CPPCC member and Nobel laureate Mo Yan, center, takes a selfie with director Yin Li, right, and conductor Yu Hai, left, who are both CPPCC members, at a seminar on March 7, 2015. [File Photo]

An official from central China’s Hubei province has put forward the suggestion that government leaders should become Internet celebrity-like figures in order to better serve the public.

“[Officials] should use the Internet to make themselves into ‘Internet celebrities’ with an eye toward serving the public. In the Internet era, we need to respect, care for, understand and collect public opinions online; this should become a matter of course for Party members and officials,” said Li Hongzhong, secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, in an open letter to the People’s Daily Online on Sept. 2.

Many governmental sectors in China have already jumped on the Internet bandwagon, eager to offer better service to the public. Currently, the Hubei provincial government has created more than 2,800 websites related to government affairs. These are in addition to its over 4,300 official Weibo accounts and 2,600 WeChat public accounts, according to Hubei Television.

During a symposium on cyber security in April, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for China to harness the Internet for the benefit of the country and the people. Xi also ordered officials to heed public opinions online, adding that officials should use the Internet to educate themselves about the concerns and wishes of the public, Xinhua reported in April.