‘Social media give voice to the disadvantaged’

is changing very rapidly as people have greater and almost instant access to information, said Wang Yukai, professor of political studies from the Chinese Academy of Governance.
The experience of developed countries shows that conflicts of interests are inevitable as development transforms traditional societies.
“Residents cannot afford to be left behind in a society where the rules are changing, so they seek short-term economic interests at all costs, which intensifies conflicts of interest,” he said.
The problems appear especially serious in China, whose social transformation has been accelerated by reform and opening-up and the Internet.
“The new mass media means it is no longer possible to cover up the contradictions as if they don’t exist,” said Wang. “All groups, especially the vulnerable, such as farmers, laid-off workers, and old people, are now able to express their interests and demands.”
However, instead of listening to ordinary people’s complaints and trying to solve the problems, some local government officials ignore or try to silence people’s voices, especially when there are many different interests involved. This often only serves to exacerbate conflicts. Many of the mass incidents, which have been drawing social attention these years with growing intensity, could have been prevented if the initial complaints had been heeded and addressed in a timely manner, he said.
“The most important innovation in social management will be changing the mindset of grassroots officials,” said Wang. “They must redefine their role as service providers, not stability maintainers, and recognise ordinary people as equal partners in a dialogue.”
In the news conference after the closing of this year’s session of the National People’s Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao expressed the importance of listening to ordinary citizens’ complaints, when he said, “we should offer conveniences for the people to criticise and supervise the government”.
In fact, micro blogs already provide such convenience as they offer a direct channel of communication between residents and officials.
According to the State Internet Information Office, by December 2011, over 60 000 micro blog accounts had been registered by government agencies or officials.
“Officials can more directly listen and respond to people’s demands, and they can spread the truth in a timely manner to prevent rumours,” said Wang. But he added that officials “must be sincere to win the people’s trust”.
The unprecedented interaction of people as a result of social media can also be employed to harness public support, not least for disaster relief efforts and charitable giving. In April 2011, Deng Fei from Phoenix Weekly launched an online campaign to provide free lunches to students in poor areas.
The public support the campaign received prompted the State Council to provide 16 billion yuan (US$2,5 billion) to subsidise lunches for 26 million poor rural pupils.
This was a successful example of the government cooperating with non-governmental organisations through new technology, Wang said, adding that NGOs founded and run by ordinary people are more easily accepted as their “own”, which can help ease the conflict of interests between disadvantaged groups and local governments.
But China’s NGOs have long been in a relatively weak position due to the State requirement that all NGOs be attached to some government agency, Wang said, adding hopefully this will be changed.
A reform that allows certain sorts of NGOs to independently register has been attempted in Shenzhen, Guangdong province since 2008. And at a Jan 31 meeting this year, the Beijing civil affairs bureau said it would attempt similar reforms for charity NGOs.
“NGOs can help, by creating a buffer between different interest groups,” said Xu Zhangrun, a professor of law from Tsinghua University.
Xu said that the Internet has been a driver of social innovation because it offers a low-cost channel for people, especially the disadvantaged, to raise their concerns and have their voices heard.
“Social innovation might not solve all the problems arising from the transformation of society, but it will help to ease the conflicts,” Wang said. — Xinhuanet.