BEIJING - CHINA'S wary government is a world champion in internet censorship, but Communist Party leaders now want to master the trickier feat of actively shaping online opinion.
The results so far don't match the zap and crackle of China's young, who have embraced microblogs as their latest tool for spreading information and opinions that can make Party officials see red. But there's no mistaking the Party's determination to reach China's 450 million Internet users.
President Hu Jintao recently called the 'virtual world' his next battleground, and the nation's Party-run parliament, now in session, has brought talk about how to win over or control the country's microbloggers.
Mr Hu recently called for fresh ways to 'guide online public opinion', amid online calls for Chinese people to emulate the'Jasmine Revolution' sweeping the Middle East.
'This is all part of the longer trend in more interactive governance,' said David Bandurski, a researcher at the China Media Project at the University of Hong Kong.
'To what degree this is genuine and impacts citizens positively, that's an open debate.' For now, Chinese officials' efforts to connect online appear to be more patronising and fusty than feisty. -- REUTERS
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