LONDON - The Internet has become an increasingly important platform for the Chinese to express opinions on government policies and social issues, a senior Internet regulator has said.

"You can compare China with Western countries. Chinese people have easy rein to express their opinions," Liu Zhengrong, deputy chief of the Internet Affairs Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO), told China Daily.

The Internet has satisfied Chinese people's demand for information, enriched their lives and opened a convenient channel for people to express their ideas, and to observe and participate in state affairs, Liu said.