial and prosecutorial agencies and government-affiliated public service institutions. The remaining 33，200 are kept by officials and staff members at such agencies， the report said.

It added that 24，300 of these accounts belong to departments dealing with political and legal affairs and their workers， including 17，300 organizational and 6，991 individual accounts.

On December 18， 2013， the official website of the Chinese Government opened two more microblog accounts on Sina Weibo and People. com.cn. Before that， it had already operated two microblog accounts at Xinhuanet.com and T.qq.com， as well as an account on WeChat， an instant messaging app with more than 400 million users. In a statement， the website said that it will use these accounts to publish important information.

In addition， many central government departments launched microblogs on Sina Weibo last year， including the Peoples Bank of China， the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council， the Ministry of Land and Resources， the China Securities Regulatory Commission， the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The website now hosts 77 microblog accounts belonging to ministerial-level authorities， which is 31 more than in 2012.endprint

Better communication

The rapid increase in government microblogs has given officials a more direct and efficient channel for communicating with the public.

In late November 2013， Sina.com initiated Chinas first microblog-based question and answer session between central government departments and Internet users. Spokespersons and senior officials from seven ministerial-level authorities replied to 133 questions on issues such as the reform of state-owned enterprises and the social security system.

On August 15， 2013， an anonymous microblog post went viral when it announced that， according to the health authority of Urumqi， capital city of northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， 567 women working at entertainment venues in the city were found to be HIV positive.

Five days later， the health authority of Urumqi posted a declaration on its official microblog， denying the allegations. It said that the citys disease control agencies are in charge of conducting regular HIV/AIDS-related behavioral monitoring on high-risk groups and providing free and voluntary tests， the results of which are confidential and unavailable to the public.

Some local governments and organizations have also successfully used microblogs to tackle livelihood problems.

In July 2013， the government of Xinyu City， central Chinas Jiangxi Province， issued several posts via its microblog named “retweet to sell peanuts” after local officials found that peanut farmers in Nanan Township couldnt sell their harvest. These posts attracted telephone consultation from more than 20 wholesalers， who purchased peanuts totaling around 1，000 tons from local farmers as a result of the posts.

The Communist Youth League of China Committee of northwest Chinas Gansu Province and the Gansu Youth Development Foundation launched the One Yuan for AntiDrought donation program in April 2013 via their microblogs， which went on to raise more than 1 million yuan （$165，300） within a few months.

The Supreme Peoples Court opened its microblog account on Sina Weibo on November 21， 2013， following 13 provincial higher peoples courts and more than 120 intermediate peoples courts at prefecture level.

As a relatively new practice， posting the trial proceedings of cases with above-average public attention in real-time through courthouse microblogs has been gaining ground.

On August 22， 2013， the Jinan Intermediate Peoples Court in east Chinas Shandong Province used its Sina Weibo account to deliver a running account of the trial of Bo Xilai， former Party chief of Chongqing. The number of followers of its microblog page jumped from less than 10，000 the day before the trial to more than 300，000 by 7 p.m. on August 22. This is the first time details of a trial concerning a former senior official have been released real-time to the public. In the past， such high-profile court trials took place behind closed doors， with details being released only after sentencing.endprint

Many experts commented that microblogging Bos trial opened a new era for Chinas judicial transparency.

According to statistics from Sina.com， courts in nearly 20 provincial-level regions have dabbled in the “l(fā)ive blogging” of trials. For example， Guangdong Provincial Higher Peoples Court requires every collegiate bench to select at least one high-profile case annually for a live microblog account of the trial every year.

Quantity vs. quality

Despite the explosive growth of government microblogs， not every account is able to play its due role of communicating with the public.

For example， the microblog of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Shaoxing， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， was accused by its followers of “selectively” releasing air quality information by only forecasting “fine” or “excellent” air.

There are also a large number of “zombie accounts” that havent published a single post since going online. Some other accounts only issue weather forecasts， tips for daily life or positive comments on the organizations internal affairs.

During the Spring Festival holiday in 2012， Sanya on the southern island province of Hainan， drew attention as rampant pricegouging scandals tainted the beach citys reputation as a winter resort. Following many media organizations coverage， Internet users also vented their grievances online， some posting personal experiences of being overcharged when shopping or dining in Sanya. However， the Information Office of the Sanya City Government posted a message on its official microblog on Sina Weibo on January 29， 2012， saying that the local government “received no complaints from tourists about food hygiene or being cheated during the week-long Spring Festival holiday， which shows that the tourist market has maintained an excellent order.” The post was immediately retweeted more than 18，000 times and attracted more than 14，000 comments， most of which expressed disdain over the governments cover-up efforts.

The torrent of online criticism unleashed by the response eventually forced the office to issue three more posts the next day， updating complaint figures and apologizing for erroneous information earlier. This account has been inactive since then.

“With the rise of social media， government microblogs are charged with the responsibilities of releasing information， responding to public concerns and conducting other forms of interaction with the public，” said Han Lixin， Vice Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication of Hebei University.endprint

According to Han， many government departments fail to run useful microblogs due to their failure to understand the influence of microblogging or lacking genuine care about the publics opinion on the government or just an unwillingness to release certain information. He said that the fundamental cause is that some government departments are not committed to providing information to the public.

“Government microblogs should become an interactive platform where the government releases information and people voice their opinions，” said Pang Hurui， a media content analyst with the website of Peoples Daily. He believes that in this new era of Internet development， government microblogs will play an increasingly important role in dealing with emergencies， improving the communication between the government and people and serving as a trial in innovating approaches to governance.

Some local governments have realized the importance of successful microblogging. The Beijing Municipal Government held a meeting on running government microblogs on October 24， 2013， which put forward requirements for its subsidiary departments to issue more posts on the latest policies concerning peoples daily life. Its stipulated that these posts should account for at least 60 percent of their total microblog posts.

At the meeting， Fu Hua， a senior official with the Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC， said that government microblogs should be updated daily， use simple and upto-date language and avoid passing the buck when dealing with concerns expressed by netizens.endprint