Pony Ma highlights city's drive to promote technology
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, April 21, 2015
In today's Shanghai, Internet Plus cannot simply serve as another buzzword, it should provide a real roadmap for officials to realize their stated goal of turning the city into a technological center with global influence. Naturally, top executives at the country's leading Internet companies are among the most qualified to comment on such plans as well as other initiatives that deploy technology to solve pressing social issues.
Indeed, sources say that during this year's National People's Congress in Beijing Ma and Han discussed the possibility of Tencent cooperating with Shanghai on the implementation of Internet Plus measures.
Changing the way we think
Realizing change won't be easy and much has to be done to change the way leaders view technology. Last July, Han reportedly said that many officials in Shanghai are "not ready to face the changes and opportunities brought by the fast development of the Internet and technology." Han stressed that cloud computing, big data and mobile Internet can "change the way people think, work and interact with each other."
For the government, the promotion of the Internet Plus plan raises more than just a series of technological problems.
It raises a whole host of governance issues, many of which boil down to whether authorities can accept an expanding role for technology in society and the economy.
By inviting an IT entrepreneur of Ma's calibre to speak at the city's recent Party Committee meeting, local authorities look to have taken an important step forward in this direction.
Greater openness toward technology is needed now more than ever in China as the country's leaders confront a diverse array of new challenges. Fortunately, the government is now in possession of a tremendous amount of data pertaining to many of these problems.
This information is a vital resource that must be utilized effectively to promote progress. To achieve this goal, officials must be open to change and willing to accept advice from those with the know-how to solve today's challenges.
Shanghai Daily reporter Guo Mingliang translated the article from www.shobserver.com
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