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UPDATED: January 24, 2011 NO. 4 JANUARY 27, 2011
Micro Blog, Macro Power
New Internet activity is becoming a channel for delivering information
By YIN PUMIN
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I AM THE SOURCE: Wang Kai (center), a college student from Zhouqu, Gansu Province, posted on his micro-blog the first reports and pictures of the mudslides hitting the county on August 7, 2010. His posts were used by many media outlets (IC)

Cai Qi found himself unprecedentedly popular in his Internet career just one day after he announced the opening of his micro-blog on January 11. In less than 12 hours, he already had more than 1,100 followers.

Cai is director of the Organization Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The department handles issues concerning selection and promotion of local officials.

He said he launched the micro-blog in a bid to subject himself to public supervision through improved communication with Internet surfers.

Micro-blogging has not only become the trendiest social networking model for Web-users in China during the past year, but also a new platform for authorities to communicate with the public. It is also an efficient channel to collect public opinion, said Yu Guoming, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of Renmin University of China.

Sharing information

Micro-blogs have emerged as a new platform for communication and spreading information, according to the 2010 China Micro-blog Annual Report released by Shanghai Jiao Tong University on December 28 last year.

The report identifies 2010 as the inaugural year of micro-blogging in China. The number of micro-bloggers in China reached 125.217 million at the end of October 2010, with 65 million of them regularly using micro-blogs.

Xie Yungeng, Deputy Dean of the School of Art and Humanities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said micro-blogs are beginning to serve as an efficient platform to appeal to the public for social support after disasters or other emergencies.

One of last year's most noted news stories, the self-immolation of three residents in Yihuang County in central China's Jiangxi Province who were protesting the forced demolition of their home, was first exposed by micro-bloggers, before making national headlines. Several local officials were later held accountable.

Another scandal involving possibly carcinogenic tea seed oil also broke due to whistleblowing micro-blogs, pushing Hunan Jinhao Tea Seed Oil Co. to the center of the accusations. The company's chairman Liu Haoxiang opened a micro-blog account to apologize to consumers, and promised compensation.

The first report about the catastrophic mudslide in Zhouqu in northwest China's Gansu Province in August last year was released through t.sina.com.cn, China's largest micro-blogging service provider, by 19-year-old Wang Kai, who was later described as a "one-man news agency."

With messages and pictures from the scene, Wang kept updating his micro-blog. His last post was a picture of a disinfectant bottle to tell his readers that water in the mudslide-hit region must be disinfected.

A large number of Internet users followed Wang's live broadcast from Zhouqu on his micro-blog, and his number of viewers rocketed to thousands overnight.

"I am fond of micro-blogging. When the mudslides came, I was hoping people outside would know what had happened and help us," he said.

Going official

In addition to serving as a popular platform for Web-users sharing information, micro-blogging has also been increasingly used by Chinese authorities as a means of communication with the public.

A report by Xinhua News Agency said, at least 500 micro-blogs were opened by police authorities across China in the past year.

Police in south China's Guangdong Province took the lead in sharing timely information with the public via micro-blogs. In February 2010, public security bureaus in Foshan and Zhaoqing opened the first police micro-blogs in the country.

The number of police micro-blogs in Guangdong has reached 49, Xinhua reported.

Police authorities in Beijing launched the official micro-blog, "Safe Beijing," on August 1 last year. The micro-blog attracted more than 330,000 followers after operating for more than four months.

"We use micro-blogs to deal with emergencies, to hear public complaints, and to alert the public on common crimes," said Zhao Feng, who manages the "Safe Beijing" micro-blog.

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