Party needs to speak with one voice

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(Global Times) 11:47, September 05, 2013

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How to manage Internet opinion effectively has become a crucial mission for China's ideological construction. In fact, the rapid development and open-ended nature of the Internet make it hard to understand it accurately. Setting rules to govern it is not a challenge that China is facing alone.

The country might have to adapt to the fact that as long as the Internet maintains its openness, radical remarks cannot be eliminated. Voices that counter mainstream society will always exist. They will even bring out some "opinion leaders" who will converge into a loose opposition against public opinion.

However, these voices are not powerful enough to affect Chinese society. They will probably end up as being part of the "complaints" that every society can accommodate. And sometimes they can play a special role in supervising the government.

What really matters in this Internet era is that the massive administrative system, which is centered on the ruling party, has to stick to what it upholds. As China deepens its reform and opening-up, different opinions have emerged within the official regime. These voices, however, can be captured by public opinion, and will likely be amplified.

History has proven that when facing major issues, official voices must be unified as one voice. Official opinions must draw a demarcation line with radical views in the forum of public opinion. As long as the official voices can do that, radical opinions will not have a chance to ferment further.

It is true that in the past, some officials were fond of playing "open-minded" roles when responding to some controversial issues. What they did may only serve to mold their personal images. The consequence of their actions is to mislead ordinary people into having an inaccurate understanding of major government policies, and amplifying those "opposing" voices.

Of course, it is impossible to make the whole of society speak with one voice. But within the Party, it is highly possible, and society will be given a powerful core for cohesion.

Some extreme opinions have to be managed directly, while radical voices need to be toned down. It is important to keep away from them.

It is unlikely that China will quell those opposing voices. China needs to draw boundaries for them to prevent them from expanding too much. This is where China's fundamental interests lie in terms of following the established trail of development.

Mainstream society should be aware that those who are addicted to standing on the opposite side in the political sphere cannot be applauded, or more people will be drawn into the trap, engaging in confrontation for the sake of confronting public opinion.

There is no doubt that China's ruling party has become the essential force for producing unity and cohesion. The official administration should be discreet about its voices, which need to be resolute, solid and guidance-oriented.

（Editor：ZhangQian、Yao Chun）