Governments should use information technology to improve their
efficiency and transparency and clean up corruption, delegates to
the two-day Forum on City Informatization in the Asia-Pacific
Region said in Shanghai.
The 800 delegates from 92 cities also voiced their concerns about
the uneven development of technology in the world that they say may
become a new means of colonialism.
The forum, held at Shanghai International Convention Center, was
sponsored by the Shanghai government, the United Nations, several
Chinese ministries and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"The establishment of an 'E-government' is not simply buying
software and computers off the shelf and installing them in the
office. It is a process of re-inventing government," said Al Gore,
former vice president of the United States.
"Citizens' lives have changed due to technology, if the government
still runs under bureaucracy they will fall hopelessly behind,"
said Gore.
Unless the government is rebuilt around technology, it cannot fully
unleash the power of IT, said Gore, noting that local culture and
corruption cause some resistance to the idea of E-government.
The idea of E-government, according to Gore and other delegates,
involves more than the creation of a few government Websites. It
would allow citizens to pay their taxes, apply for business
licenses or renew a driver's license over the Internet, while also
providing an easy-to-use database of laws and regulations.
This forum's theme is "Narrowing the Digital Divide -- E-Government
and the Information Technology Development of Cities." UN officials
hope this forum can provide a platform for cities to exchange their
experiences in building an E-government, even while many people in
developing nations aren't connected to the Internet.
Carl Bildt, the former Swedish prime minister, said "even if only 5
percent of people can access a transparent E-government through the
Internet, the media can report what they have seen to people."
However, the existing digital gulf between developed and developing
countries is still a source of concern.
"The World Trade Organization's rules protect copyrights perfectly,
but they don't pay enough attention to the reasonable transfer of
technology to developing countries," said Long Yongtu, vice
minister of China's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic
Cooperation.
Many people in China are upset at the high prices foreign software
companies such as Microsoft charge for their products.
While resources are scarce, officials from China's Ministry of
Information Industry said the central government will invest
heavily to develop several public databases, containing census data
and information about organizations in China and the country's
geography.
(Eastday.com June 15,
2002)