People's Daily: Covering multiple scenarios, the application prospects of “blockchain+government affairs” are broad
For government blockchain to play a role, cross-departmental and cross-sector connectivity is still the key.
Author: Yu Sinan
Digital government is an important vehicle for promoting the refinement and intelligence of public services and social governance. Recently, Beijing, Hebei, Hunan, Guizhou and other places have successively issued plans to actively promote the application of blockchain in government systems. “On-chain government” helps take digital government to the next level, and the courage to experiment with new technologies in various regions is worthy of recognition.
In recent years, with the deepening promotion of “Internet +” applications, China's digital government service capabilities have improved markedly. However, due to factors such as security and privacy, digital government still exists in silos in some places. For example, although many government offices have “moved” to online platforms, data often lacks interconnection. Since there is no unified interface, matters are not synchronized online, and when handling different businesses, people need to repeatedly authenticate and download various platform software. Furthermore, some of the key aspects of some businesses rely on offline, and people still can't save themselves from running errands. To solve these blockages, people are looking at the characteristics of blockchain such as decentralization, immutability, and traceability. The “government chain” can not only guarantee the safety of data circulation and eliminate sharing concerns, but also build a trust network with multi-party participation and act as a trust intermediary, which can better unleash the potential of government data. From this point of view, blockchain has further promoted the deep integration of the Internet and government affairs, providing new solutions for digital government to the next level.
Currently, government blockchain already covers various scenarios such as digital identity, electronic storage, electronic bills, property rights registration, and industrial and commercial registration. For example, in Beijing, 140 government services are on the chain, and many services only need to “run at most once”; in Shenzhen, the blockchain electronic license application platform has integrated more than 100 high-frequency government service matters. During the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control period, government blockchain also played an important role in enterprises applying to resume work and resume production. The spark created by “blockchain+government affairs”, while providing convenience to people, also showed the whole society its broad application prospects.
Although there are some implemented applications, the “government chain” is generally in the pilot phase. First, blockchain application scenarios are complex, and they themselves need to solve technical problems such as system stability and application security. The government service group is large and covers a wide range of areas. Considering factors such as cost and safety, at this stage, only high-value data that can be shared by multiple parties has on-chain value. This requires, on the one hand, breaking through key technologies to improve the performance, efficiency, security, and economy of blockchain; on the other hand, thoroughly understanding government scenarios and finding the real needs of going online. After all, going up the chain of government affairs does not mean that political achievements go up on the chain; rather, the pain points of actual government services should be solved. Furthermore, research and analysis of blockchain security risks cannot be ignored. It is also essential to guide and promote blockchain developers and platform operators to strengthen self-discipline and implement security responsibilities.
More importantly, for government blockchain to work, connectivity across departments and fields is still the key. Currently, the “government chain” is in a period of rapid development, and regulation and guidance are lagging behind. Some government blockchains, if limited to a certain link and do not form closed-loop services based on business processes, will not only bring about new “data silos”, but may also cause repeated construction and waste of resources. Going up the chain is not about simply moving government services; it is necessary to clear application links and push the implementation of government blockchain into practice. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the top-level design of blockchain government applications, and make full cooperation between management departments, enterprises and other participants to establish uniform technical standards.
China has a good foundation in the blockchain field and is quite rich in scenarios. Some applications are being piloted, and it is inevitable that it will encounter some new situations and problems. Facing up to the application difficulties of blockchain in government affairs and looking for practical countermeasures, we hope to explore a new governance model suitable for the digital economy era. Relevant leading cadres should also understand the current status and trends of new technologies such as blockchain, update relevant knowledge in a timely manner, continuously improve governance capabilities, and build a good service-oriented government through practical actions.
Source: People's Daily
