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"Street-smarts" Redefined

Beijing is creating an entirely new meaning for the term "street-smarts."

With the city's new touch-screen Digital Beijing Information Booths, installed in hundreds of convenient locations in the capital, residents or visitors, businessmen or sightseers can easily access an incredible array of information about China's political, economic and cultural centre. They could even study basic English! But even more access to useful information is on its way.

By the end of June 2005, 617 information booths had been installed for use in eight urban districts in Beijing. People can get easy access-free of charge-to "Capital Window," a city Web site, through which they can access policy-related information, check bus routes, find places for entertainment or even study English through a pre-set audio-visual programme. Beginning on August 2, vehicle drivers' in the city could access their driving and traffic violation records via the new booths. At some booths, they may even be able to get help from the volunteers who safeguard the booths and offer help to people in need.

The Digital Beijing Information Booth programme is only one example of the great efforts the Beijing Municipal Government has made to speed up the process of "Digital Beijing."

Digital Beijing is the basis of the city's "Digital Olympics," whereas the Digital Olympics is a goal of Digital Beijing in 2008, said Zhu Yan, director of the Information Office of the Beijing Municipal Government, in his presentation to the 2004 APEC Summit. The city has been focusing on informatization and has done much to make it happen, but there is still a long way to go.

Digital Beijing Information Booth

It's a touch-screen information system installed in public places. Information concerning public interests, value-added services such as news, government affairs, or public transportation lines can be found using the system. In the near future, information about employment, second-hand real-estate properties, doctors and hospitals, automobiles and tickets for movies will be uploaded. Booking tickets, paying utility bills for water, electricity and gas, even on-line payments and transfers of funds from one bank to another can also be accomplished via the system.

The fundamental infrastructure for Beijing's informatization is rapidly being improved.

The city has more than 4.1 million households. By the end of 2004, broadband Internet access was available to 3.55 million households, and more than 1.4 million Beijing families were using broadband Internet services.

An e-government network now links at least 200 governmental units, including the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Municipal People's Congress, the Beijing Municipal Government, the Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference and the city's 18 districts and counties. At least 130 base-stations have been set up within the e-government network to serve municipal government functions, including agencies of public security, urban management/administration, public health, gardening and water supply. According to a city schedule, by early 2007, the capacity of the wireless network will rise to 150,000 to 200,000 users. By then, all the Olympic venues will be served, which will meet the requirements of the Olympic Games.

In rural areas, there are 27 computers and 102 mobile phones in every 100 households. A survey conducted in Beijing's 18 districts and counties indicates that by the end of May 2005, the desktop computer ownership rate was 60.8 per cent and that of laptop computers was 10.9 per cent. In 2004, for each 100 people, there were 57.5 fixed telephone lines. There were 13.36 million mobile telephone users in the city.    

The citywide ability to obtain information improved in other ways as well. Comprehensive broadcasting and television coverage reached 99.5 per cent of the population. About 61.2 per cent of the city's households had access to paid cable-TV services. Among urban and township residents in Beijing, there are 147 TV sets for every 100 households. More than 8,000 mobile TV sets have been installed in more than 4,000 buses.     

Informatization has improved municipal government capabilities.

In 2004, 72 per cent of the tax declarations took place online. A social security information system had been launched and linked to 303 social insurance agencies, which provides 5.1 million insured people with an easy channel to deal with their insurance needs. The online medical care system is now serving more and more insured people. It links 47,898 insured people with 934 designated hospitals. The collection of medical insurance funds, sick-call payments, and the auditing of agency funds can all be done online.

E-government upgraded municipal management techniques and abilities. E-management is widely used in municipal management, transportation, public security, civil air defence, during earthquakes, with the water supply and in inspections and quarantines. By using information-related technologies, officials in transport departments are ready to provide real-time on-road information to more than 2 million drivers across the city. Drivers can check their driving and traffic violation records online. The integration of emergency communications, wireless command, image monitoring, videoconferencing and comprehensive safe measures has been put into trial operation during several large-scale events.

Liu Jian, deputy director of the Beijing Industrial and Commercial Bureau, said at a press conference held on July 29 that among 348,207 enterprises which took part in the routine annual examination this year, 92.8 per cent of them were examined online and 13 items related to the routine annual examination were accomplished with one trip to a governmental agency. About 85 per cent of the examined enterprises expressed their satisfaction with the programme. 

The Capital Window Web site has launched its E-Beijing Web site (www.ebeijing.gov.cn) so foreigners to learn about life in Beijing, about work permits, opportunities, tourism.

Information technologies have been widely applied in various aspects of social life. The number of "netizens" in Beijing is up to 4.2 million, about 27.6 percent of the city's total population. By the end of 2004, 74.6 percent of Beijing's enterprises had established their own intranets. All enterprises in the finance and insurance sectors and 99.2 percent of information-service enterprises had set up their own computerized networks. About 94.5 percent of the enterprises in Beijing could access the Internet. Beijing's Campus Network Project is progressing smoothly, linking 1,900 primary and secondary schools across the city. Most middle schools and primary schools in rural areas have set up computer networks. Every school has its own computer classroom and offers information technology courses. The Education Information Web site (www.bjedu.com.cn) is providing long-distance e-lessons citywide.

Informatization has gradually become a part of Beijing's residents' daily lives. A total of 121 "Digital Homes" (community-based computer rooms) have been put into operation in 17 of Beijing's 18 districts and counties. About 100,000 residents have been trained through an education programme conducted by a group of government agencies via this network.

Informatization helps solve so-called "San Nong" (agriculture, countryside and farmers) problems. The majority of villages have their own telephone lines, Internet access and television cables. Some special, local Beijing products, such as Pinggu peaches (gpb.bjpg.gov.cn), Huairou chestnuts (www.bjhr.gov.cn), Daxing watermelons (www.nccn.cn) and Fangshan persimmons (www.bjfsh.gov.cn) are being sold overseas via the Internet. Thirty-five folk-custom villages are now featured on a Web site. 

The ability to rapidly respond to urgent situations has been improved with increased access to information. A Computer Virus Early-warning and Emergency-response Platform has been set up and an Information Security Contingency Safeguard System is under construction.   

The information industry is a pillar industry in the city.

E-commerce is growing rapidly. Of the top 50 well-known e-commerce Web sites in China, 35 are operating in Beijing. According to the Beijing E-Commerce and Development Report (2004), the trade volume of e-commerce in 2002 was 45.7 billion yuan; it rose to 61.1 billion yuan in 2003 and 66.6 billion yuan in 2004. Both B2B and C2C trading have steadily increased, especially B2C trading. The trade volume in 2003 increased by 97 percent over that of 2002; in 2004 it increased by 78 per cent over the figure for 2003. About 1,400 enterprises are engaging in e-commerce activities. 

Industries involved in the provision of information services, software, systems integration and information-technology renovations are also making progress.

Many regulations and standards have been brought forth to provide rules and regulations fostering informatization.

The city is making great efforts to accomplish the "four anys"-anyone, at any time and at any Olympic venues-to ensure than anyone can get access to affordable and customized information services with no language barriers from any computer terminal to help guarantee that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be a "high-level Games with distinguishing features" that everyone will be proud to be associated with.

Challenges always accompany opportunities, Zhu Yan said at the Capital Informatization press conference held on July 18. The informatization of Beijing is still in its primary stage. The task is important and the road is long, especially with the "digital gap" between educated, mainstream individuals and less-fortunate, more vulnerable individuals in the society becoming more obvious by the day. However, city leaders believe that speeding up the process of informatization is best for everyone.