I have written before about how government websites in China are a bit of a nightmare to navigate. Many of them haven’t been updated in years, and others may contain fake information designed to trick you into giving money to hackers. So what’s a Chinese citizen to do if they really want to get in touch with their People’s Congress representatives? Thankfully, there’s an app for that: Gongmin Guanzhu.
The site, which is fairly simple at the moment, aims to inform people of who their reps are, as well as providing some basic biographical information about them. Users who want to submit information about reps can also do that by choosing their location and then filling out a rather basic form with their contact information, and each representatives page also includes a form that allows users to ask the rep questions. How those questions are then transmitted to those representatives — and whether or not they’re likely to respond — isn’t clear, but it’s probably better than nothing. Just in case, the site provides links to Google and Baidu searches as well as the rep’s official online profile so that users can try to dig up some contact information on their own.
Those search engine links also allow you to pay attention to what your reps are doing, which is the actual point of the site. Gongmin Guanzhu means, roughly, “citizens pay attention,” and the site’s motto is “Change begins with paying attention.” Even if it can’t really help you change government policy, at least the site can tell you a little about your representatives and make it easier for you to keep track of what they’re up to.
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The site is really well-designed: it’s simple and easy to navigate, and in contrast to most official government websites, it looks nice and clean. It could definitely use some more detail (an FAQ page that explains who is behind the site and how it works would be a good start) but I think it’s a pretty cool idea nevertheless. It is apparently maintained by “volunteers,” but who they are and why they’re doing this isn’t explained in any detail.
Of course, I feel obliged to point out that the People’s Congress is a rubber-stamp body with little real power that meets for only two weeks each year. Still, getting the attention of your People’s Congress reps could be a good first step for anyone with a grievance they’re looking to resolve. And I think the site’s motto is right; change does start with citizens paying attention to what their government is doing.
The post Gongmin Guanzhu Helps Chinese People Contact Their Government Representatives appeared first on Tech in Asia.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
