Portals aid corruption fight

China's major portal websites have launched corruption-reporting links on their homepages that lead potential whistle-blowers to the country's top five official websites on disciplinary and corruption investigation.

The special links appeared simultaneously on Friday on State-owned media websites, including people.com.cn and xinhuanet.com, as well as popular commercial websites, Sohu and Sina, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The service integrates the report and surveillance sections of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Petitioners can click on the section on the front page of the commercial and news websites that reads "Please report strictly according to the facts" and then access a webpage with links to the five major report and surveillance sites.

Zhu Lijia, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, was quoted by The Beijing News as saying that the new links to the official online report and surveillance sites are the best way to activate online anti-corruption action with the public. He also believes the new section will expand the function of the official online surveillance platforms and provide orderly delivery of reports.

However, some Web users doubt they will be able to maintain their anonymity while pursuing their right to report an offense to the authorities.

Li Qi, a 23-year-old webpage editor, worried about the security of the new links. "It can really endanger my personal information if there is anything wrong with the network."

He also worried about websites being flooded. "Since people can report without revealing their real name, it will be almost impossible to check the authenticity of all the reports." The new section could become a burden to the government.

Mao Shoulong, a public administration professor at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that a real-name registration system should be instituted.

"With your name registered, you will have a greater sense the responsibilities. Otherwise, it will cause havoc with the order of the online platform," said Mao. Compared with the traditional petition system, Mao said the online section offers a better and more convenient platform for the public.

The exact number of websites offering direct links to official online surveillance sites is not known.