Web celebrities urged to take up social responsibilities

BEIJING - Chinese Internet celebrities have been urged to take up more social responsibilities and play a more constructive role.

Internet celebrities, who have notable influence on public opinions in virtual society, should deliver more positive and constructive messages to Chinese netizens, said Lu Wei, director of the State Internet Information Office, at the meeting held in Beijing on Saturday.

The government expects them to uphold law and order as well as promote virtues and trust, said Lu, cited by a statement issued after the meeting.

"They shall set an example of protecting the legal rights of citizens and denouncing any activities that harm the reputation and interests of other people," he said.

China's social networks have developed fast in recent years with more than 1.2 billion accounts opened on about 103 microblogging networks.

On Sina Weibo and t.qq.com, two leading social networks, the number of accounts, having the minimum 1 million followers, reached 3,300 and those having the minimum 10 million followers totaled about 200.

About a dozen these influential social network account owners attended the meeting, according to the statement.

They agreed that everyone should be responsible for what they say and do online as the Internet is also subject to laws and moral rules in the real world, the statement said.