Official weibos soar during 'two sessions'

Beijing (CNS) -- The number of Weibo accounts of both governmental organs and individual officials increased by about 70 percent from the end of last year till this year's NPC and CPPCC sessions.

From late November 2011 to March 8, the number of nationwide verified official institution Weibo users hiked by 74 percent to 17,364, and individual accounts grew by 67 percent to 15,013, Sina Weibo confirmed.

Most official weibos are used to collect comments from and exchange opinions with the public, as well as promote their understanding of and suggestions for policy adjustments.

Most governmental organizations in east China's Jiangsu Province have registered on the platform, revealed Sina, and Beijing tops all provinces in terms of individual official accounts.

Most active official weibos belong to, for instance, "Chen Shiqu," director at the anti-trafficking office under the Ministry of Public Security, "Wolf King," former spokesman at the municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, and "Beijing Wang Hui," director at the Information Office of the city government.

The media also opened a new window to bring political and policy discussions closer to the public.

Shanghai and Chengdu government weibos provided live reports during Premier Wen Jiabao's delivery of this year's government work report; the Weibo account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also facilitated the same service during Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's press conference.