A "mysterious" Weibo account devoted to publishing the detailed activities of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has garnered a great deal of attention from netizens.

The "Study Xi Fan Club" account, which opened in November last year, posts close-up and recent images of the Party's new leader. So far, it has over 920,000 followers.

However, many netizens speculated that the "fan," who is able to record many of Xi's activities from up close, was one of Xi's secretaries or a PR team member, though later it was revealed that the microblogger was an ordinary person from Sichuan Province.

On February 11, the microblogger wrote a "farewell" post on Weibo and said "reality may not tolerate fans like us," which made netizens believe he had been censored by authorities. However, the account was back in operation the next day and many left messages to show their support for this fan of Xi.

The popularity of this account and people's concerns about its ability to function are a reflection of the public's expectations of a more transparent and open political environment.

Chinese officials, especially those at the very top, have much less information on their personal and working lives reported to the public compared to statesmen in Western countries. Ordinary people can hardly get close to a top leader.  Even mainstream media are not able to publish casual shots as the "Study Xi Fan Club" did. The images of China's leaders have remained rigid in most people's minds.

Under such circumstances, it is natural for the public to speculate, with a political flavor, that the account has been authorized by the top and fear that any posts that go "beyond the line" may lead to censorship.

The curiosity of the public about the account is actually the curiosity about the political life of the one who holds the steering wheel of the CPC. Nonetheless, this curiosity shows people's dissatisfaction with the lack of information related to China's political coverage in the past.

In Xi Jinping's first public address just after being elected as head of the CPC in November, he noted that history is created by the people, people are the true heroes, and the people are the source of the strength of the Party. This effort should go further. What China's policy-makers should explore from this account is not merely the bustling excitement of the public, but their expectations of a transparent political environment.

For governments at various levels as well, it is, especially at a time of social transformation when all kinds of conflicts may emerge, a difficult and vital task to establish an image of officials that embrace changes and do solid work under the public eye so as to strengthen social cohesion.