A circular from the State Council on Nov 17 regarding the third random inspection of national government websites indicated improvement in government websites across the nation.

A random check of 867 central and local government websites showed that 88 percent were up to standards, three percent higher than in the second quarter this year.

All of the government websites for Beijing, Liaoning, Shanghai, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps meet the standards.

The qualification rate of government websites run by departments under the State Council and local governments reached 98 percent and 86 percent, respectively.

The inspection also rechecked 224 government websites, which were disqualified in the first and second quarters, and found that 96 percent of them meet standards.

In the third quarter, 1,434 problems in government websites were reported by netizens, and all of them were addressed by departments that manage the websites.

Many provinces have included the qualification rate of government websites into their annual government performance assessments.

Major problems found in the inspection include lack of important information about government affairs, unavailable webpage columns, and low-level network security.

Efforts will be made to further strengthen regulations, enhance website security, and improve inspection and reporting platforms, according to the circular.