Party congress delegate hails power of cyberspace

Shu Bin has been regularly tweeting his excitement ahead of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Elected five months ago, the Internet guru is the first Party congress delegate to work for a local website.

"I'm the first one from the provincial web sector appearing here. I'm keenly aware that my mission is glorious. I will tweet through the congress," Shu posted at Weibo, a major twitter-like service in China.

Shu, board director of Rednet, a Changsha-based portal that covers provincial news in central China's Hunan province, vowed to speak on behalf of the online community.

The country's 538 million "web onlookers" have helped advance social progress via the Internet in recent years.

Shu tweeted a picture of another delegate wearing smart white clothing. "She is the Party chief of an ethnic minority village. This is her first time in Beijing."

The picture gained praise from web followers. "What a vivid report! It's much better than the TV coverage," a comment replied.

In his microblog, Shu revealed the lack of local web reporters at a press conference that was being broadcast live Wednesday afternoon, which was about the congress agenda for the coming week. He said, "I wonder when our provincial web reporters will come to report such a meeting."

As China's web community has grown and become a major platform where people are able to express their views, local web reporters have yet to be fully included into the journalist guild.

Shu hopes their work will be recognized by more people and believes him becoming a congress delegate as a positive sign.

Rednet is a leading local website in China. Its "Red Pepper Commentary" column won a China News Award in 2007.

"Congress delegates always have their multiple identities. My job is to help web users out of difficulties," Shu said.

He intends to make use of the congress to market his website.

"A beautiful girl is leading the way to the Great Hall of the People where the congress will be held," reads a weibo picture caption. Shu is quite familiar with how to catch people's eyes.