In an effort to boost communication with citizens, the government’s website held its first offline interactive event with readers in Beijing on Jan 13.

It invited 10 readers who were randomly selected out of the 117,000 who voted in the poll for “Netizens’ Choices of the Top 10 State Council Policies in 2014” through the website’s official microblog accounts on Sina.com and QQ.com.

The government website has a total of 37 million viewers following the accounts on various social media platforms.

Frequent visitors of the Chinese government’s website discuss State Council policies with the website’s team, in Beijing on Jan 13.[Photo by Wang Jing/China Daily]

The top policy, according to the votes cast, was for streamlining the procedures for approvals, followed by improving medical services and making household registration easier.

Tang Zhiwei, like the other 9 readers, felt excited and honored to have a chance to talk face-to-face with staff of the country’s top administrative body, “and to let my voice as a grassroots rail worker be heard,’’ he said.

Tang, an operator with Daozhou rail station in Hunan province, said he voted for the policies which were relevant to his daily life.

“The offline meeting, combined with the online survey, is an innovation in publicizing government information, and this signals progress,’’ Tang added.

Readers of the Chinese government’s website discuss State Council policies with the website’s team, in Beijing on Jan 13.[Photo by Wang Jing/China Daily]

Wang Wei, owner of a startup company in Beijing, agreed and said the interactive approach is a major move forward.

Wu Dan, an undergraduate from Anyang Normal University in Henan province, shared her experience as a job hunter, and her concern for the employment policy which ranks 7 on the list.

The netizens also aired their views and gave feedback on how the policies have had a positive influence on their lives and careers.

The official in charge of the central government’s website said he felt the netizens’ sense of responsibility, and he shared their vision and passion toward developing a better society.

“Like the old saying goes; ‘the wisdom is among the people’. Their opinions are really refreshing,” he said.

“When the government joins hands with the people can we work out better solutions,’’ he added.

Readers of the Chinese government’s website toured the site’s office in Beijing on Jan 13. [Photo by Wang Jing/China Daily]

The official said the website is a source of information as well as a platform for communication. The “A word with the Premier” column receives more than 1,000 responses from netizens every day.

“We take the netizens’ advice seriously and consider it in the making, publishing, and gathering of feedback to the State Council’s policies,” the official said.

The website www.gov.cn, launched in 2006, is organized by the General Office of the State Council. Together with its English version, english.gov.cn, it’s the official online communication platform of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, and also a facilitating gateway to find out information about the government, at both central and provincial levels, as well as about the activities of State Council leaders.