A seminar on the firth birthday of "Strong China Forum", dubbed "the first Chinese forum online", was held in Beijing on May 12. People including responsible persons of departments concerned, scholars and netizens attended the seminar.

Seminar on "Strong China Forum" of PD Online

Since born in 1999, "Strong China Forum" has had over 280, 000 registered clients with 12, 000 posts per day, and highest page views exceeding one million, and highest number of viewers of 50, 000.

In his welcoming speech, Yu Ning, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of People's Daily, said the ever-increasing role played by "Strong China Forum?�� owes much to the attention and support from central leaders, CPC' s policies on Internet, and support from departments concerned and all walks of life. It has now become an important means for the party and government to guide the public opinion online and an important way to know people's demand. He asked the forum to better manage and develop itself to turn into a forum on current affairs loved by netizens.

People spoke highly of the contribution by the forum to China s Internet. They said, the forum has always been on the frontier of views and has provided a platform for netizens to have discussions and give suggestions to the socialist modernization drive and has played an important role in mirroring and guiding public opinion and publicizing the CPC's policies.

Yao Youzhi with Chinese Military Academy said, the forum has made a great contribution to strengthening national spirit, encouraging and reinforcing patriotism. Representatives of netizens held that the forum is a big school, and having a great amount of information and diversified views, it can help improve the netizens themselves.

Min Dahong, researcher with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the forum attracted attention from home and abroad ever since its establishment. The forum is a typical on current affairs but also a case for scholars to make studies with, reflecting the unique status, function and value of the forum.

People also offered their earnest suggestions, hoping that the forum forges ahead to become larger, stronger and to do better and livelier in the new period for making further contribution to the building of a comprehensive well-off society and creating a healthy environment for public opinion. Meanwhile, efforts must be made for it to play an active role in drawing the attention of netizens to the important issues for reform and opening-up and socialist modernization drive, and more distinguished guests of higher social status invited to take part in the exchanges of views.

"Strong China Forum" introduced multi-media technology into online interviews in 2002 and realized online audio, visual and text live broadcast. Over the past five years, "Strong China Forum" created many "firsts" in Chinese Internet: the first form on current events and politics established by domestic news websites; Cheng Siwei, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), became the first state leader who exchange views with netizens as an ordinary netizen; Igor Ivanov, former Russian Foreign Minister, the first foreign minister guest in Chinese websites. During the NPC and China People's Political Consultative Congress (CPPCC) sessions this year, Zhu Yongxin, member of the Standing Committee of CPPCC and Zhou Hongyu, NPC deputy who collected public opinions through "Strong China Forum" was also the first time of the same kind.

During the past five years, "Strong China Forum" has not only witnessed China's progress, world's volatile situations for which it has thus received extensive attention from media at home and abroad. "Lianhe Zaobao", "Asahi Shimbun", Kyoto News Agency, Associated Press, CNN, NY Times, BBC etc., all these foreign media have interviewed and reported on"Strong China Forum".

By People's Daily Online