Get it online, new style of administration in Kunming

By Zuo Likun (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-09-09 14:49

Administrative information, including municipal budgets and expenditures as well as government purchases, will be accessible online in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province.

Zhang Zulin, mayor of Kunming, delivers a keynote speech during a conference held in Beijing to study the feasibility of building a "Kunming Information Hub", Septemeber 8, 2008.

The newly ratified project to design an interactive cyber platform, the “Kunming Information Hub” (KIH), will facilitate remarkable administrative transparency, enable online consultations and civil complaints as well as commercial developments, according to its feasibility conference held in Beijing on Monday.

Zhang Zulin, mayor of Kunming, said the new cyber hub will be a integration of more than 100 local governmental websites and news sites. It includes an integration of e-administration, e-commerce and internet e-press, as well as a platform to further promote government transparency, upgrade civil services and facilitate local investment and business development.

A group of experts at the Beijing meeting agreed to the blue print of the cyber project which was ready for development this year. The Chief Expert of E-administration for China Telecom, Shi Cong, said that the cyber project stands out with its increased interactivity between the local government and citizens. which will boost administrative transparency and publicity, a vital step for local governmental operation. “It will be a service platform with high efficiency. The comprehensive service, both online and offline, lives up to the highest level among other mainland cities”, Shi said.

According to the ratified blue print, the municipal government of Kunming will designate special teams to take charge of cyber complaints and petitions. Departments will be issued yellow or red warning card if their process exceeds the appointed duration. All cases will be graded by the public on a feedback sheet, which will be weighted in the accountability system.

As an important international hub in Southwest China, Kunming accelerated its opening-up in recent years with a focus on Southeast Asian markets. The cyber hub project is the latest step by its municipal government to promote its international development.

Mayor Zhang also welcomes the offer from the China Daily website, China’s flagship English news website, to build a simplified English version of the new cyber hub.