Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- China plans to hold special courses to train government leaders in ways of managing online public opinion , according to a report in state-run media . The report by the Xinhua new agency said China had one billion Internet users `` making the shape of our society more complicated ... managing online public opinion has already become a central fixture of managing our society . '' Management of the Internet is now a `` big task for all of our country 's leaders , at every level , '' the report added . The six-day course -- to run from March 27 to April 1 -- aims to use `` use case studies , simulations , group discussions '' to train `` government organs and administrative units '' who would be examined and awarded a certificate ranking them either an analyst or manager of `` Internet public opinion . '' 'Directing ' discussions . According to the course website , the program shows ways of directing online discussions on `` mass incidents '' -- shorthand for civil unrest and rioting that breaks out periodically in Chinese towns and cities -- and even uses discussion on the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s as an example of a contentious social issue . The Chinese government has only just permitted discussion of the tumultuous political period , which was marked by paralyzing social upheaval . Another part of the course discusses the influence of popular bloggers -- called `` Big V '' users on Sina Weibo -- who must maintain a sense of `` social responsibility '' in their posts , according to the program website . `` Big V should proactively conform to state management departments in striking down rumors and purifying the online environment , '' it stated . Spread of rumors . China 's President Xi Jinping has tightened controls over the Internet since coming to power in 2012 , bringing in tough legislation to control the `` spread of rumors '' online . Last year , the Supreme People 's Court issued new guidelines stating that any false defamatory post online that is viewed 5,000 times or forwarded 500 times could be deemed `` severe '' and result in a prison sentence of up to three years for the culprit . Microblogging has exploded in China in recent years , presenting a serious pressure point to a government that has built an industry around restricting comment . Microblogging campaigns have targeted corruption , suspicious lawsuits , kidnapped children and the plight of activist lawyers . Despite this , however , large Internet companies such as Sina Weibo and Renren employ content monitors to make sure their sites do not contravene Chinese information laws . According to Chinese Internet entrepreneur Gang Lu , the banks of censors are often regarded by Internet companies as simply a requirement in China of doing business in a new industry . `` Almost half the team at Sina Weibo are engaged in monitoring content at some level . Even so , Sina is very bold but they are under pressure as well -- they still have to be responsive to the government . '' he told CNN . Facebook , Twitter banned . Unrestricted social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are banned on mainland China and only determined or relatively wealthy individuals use virtual private networks ( VPN ) to get around the Chinese Internet restrictions , which have been dubbed `` The Great Firewall of China . '' Even so , cracks have occasionally appeared in the wall . According to a report in Hong Kong 's South China Post , Beijing could soon lift a ban on Internet access within the Shanghai Free-trade Zone , allowing access to Facebook , Twitter and newspaper website The New York Times . `` In order to welcome foreign companies to invest and to let foreigners live and work happily in the free-trade zone , we must think about how we can make them feel like at home , '' the report quoted a government source as saying . `` If they ca n't get onto Facebook or read The New York Times , they may naturally wonder how special the free-trade zone is compared with the rest of China . ''
China to hold special courses to train its leaders in ways of managing online opinion . Management of the Internet is now a ` ` big challenge for all of our country 's leaders , '' says report . Course looks at ways of directing online opinion and discusses influence of ' Big V ' bloggers . Internet has exploded in China , presenting serious pressure point for government .