As for some people's claim that the legitimate income of a person is private, it is not that private when it comes to the lottery prize that bears on the public's interest.

Sheng Dalin (Information Times): I understand many big lottery winners do not want their identity to be made public, because it might attract unwanted attention. But I still believe the public has the right to oversee the lottery operation, because the government issues lotteries, and lottery winners' information should be in the public domain. People have the right to know.

Whenever the media reported that someone has won a big prize, I wonder whether the winner is a relative or a friend of those involved in issuing the winning numbers? Will lottery issuers manipulate distribution? Sometimes I would wonder if the winners do actually exist or if they are just fake names that issuers makes up to sell more tickets?

Of course, information exposure might bring the winners trouble, but it is a sacrifice that comes with winning so much money. Think of it this way: There are many billionaires in the world whose names are well known, so why should lottery winners be kept out of the public eye?

Wu Yinghai (blog.sohu.com): It is understandable that lottery winners don't want their identity to be made public. But the operation of a public lottery must be totally transparent, including the exposure of winners' personal information, so that the public can oversee the whole process. Otherwise, who can be sure that the whole thing is not a deliberately devised scheme? The winners have the right to get the prize and also have the obligation to tell the public who they are.

Therefore, I hope all big lottery winners would reveal themselves to the public and accept the public's right to know. Meanwhile, the authorities should revise lottery management measures to ensure timely disclosure of the identity of each winner.

Clean up industry

Huang Caihua (Southern Metropolis Daily): In China, although the lottery operation is under government control, buying lottery tickets is an act of privacy. The public and the private should never be mixed. It is true that more transparency should be shed into the lottery industry after so many scandals, but at the same time, we should never neglect that the transparency lies mainly in the honest behavior of workers in the lottery industry and the validity of lottery procedures, including issuing and cashing, instead of exposing winner's identity.

In fact, public concern over the lottery industry's credibility should be ascribed to the unfair procedures of some local lottery agencies, not lottery winner s' privacy.

Those who want the disclosure of winners' personal information must have an experience of lottery buying. Would you please search your heart and ask if you are a big lottery prize winner, would you be willing to risk your and your family's safety and disclose your personal information?

Chen Qingping (Nanhu Evening News): If I am asked which is more important, winner's privacy or public right to know, I will definitely choose the former.

Once a lottery winner's identity is disclosed, who is responsible for his or her safety? Some people may say that there is no need to worry about safety in a society ruled by law. If you really think this way, you are living in a false world.

In fact, no law states that a lottery winner should reveal him or herself to the public. What's more, privacy, no matter good or bad, should be kept a secret only if the concerned party wants it that way.

Buying a lottery ticket is a way of seeking one's fortune. Why should other people's fortune be doubted and revealed?

Lao Song (Southern Metropolis Daily): I don't think the disclosure of lottery winners' personal information would help improve the supervision of the lottery industry.

As we all know, only a few people could enjoy the lottery jackpot. This is not a phenomenon unique to China, but prevails all over the world. Wherever there is lottery, its credibility will at some point be called into question. For lottery issuers, maintaining a credible image should outweigh innovation and sales promotion.

When lottery issuers' credibility has been tarnished, any attempts to maintain a credible image will be less effective than expected and even the disclosure of winners' personal information won't help with this smeared image.

After the Shenzhen lottery fraud case, lottery issuers should consider how to make the present monitoring mechanism more effective.

In this sense, the disclosure of lottery winners' personal information is not the most urgent task. Only when lottery issuers win trust among buyers, will the winners not be considered imposters in disguise.