'Netizen deputy' - a new word in China

A netizen who calls himself 'Lao Niu', is in spotlight because he was recently elected as a new deputy to Luoyang's People's Congress. Netizens finally had a proper platform to voice their opinions in that city.

Lao Niu's real name is Zhang Xiaoli, a freelance photographer and restaurant owner in Luoyang, Henan. He started using the Internet nine years ago.

Zhang's 'Lao Niu' has had a good reputation among Luoyang netizens for his numerous postings on a local website for years. He is in charge of the photo section of ly.shandu.com and writes a column about all kinds of local news.

"Shooting photos is my hobby; I like to record things around me by taking pictures of them. I post them on the BBS. If it attracts people's interest, I put them on the front of the page of the website."

Besides writing online messages, Zhang also encourages Luoyang netizens to give back to the society. During the Sichuan earthquake in China last May, he and his fellow online friends went to the quake-hit area with money and necessities they collected. They called themselves the "netizen rescue team".

Now, Zhang, along with other three netizens were elected deputies to the local legislative and political advisory bodies on Jan 16.

"Being a deputy is so much different from being a netizen," said Zhang. "As a deputy, my proposals are more serious and will exert more influence on the government. I will use the opportunity as a proper platform to voice netizens' opinions."

Zhang disclosed his first proposal, which focus on making the internet more transparent, amassing ideas from Luoyang netizens.

Beijing 'white-collar' worker Zhang Yifei supported the election of the netizen deputies. "Netizens are an emerging power, among whom a lot of people have good senses of social responsibilities and always speak out for the public. They can be qualified deputies for sure."

However, some people still have different concerns about the debut of netizen deputies.

A public servant named Andrew Zhao said: "As for current NPC members, they are elected to represent a certain region. But the Internet has no geographical boundaries. For example, a netizen may well air his views regarding a policy in Luoyang from a thousand miles way. But which region does he represent? If the election is put in the hands of netizens, more practical problems may arise such as how to record the number of electorates or how to conduct the background checks of candidates."

But Zhao added that he hoped the netizen deputy can balance multiple opinions and suggestions to make objective judgments. "I hope netizen deputies will truly represent all netizens and have a good influence on politics."

A college teacher named David Xiao said that he hoped the elective procedures for deputies to be legalized and formalized. "It's good to see netizens become deputies. No matter where the deputies come from, I hope they can really speak for the people."

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