What is e-government?

E-government is the process by which government departments use advanced electronic information technology means (computers, networks, telephones, cell phones, digital television, etc.) to achieve the goals of digitization of government information, openness of government affairs, high efficiency of offices, and networking of services. From a methodological point of view, it can also be said that e-government is a government agency using modern network communications and computer technology, its internal and external management and service functions in accordance with the principle of possible and efficient through the optimization of integration and reorganization on the network to achieve, so as to break the constraints of time, space and departmental segregation for the public and their own to provide an integrated and efficient, high-quality, clean management and service process.

Generally speaking, e-government consists of three components: first, the government departments of the internal office functions of the electronic and networked; the second is the government functions between the departments through the computer network to achieve real-time interoperability of information **** enjoyment with authority; the third is the government departments through the network with the public and enterprises to carry out two-way information exchange and decision-making. The third part of the success of e-government is the external performance, which is based on the first and second part of the efficiency and information communication effectiveness of the situation, and therefore an efficient e-government system, should be the organic combination of these three parts.

The practice of e-government engineering projects in the past few years has led to a new understanding of the complexity of e-government projects. The experience of many countries and regions shows that the most complex and difficult problem is the realization of the governmental public platform and information **** enjoyment. In order to realize "one-stop" services that are convenient for enterprises and residents, there is hardly any e-government project that does not have a relationship with "up, down, left and right". Removing the various barriers and obstacles that exist between departments and between the central and local levels of government has become the most difficult challenge in the construction of almost every e-government project. At present, although the importance of this issue has been recognized, there is still a lack of real solutions to the problem. From the organizational point of view, some countries have set up special e-government management departments, such as the French government set up the "Electronics and Communications Technology Bureau", the Italian government set up the "Ministry of Technology and Innovation", the Irish government set up the "Liaison Bureau", and the government of Ireland set up the "Liaison Bureau", and the government of Ireland set up the "Liaison Bureau". "Liaison Bureau" to coordinate the construction of e-government projects between government departments.

From the point of view of the application of e-government, there are mainly the following five aspects: First, it is used for open government. Governments at all levels make extensive use of powerful government websites to publicize a large amount of government information to the society. The second is to provide online services. Thirdly, it is to realize resource ****sharing. All levels of government through the government website, to provide the public with the public database information resources owned by the government, so as to realize the value-added use of public **** information resources. Fourth, the internal office electronic. Meeting notification, information communication, policy propaganda, promulgation of regulations, opinion surveys, etc., are handled by e-mail to speed up the flow of information. Fifth, to provide security.

I. Foreign experience in the development of e-government

E-government is an inevitable trend in the development of government management. Foreign "information superhighway" construction, began in the 1970s, to the 1990s, e-government in some developed countries to get rapid development. Overview of the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and other countries in the development of e-government, which has a lot to learn from our experience.

1. Unified government planning, the development of technical standards

The United States in 1993 developed and promulgated the "U.S. National Infrastructure Action Plan", and in 1994 put forward the "Government Information Technology Services Vision", thus determining the United States federal government to promote the development of e-government goals. The European Union has formulated the "Action Plan for the Information Society", and has made detailed arrangements for the future of government informatization. The United Kingdom promulgated the Green Paper in 1996, which made systematic planning for the development of e-government and put forward immediate and long-term goals. In Canada, a strategic framework for the development of an information superhighway was put forward by the Minister of Industry in 1994, in which issues relating to government informatization were taken as the main content. Japan formulated the "Action Plan for the Promotion of Administrative Information*** on the Same Matters" in 1993, proposing three levels of government informatization: the first level is the "Basic Plan for the Promotion of Administrative Information" adopted by the Cabinet in 1994; the second level is the "Action Plan for the Promotion of Administrative Information*** on the Same Matters" adopted by the Inter-Provincial Committee on Administrative Information in 1995; and the third level is the specific plan for promoting administrative information in the departments and ministries proposed by the ministries and departments. The third level is the specific action plans and programs proposed by each department and province to promote the AIP. Singapore has recently launched its E-Government Plan2 for 2003-2006, which aims to make e-government more accessible to citizens, customers and the government.

2. Establishment of a dedicated agency to categorize government business and integrate business processes

The Singaporean government has set up the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), which is dedicated to the overall coordinated development of e-government, and has also organized the establishment of a cross-sectoral committee - the National E-Commerce Committee (NEC) - involving all the major ministries and bureaus ****. The National E-Commerce Action Committee (NECAC) was established to coordinate and promote the realization of the goals of e-economy, e-government and e-society.

In 1994, the U.S. "Government Information Technology Services Group" emphasized the use of information technology to assist in government-customer interaction, the development of the integration of electronic information services as a priority, and proposed to organize the provision of government information in accordance with the convenience of the public to help citizens " one-stop" access. One-stop" access. Canada has positioned the core information infrastructure of e-government in the following four areas: first, the basic framework for *** same-sex e-commerce information and services; second, single-window innovations, i.e., "two-stop-to-the-end" service center support services; third, network rationalization and management services, such as a variety of communication services, network management master center services and backbone network services; and fourth, network rationalization and management services, such as a variety of communication services, network management master center services and backbone network services. The third is network rationalization and management services, such as various communication services, network management master control center services and backbone network services; and the fourth is data processing facility management services.

3. From easy to difficult, phased implementation

The United States of America e-government development is divided into four stages: the first stage is the initial stage, mainly to provide general online information and simple transaction processing; the second stage, the further development of portals, to provide more complex transactions, to achieve the initial collaboration, and the level of technological complexity has gradually increased; the third stage, to achieve the reorganization of the government business, the establishment of integrated systems, as well as the complexity of government services. reorganization, the establishment of integrated systems as well as complex technical systems; in the fourth stage, the establishment of government affairs processing systems with adaptive capacity to achieve interactive communication and services between the government, enterprises and citizens. At the same time, a highly complex technical support system will be established. According to the planning of the United States, by 2005, 35% of the government will be in the second stage, and by 2010, the vast majority of government departments will be transformed in accordance with the requirements of e-government. This shows that the establishment of e-government is a complex process, even like the developed countries can not be achieved overnight, must be implemented in stages.

4. Continuously improve laws and regulations to strengthen the effective protection of information security and privacy

Information security and privacy protection are issues of great concern in the development of e-government in many countries. To this end, the development of unified privacy protection standards (such as privacy protection law), the standard of digital signature, and for the different degree of sensitivity of the information to develop the corresponding encryption standards, to ensure that the public information collected by the government to safely store and maintain non-authorized personnel will not be able to access, and so on, is the direction of the efforts of many countries at present, it appears to be very important and urgent. In practice, countries around the world according to their own discretion to take many corresponding measures.

The U.S. federal government regulations, any federal government information systems in the absence of privacy protection assessment and evaluation report will be sent to the U.S. federal government before the Chief Information Officer, are not allowed to start collecting public information and put into use. In 1998, the Singaporean government amended the Computer Misuse Act of 1993 to include "acts of interference with or obstruction of lawful use," "access to a computer system for the purpose of committing an offence, both authorized and unauthorized," and "access to a network by means of a password. "Disclosure of passwords for access to a network for the purpose of unlawful gain and causing loss to others" were added. At the same time, the government has also formulated matching regulations such as the Information Security Guidelines, the Electronic Authentication Security Guidelines, the Electronic Transactions Act, the Enforcement Guidelines for the Electronic Transactions Act, and the Electronic Transactions (Authentication) Regulations, in order to better safeguard the development of e-government and e-commerce.

5. Undertake market-oriented operation to improve the scope and efficiency of e-government implementation

The marketization of e-government is an important trend in the development of e-government in countries around the world. An important aspect of this trend is that business and private investment is increasingly becoming an important channel for funding e-government. The Government of New Zealand has emphasized that close partnership with the private sector is an essential element of successful e-government development. The Government of Mexico, in its e-government build-up, has addressed the issue of government connectivity by establishing strategic partnerships with private telecommunications enterprises. In South Africa, the e-tax system is a joint venture between the South African Government's Department of Revenue and private enterprises. The participation of enterprises in the construction of e-government, whose benefits and risks are shared between the enterprises and the government***, has done what the government wanted to do but could not, and has greatly promoted the construction of e-government. Singapore in 2003-2006 in the second step of the e-government program, the use of e-government in the form of completion of the relevant government service activities, to give the service cost concessions, so as to encourage the widespread application of e-government.

6. Raising the level of e-government application for all citizens

E-government needs to be utilized by civil servants, nationals and enterprises, and for this reason, it is necessary to raise the ability of all citizens to apply e-government. The head of the British government in the full implementation of e-government before the specific needs of government departments for the personnel of the timely layer of training, and its reserve force reserves through the education system to complete. In order to improve the information quality of nationals, the Korean government has launched a powerful "National Informatization Education Program", including housewives, military personnel, the elderly, the disabled, and even juvenile detention centers and training centers for inmates, etc., all of whom should participate in universal informatization popularization education to eliminate the "digital divide" between different regions and different groups of people. "digital divide".

Two, China's e-government development should pay attention to deal with a number of relationships

1. The relationship between e-government and China's political system and national conditions

E-government should be adapted to China's specific political system and national conditions. E-government is not empty talk, it is rooted in a country's specific political situation, in order to be utilized by the government, enterprises and residents. Long with the planned economy to adapt to the management system, the continuous market-oriented economic system reform and the market economy to adapt to the reform of the political system, the formation of China's unique political situation.

The establishment of e-government information system is a necessary condition for the transformation of government functions. The development of e-government by the world's attention, on the one hand, because the government is the society's largest information owners and the largest information technology users, the effective use of information technology, you can establish a more diligent, honest, streamlined and efficient government; on the other hand, because information technology can enable people to better participate in the government's decision-making activities, thereby promoting the progress of society as a whole . Information technology makes it possible for the government to do what was impossible not only to do, but also to do it faster and better.

2. The relationship between the construction speed of e-government and the process of governmental reform

In principle, the construction speed of e-government should be compatible with the process of governmental reform, and e-government should be carried out positively and steadily according to the principles of technological possibilities, reliable methodology, ripe conditions and favorable work. It should be said that, through the development of e-government in recent years, e-government at the technical level has formed a number of mature experience can be utilized, the method has also formed the first easy to be followed by the difficult, from the policy information dissemination to the office procedures networked interactive office strategy. With the level of telecommunications tariffs, computer equipment prices and the popularization of network knowledge, the conditions of e-government, will be more and more improved, the promotion of e-government is more need for the government to promote a unified top-down planning and policy.

In the design, should be based on the current situation and orientation of the government reform, the mature, stable content of the government first realize e-government, at the same time in the content of the government space as well as the application of technology, leaving a certain amount of leeway, in order to carry on with the reform of the government, and continue to expand and improve to reduce the cost of the reform; In addition, the reform of the government should be given due consideration to the dynamics of the development of the e-government and the excellent service Personalized characteristics, in the reform actively use the advanced experience and achievements in the practice of e-government, improve the level and efficiency of e-government.

3. The relationship between the government's transformation from management-oriented to service-oriented

The government's transformation from management-oriented to service-oriented can be illustrated from the following aspects:

The conceptual transformation. The transformation of government functions from management to service-oriented, first or more importantly, the state's civil servants in the concept, attitude, style, behavior to have a big change, a kind of change from the management of people to serve people.

Institutional arrangements. Realize the transformation of government functions from management to service-oriented, a good, constantly self-improving institutional arrangements are necessary. The so-called good institutional arrangement is to get the vast majority of people understand and support; continuous self-improvement refers to the good system in the implementation process, may still appear beforehand unforeseen circumstances, including the emergence of a variety of shortcomings in the system set up, attention should be paid to the construction of the ability of its self-improvement.

Working objects. Work program in different management mode its performance has significant differences. In the management-oriented government, the object of civil service is the higher level of leadership, leadership is responsible for; in the service-oriented government, the object of the work of civil servants and the object of the service is unified, civil servants can be satisfied with the object of the service is to judge the merits of their work is the main criterion. At this point, the work of the higher level of leadership is to monitor and check whether the work of the next level meets the requirements of the government's work objectives.

Work content. The choice of work content and implementation of the effect is to reflect the effectiveness of government work is an important feature. Effective government work should be able to grasp the main issues, key issues and something for nothing, put steel to the sword. To do this, the need for government leaders with good business quality, keen insight and decisive decision-making ability, the need to start from the selection of leading cadres, the implementation of the assessment of leading cadres, the realization of mediocrity, the ability to go up, dynamic competition management, to maintain permanent vitality.

4. Transparency of information and confidentiality of government information and social stability

It should be said that there are a variety of government information, some of which belongs to the country's military and political security, some of which belongs to the decision-making process of the government's work does not have to be made public, and some of which belongs to the personal privacy of government employees, such as routes to work, home address, family phone, relatives, such as the work unit. Transparency of government information should be the transparency of policies, government procedures, the last name of the person in charge, the preparation of materials, etc. It is the transparency of government information in accordance with the national security and the security of government staff, the implementation of the authority and responsibility of the transparency of the information should not be the transparency of all the information. With the implementation of e-government, the degree of transparency of government information will be further increased, the confidentiality of government information will be reduced, and its strictness will be further enhanced.

In the long run, the transparency of government information will be conducive to the long-term stability of society, because the transparency of information allows different interest groups to be able to reduce the gap in information, and ultimately tend to balance. Balanced information possession, in a just, open and fair government management, its distribution of interests will also tend to be balanced. Balanced distribution of benefits is the foundation of social stability. However, in the short term, the interests of various interest groups are not balanced, the transparency of information will lead to the redistribution of interests, if this distribution is not optimal, the interests of the party to reduce the inevitable imbalance of psychology, especially this imbalance is expected to be a long-term state, it is inevitable that the social stability of a serious impact. For this reason, in the process of e-government, should lead to the redistribution of interests in the information to be fully considered, in the consequences of fully prepared on the basis of procedures, step by step to implement.

5. The relationship between e-government and e-commerce

Economic activity determines the basic state of people's lives, and economic activity is an important part of all people's activities. E-commerce has gradually come into the people's life, the future will be more extensive and in-depth, thus e-commerce inevitably become one of the main objects of e-government. According to the characteristics of e-commerce operation, the use of appropriate and efficient intervention to ensure the normal development of e-commerce has become one of the primary tasks of e-government. At the same time, the development of e-commerce, e-government will also provide new research topics, in mutual promotion, people's lives will be more flexible, full of color.