Public Opinion Crisis Settlement: A Case Study Of The “7.2 Group Incident” In Shifang County, Sichuan Province

As China is currently in the period of structural reform and economic transition, it is faced with intensifying social instability. Owing to adjustment of interest pattern, decrease of social control, and the aggravation of social division, deep-rooted problems and social contradictions gradually arise in China, contributing to the frequent occurrence of mass incidents. As the number of network users increases with the development of network technology, people are becoming more and more accustomed to knowing about the world and expressing views and appeals through the internet. Gradually becoming the platform for information aggregation and dissemination and the magnifier of public opinion, the internet can exert profound influences on various aspects of social management and Party building.In 2012, mass incidents occurred in Shifang County, Qidong City, and Zhenhai District of China as the local residents carried out street protests to express their objections to projects which may cause environmental damages. Because of the conflict between police and residents in Shifang County, citizens’ assault of Qidong municipal building, and the radical public emotions, the projects attracting local objections were all cancelled after the occurrence of the mass incidents. During these events, some local netizens broadcasted the events in forms of texts and pictures by utilizing phones or computers. Then, the information was widely transmitted on the internet through microblogs, forums, and blogs, attracting the attention of much more people. Along with the rapid promotion and application of interactive platforms like microblog, the government is facing more and more pressure from public opinion. Besides, mass incidents triggered by environmental protection show the tendency of frequent occurrence. Hence, addressing this issue requires the government to enhance its social management, posing a grim challenge to the governing ability and wisdom of leading cadres at all levels. In this context, this paper makes a case study of the 7.2 group incident that occurred in Shifang County, Sichuan Province.Applying public crisis management theory and new public management theory, this paper makes a case study of the public opinion settlement in “7.2 group incident” occurred in Shifang County, Sichuan Province. An in-depth analysis of the underlying reasons for the public opinion crisis during this incident is made. Besides, problems facing Shifang Government in major projects construction are explored from the perspective of public opinion communication and guidance. On this basis, the manifestations and reasons for the failed guidance are summarized. Finally, this paper puts forward some measures for Shifang Government’s public opinion settlement, providing references for public opinion settlement in group incidents in other cities in China. These measures include improving openness and transparency of government project construction, promoting citizens’ participation in the decision making of major projects, summarizing experience of public opinion settlement in group incidents in other cities in China, raising the consciousness of internet public opinion crisis, constructing emergent event news release mechanism, and establishing multi-sector collaboration and communication mechanism.