Lawmakers to talk online during 'two sessions'

BEIJING -- Chinese lawmakers attending their annual session in Beijing will talk to netizens in online chatrooms, for the first time in history, an official with the "two sessions" press center said here on Monday.

Zhu Shouchen, vice director of the press center, said deputies to the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) will be invited to chatrooms to exchange with netizens on popular topics.

He noted that the press center will cooperate with ten domestic web sites including Xinhuanet.com to launch the online chatrooms.

Zhu said that China has the largest population of 300 million netizens, and Internet is playing a bigger role in society.

"China is merging into the world, and the Chinese government has become more transparent and open to the media," said Zhu, adding that with more foreign journalists to cover the "two sessions", new requirements have been set for their work.

He said that the press center will try its best to provide people-oriented, individualized and specified service for journalists.

The "two sessions" refer to the Second Session of the 11th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and the Second Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.

China's netizens has become an increasingly powerful force in political and social life. Internet-led witch-hunts for "human flesh search engines" have played key roles in the exposure of several high-profile cases involving corruption and abuse of power by officials.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had a two-hour online communications with netizens Saturday. In his first close contact with netizens in the web chatroom, he asserted that "people has the right to criticize government policy and government also needs to be open and democratic in its policy-making."

Chinese President Hu Jintao in January 2007 also urged government officials "to improve their Internet literacy and use the Internet well so as to improve the art of leadership".

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