In east China's Changzhou city, a local official's refusal to pay a road toll was exposed by the toll collector on the Internet. The public expressed strong discontent toward the official's behavior, which finally led to the official's apology.

An article in the Beijing Youth Daily uses the story to highlight the important role each individual can play in the supervision over the government.

The article says the responsibility of public supervision usually goes to traditional media. But with the help of the Internet, every citizen can now play a part in this endeavor. In fact, several recent high-profile corruption cases involving senior local government officials all first surfaced on the Internet and then led to government investigation.

The article cites Premier Wen Jiabao, who has said the government should try and find ways for the people to exert effective supervision. It says with proper supervision through multiple channels, officials will be deterred from abusing their powers.

The article also stresses that proper management and guidance are needed for the Internet to play its positive supervision role. After all, one does not want to see slanderous and unscrupulous exposures spreading through every website.