Internet debate heats up as China's "two sessions" loom

Internet debate heats up as China's "two sessions" loom

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- When the State Council, China'sCabinet, met Wednesday to discuss raising the individual income taxthreshold, fierce debate raged.

The war of words came not from the government meeting, but waswaged over Internet forums, where ordinary Chinese fought to maketheir opinions heard.

In one squabble between microblogs, "Guang Qi Tang" and "Ye LuoFighting" argued on Sina.com over what the threshold of individualincome tax should be.

"I hope it is raised to 10,000 yuan (1,521 U.S. dollars) from thecurrent 2,000 yuan," said "Ye Luo Fighting" after seeing "Guang QiTang's suggestion of 5,000 yuan, adding the suggested sum was stilltoo low.

The spreading use of Internet has underlined the Chinese people'swillingness to participate in talks on the country's future,especially with government officials.

Discussions were heated among China's 400 million netizens,especially concerning the "two sessions," when they hope theiropinions will be heard by the government.

The "two sessions" refers the two important meetings in China'spolitical calendar: the fourth session of the 11th National People'sCongress, China's top legislature, which opens March 5, and thefourth session of the 11th National Committee of the ChinesePeople's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's toppolitical advisory body, which convenes Thursday.

More than 140,000 people responded to an on-line survey on theofficial website of Xinhua News Agency on topics for the twosessions, compared with just 19,000 last year.

Their topics mainly focused on home prices, income distribution,price controls, corruption and employment.

As the government maps out the blueprint for the country's nextfive years of development at the "two sessions," common Chinese seethem as an important channel to voice their opinions.

Beijing pensioner Wang Jilin said, "I never miss the twosessions. I read news about the two sessions on the Internet everyday. I have my microblog though I'm slow in typing."

The yearning to make themselves heard was reflected in ChinesePremier Wen Jiabao's two-hour on-line chat with the public onSunday, which attracted tens of thousand of public questions.

"In the past, it was hard to imagine talking directly to thePremier. This is a very good way for people, especially at grass-roots levels, to express their real problems," said Fan Wei, whoworks in the head office of the Bank of China.

Representatives at the two sessions are also taking advantage ofthe Internet. Zong Qinghou, NPC delegate and founder of the HangzhouWahaha Group, revealed the details of a proposal in an on-lineinterview with Sina.com on Monday, hoping to get support and advice.

"Some local governments say they will take back, withoutcompensation,land sold for residential use after the 70-year useperiod. I propose to revise the regulation," Zong said in theinterview.

His proposal has been forwarded and commented on by thousands ofmicrobloggers.