A digital Beijing is not so far away, as the Chinese capital
has attached great importance to developing high-level infrastructure
for information networks, which the city considers a major milestone
in its effort to build itself into an international metropolis.
Fan Boyuan, director
of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Committee,
promised this during the fourth session of the 11th Beijing
Municipal People's Congress.
According to Fan,
Beijing has achieved a lot in the past five years as it has
moved towards digitalization.
The Chinese capital
will continue its efforts in the next five years, especially
focusing on the development of related software sector so
that more people can have access to information.
According to Fan,
these efforts will bring Beijing into the "springtime"
of a network era, with other related industries, such as the
hardware sector, also benefiting.
This year, broad-band
information services are no longer the privilege of local
high-tech parks, but normal in other districts, especially
newly built ones.
Being able to provide
broad-band information will be critical for those districts
wishing to be classified by the local government as "high
quality" in its yearly assessment of various local offices
and residential districts.
All Beijing's 18
counties and districts will have computer networks of their
own within the next five years, allowing for the direct transfer
of paper or computer data.
Before 2006, Beijing
will establish a broad-band Internet phone network that will
cover the whole city.
This plan of the
municipal government's has been applauded by the people's
deputies, but they urged it to pay more attention to new research,
management and applications.
Sun Honglie, an
information technology expert from the Dongcheng District,
was worried that the encouragement being given by the local
government to develop computer networks might result in overzealous
growth and redundant construction.
The municipal government
should, because only it can, take the responsibility for sorting
out the existent networks and getting them to work together
so that information can be shared, taking into consideration
the interests of all parties.
The municipal government
should divide the five-year period into several phases and
set targets for each one while maintaining a long-term goal.
If this is not done, there is a danger that the efforts will
lose continuity and steadiness.
Moreover, at present
almost all the software, hardware and network products are
from overseas. It is important for Beijing not to rely so
much on imports if it really wants the information industry
to be a new economic growth point.
Sun also observed
that Beijing has a big job to do in developing the information
industry, because it still needs to finish designing the interior
managerial system, establish a pricing system and impose quality
supervision on the comparatively new industry.
(China Daily 02/09/2001)
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