Communist officials sport the latest laptops under their arms. Citizens go online to chat with lawmakers to the national legislature. Bulletin-board users post statements critical of the government, if only by a smidgen.
The stodgy political world of communist China is easing into the digital age, inviting the public to voice opinions via the Web and increasingly relying on high-tech devices to manage a national congress attended each spring by nearly 3,000 delegates from across the land.
With about 80 million of what it calls wang min (網民), or "netizens," China now has the second-largest number of Internet users in the world, after the US. But the Communist Party's new willingness to use the Web seems to have done nothing to dispel its ambivalence toward it.
The government recently tightened controls on Internet chat rooms, bulletin boards and other online venues used increasingly by the public to vent frustrations and air criticisms. The rules follow campaigns to shut down unauthorized Internet cafes and bars.
In seeking control, the government is waging a tough battle: In China, the ascent of consumer electronics -- and all the bells and whistles that accompany it, from going online to mobile-phone text messaging -- is starting to change even politics.
Delegates to the National People's Congress, which held its yearly session in Beijing in March, showed up at regional discussions sporting laptops.
"I receive hundreds of e-mails a year from members of the public. Most are opinions," said Chen Yiheng (陳宜亨), a delegate who teaches mechanics at a university in Shaanxi Province.
Qin Chijiang (秦池江), a delegate from Heilongjiang Province, said he opposed Internet spam and pornography, but added, "We should let good information get through."
The massive legislative chamber's plush red carpets, lavish floral displays and ceramic tea cups are redolent of the pomp and pageantry of decades past. But those entering it are now required to wear badges embedded with computer chips that, when scanned, display identities and photos on a monitor.
Inside, several dozen computers set up in the lobby displayed the official Web site for the event, which carried schedules and official reports, including one on delegate Zhou Hongyu (周洪宇), who runs his own site soliciting public opinions.
"Netizens are a special constituency who can express their will at ease on the Internet, and their activities will facilitate to some extent the development of democracy in China," the report cited Zhou as saying.
It certainly seems easier than ever before.
During the congress, mobile-phone companies offered short-messaging services, allowing ordinary citizens the chance to voice their opinions at 0.3 yuan (US$0.03) each. Some delegates responded online, "Dear Abby" style.
Thousands of the messages were posted on a bulletin board run by the party newspaper, People's Daily. They weren't exactly subversive, but they weren't all flattering either.
"The lawmakers are too comfortable, too peaceful, too free of stress," one anonymous comment said. "Their meetings are all about eating, drinking and sleeping ... What kind of representatives are they?"
"Power = Money" said one terse remark about corruption.
Li Xiguang (李希光), a media expert at Beijing's elite Tsinghua University, argues that the Internet has an unusually large influence on public opinion in China mainly because traditional media -- newspapers, broadcasters and magazines -- are wholly state-controlled.
He believes, though, that anonymous opinions expressed on the Web often come from the people most likely to express dissatisfaction, such as migrant workers and the unemployed.
"In a democracy, public opinion can be expressed through traditional media," Li said. "China is gradually learning to do that ... but the traditional media is not yet that open."
Even anonymous comments posted online tend to shy away from challenging the party's claim to power. China may encourage Internet use for business and education, but it continues to stifle online political dissent.
Content of domestic Web sites is monitored and sometimes censored. Customers of Internet bars and cafes are warned they are legally liable for what they view or write, and activists say China has detained dozens of people for posting political materials online.
Filters installed by the government bar access to thousands of Web sites abroad run by dissidents, human-rights groups and some news organizations.
But with the number of Internet users expanding by the millions each month, Chinese do have unprecedented opportunities to voice opinions online -- and have them be seen by millions of fellow citizens.
"I wanted to use the computer all the more, to see what was happening, read documents, exchange ideas," said one enthusiastic but anonymous online commentator. "Even though I'm not a delegate, my heart was in the Great Hall of the People."
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