Author: Ming Shuyuan official account: Ming shuzatan wechat id:laomingdashu
1) It has been 10 days since the Tangshan beating incident. The public opinion on the Internet has not subsided, but has intensified. Tangshan, and even Hebei, are certainly not suited to such great public pressure. Some people may think, “we are already working hard. What else do you want?” “Do you just want to take the opportunity to hype?” However, what I want to say is that in the Internet age, public opinion develops very fast, and it is always accompanied by irrational and extreme voices. However, the key to dealing with internet public opinion is not to suppress public opinion or avoid public opinion, but to return to the nature of things, solve the problems exposed by public opinion, and respond to the public sentiment behind public opinion through professional and friendly communication.
2) In these 10 days, on the one hand, we have seen that Tangshan and even Hebei are taking positive actions around this beating incident, and have shown a strong willingness to “address both the symptoms and root causes”; But on the other hand, we also see that the release of information about the Tangshan beating incident is not timely enough, especially for the injuries of the victims, the release is seriously delayed. Although we can say that this involves personal privacy, in such a hot event of national concern, the public is highly concerned about the victims’ injuries. It is very necessary to release their injuries and treatment progress on the premise of obtaining the consent of the victims and protecting their personal privacy. I have received rumors from others that “the victim has died” many times, and many people are highly educated and always rational people. It can be seen that if the release of authoritative information can not keep up, the result can only be rumors flying everywhere. The most rational and discriminating person may also be misled and rhythmic. Tangshan must attach importance to this problem.
3) The situation of the suspect should also be updated in a timely manner. The public can understand that the detection, prosecution and judgment of major cases need a process, which is different from the communication of ordinary events. Legal issues must be rigorous and scientific. However, the identity of the suspect, past misdeeds and other information strongly questioned by the public should be “confirmed and released”, and we should not wait until all the information is clear, and then make a one-time release. Even if there is no core information, the composition, main detection direction and follow-up actions of the police investigation team should be appropriately released without affecting the handling of the case. In short, for such a case that the whole country pays close attention to, the people have a very strong sense of information hunger. If this sense of information hunger is not satisfied, the people themselves will have a strong anxiety, and it is easy to be taken advantage of by rumors and other false information, leading to a distorted rhythm.
4) Tangshan has chosen to “open the gate and take the main road”, which is right. Since this emergency has been put under the magnifying glass of public opinion, we should accept the reality and act according to the law of public opinion. Tangshan should pay close attention to the fact that some journalists broke the news that they were blocked or even brutally treated in Tangshan in the past period. Preventing the media from conducting normal interviews or even treating the media roughly will only generate more secondary public opinion and further damage the image of Tangshan. For the normal questions and interview needs of the media, we should try our best to meet those that can be met, and we should also try our best to make them clear and strive for the understanding of the media. In any public opinion crisis, confrontation with the media is not the right choice.
5) The subsequent information release of the Tangshan beating incident needs to be coordinated at least at the level of Hebei Province. We should learn from and learn from the practice of the press conferences on the epidemic situation in the past two years. There is a unified coordination department that holds press conferences regularly. The staff of which department is involved will be invited to participate. If you can answer the questions of the reporters, try to answer them. If you can’t answer them, provide them to the reporters after verification. Tangshan beating incident is a rare hot public opinion in recent years. It is a major emergency, not an ordinary event. Hebei and Tangshan should also be “promoted” in their handling and response.
6) The law of public opinion in the Internet era determines that there is no possibility of “internal handling” and “silent handling” in major events of national concern. The reason why the Tangshan beating incident has attracted so much attention is that the public has a strong sense of substitution for social security and personal safety. We are highly concerned about the progress in handling this incident. Fundamentally, we still want to confirm whether China today can address both the symptoms and root causes of such incidents; In today’s China, is there enough guarantee for everyone’s personal safety. This requires the parties concerned to have more empathy and empathy for the public’s anxiety and thirst for information. Only in this way can we do a good job of information release and public communication calmly.
7) In the Internet age, there is a variation of “Tacitus trap”. In major public opinion, the party in an advantageous and powerful position, whether it has done something wrong or not, the public and public opinion tend to distrust them and always raise various questions from all angles. The existence of this law will make some local governments feel aggrieved in the face of public opinion, and some people may even feel that “there are too many evil people”. However, to solve this problem, we can only do things in a down-to-earth manner, respect the law of public opinion, and timely release information. Release more, timely and sufficient authoritative information to dispel the public’s doubts and mistrust. Strive for public understanding and support through equal and goodwill communication.
8) Many similar cases in the past have fully demonstrated that local governments should cooperate with national authoritative media when dealing with major public opinions. Whether it is the 49 middle school students’ jumping from a building in Chengdu or the iron chain women’s incident, the timely intervention of reporters from the people’s daily, Xinhua news agency and the headquarters can not only restore the truth from multiple perspectives, alleviate the people’s thirst for information, but also provide help and support for the relevant departments of the local government to do a good job in public communication. Moreover, no matter how the Internet develops, the authority and platform advantages of the national media still exist. Ultimately, it is also inseparable from the support of the authoritative media to make the investigation conclusions and treatment results recognized by the public.
9) The major public opinion in the Internet age has a “political attribute”. This incident seems to be just a social security problem in Tangshan. However, the people of the whole country will see through this event whether China’s system has the ability to solve problems, whether Chinese grass-roots government officials can withstand the doubts of the people, and whether they can win the trust of the people. Ultimately, the people of the whole country will decide their views on the working methods and capabilities of the party and the government through the handling of this matter. Whether Tangshan and Hebei can handle this matter well and do a good job in public communication will not only affect Hebei Province and Tangshan City, but also affect the trust and support of the people of the whole country to the party and the government. So it’s not a small thing.
10) I personally have confidence in the final outcome of this matter. Based on common sense, these gangsters in Tangshan may be arrogant and domineering in front of innocent victims, but they can’t turn the tide in front of China’s socialist state power. At the same time, with the great concern of the people all over the country, I believe that any staff member involved in the investigation and handling of this case will be cautious, timid, and walk on thin ice, and handle this matter with a high sense of responsibility and the overall situation. No one dares to cheat, and no one dares to fool the Central Committee and the people all over the country. If anyone dares to do so, he is risking the rest of his life. I believe people with a little common sense can understand the seriousness of this matter.
~~~~~~~~~~
For Hebei Province and Tangshan City, the best way to compete with rumors is not to “sulk”, but to release more professional, friendly and timely information to meet the people’s right to know and eliminate the breeding soil of rumors.
For the people of the whole country, they should have a basic sense of discrimination for any information. Do not spread rumors or falsehoods. Because doing so will certainly run counter to our original intention of pursuing fairness and justice.
For those who spread rumors in every corner of the Internet, and those who secretly want to use this to attack and deny the Chinese system, you can’t turn the world upside down. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is not perfect, but at this moment, China’s goal of pursuing fairness and justice from top to bottom is very clear and highly unified. Anyone who negates the current China Road and China’s model by generalizing from the general point of view and going up to the outline has repeatedly proved that you are wrong!