China orders govt sites to buck up

The Chinese government has ordered its agencies to regularly update their Web sites, noting that unmanageable Web sites should be shut down, according to a local news report.

State media Xinhua on Saturday reported that the Chinese State Council sent out a circular instructing local government bodies and agencies to update their Web sites regularly and work out emergency plans for potential cyberattacks.

It criticized some local government agencies for not updating their sites frequently and for containing broken links, stating that these would give the Chinese government a bad image and diminish its credibility.

Government agencies were advised to constantly improve on the Web site's security to prevent cyberattacks or unauthorized content editing due to hacks, according to the circular.

The note also suggested government departments "decisively" shut down sites or columns that cannot be managed properly.

In the notice, the State Council also stressed the important role Web sites play in connecting the government with the Chinese population. "It is through interaction and problem solving that we can attract the masses," it said.

Government turns to microblogs
Meanwhile, a separate report Monday by China Daily noted that microblogging has caught on among government agencies and officials.

Citing research findings published by the Fudan University, the news agency said, as of Mar. 20, at least 2,428 microblogging accounts have been established by agencies and officials.

The research also found that the country's law enforcement wrote the most and their microblogs were "the most helpful" to the public, adding that the police used microblogging sites to publish information as well as ask the online community for help in ongoing investigations.