Ma Wen, a National People's Congress deputy and Minister of Supervision and head of the National Bureau for Corruption Prevention, told a reporter that she is one of the so-called "Weibo-divers."

Ma Wen [file photo]

On March 3, Ma Wen revealed to a China Youth Daily reporter how she sometimes picks up the general public's suggestions through China's massively popular blogging forum Weibo (also known as the Twitter of China).

The Internet can be a very useful and efficient channel for bringing controversial issues or lingering problems to the public's attention. After more and more corruption scandals were brought to light by netizens, many of those involved were brought to justice. The ever-increasing number of people reporting and exposing cases of corruption online can of course not fully wipe out official corruption; but at least it lets the government know what is in fact going on.

Ma described herself as a so-called "Weibo-diver," checking out the public's latest online opinions and suggestions. She herself, unfortunately, cannot always find the time to give out a written response to these proposals and due to these time-restrictions she cannot open her own Weibo account either.

On a final note, Ma emphasized once more to remember that the Internet cannot single-handedly eliminate the issue of corruption; there are other ways to get the truth to the public. Calling 12388, the phone number for the Discipline Inspection Department of the Communist Party of China, is just one such medium.

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