Recently, Xinhua released a series of products and services at http://www.news.cn/yuqing/ designed to monitor and lead public opinion. According to Duan Saimin, the chief of the Xinhua public opinion center, when public opinion is properly guided, it will be conducive to the resolution of problems and can promote social stability and harmony. Otherwise, conflicts and problems will be amplified and affect local social stability and harmony. He acknowledged that few people in the local governments have recognized and understood the mechanism of public opinion. “They lack experience in responding to public opinion and some lack complete emergency procedures; … ultimately the conflicts and problems (that came up in the past) were amplified through the Internet, thus damaging the image of the government and enterprises, and causing irreparable harm.” According to Duan, since 2003, Xinhua has routinely provided public opinion reports to Communist Party leaders. Currently it has a team of over 100 public opinion analysts.
Source: Xinhua, December 20, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-12/20/c_122451786.htm