According to a recent news report, the Linying county government in Henan province launched the People's Forum, which is hailed by many netizens as the "coolest county forum in China." The county head made over 200 posts on the forum, and his column threads were viewed nearly 1 million times. All government agencies in the county reply to posts in real names, and complaints full of swear words account for the majority of the threads on the forum. Even so, few such threads have been deleted. Such interaction shows the county government's respect for public opinion, but how effective is it? Does the local government appear too humble and local residents appear too overbearing? Can public interests be achieved without coming to blows?
In fact, it is pointless to discuss whether online name-calling should be respected. Name-calling is wrong, and the Internet does not make it right. What should be respected on the Internet are objective and reasonable remarks. Even "name-calling" should have principles and boundaries. Online name-calling does not equate with public opinion that needs to be taken into serious consideration. Power-holders should make efforts to distinguish different kinds of online name-calling and understand what the real public opinions are behind.
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