Social Stability - 114. page

Study Times recently published an article on how to improve the handling of crises that spread over the Internet. The article recommended that China should develop an Internet security and information control mechanism, strengthen its monitoring and emergency response capability for such crisis, develop new technologies, improve communication between the government and the people, and educate the media and the people about how to be cautious. The article suggested that the government initiate efforts in the following areas:

1. Strategy and institutional structure: The government should include Internet crisis management as part of its national security strategy and develop a proper institutional structure and laws on Internet information management. Also the government should clarify the structural relationship between the National Security Commission, the Central Internet Security and Information Leading Group, and local governments.

2. Early detection of and emergency response to Internet crises: The government can establish Internet information collection teams to monitor news discussion groups, forums, and search engines’ search results; it can also collect information on the hot issues and events as well as on people’s opinions on these issues and events.

3. Internet technology: The government should put the R&D of Internet technology in a core position and strive for China’s own innovations of core Internet technology.

4. Crisis management: The easiest way is for the government to tell the truth, so as to gain people’s trust and weaken the impact of negative opinions.

5. Education: The government should educate media professionals on professional ethics and professional “discipline.” It also needs to educate the general public about Internet crisis – to train citizens on how to tell, criticize, and evaluate information on the Internet. It can do this through the use of television, newspapers, the Internet, school, and special education programs.

Source: Study Times, March 24, 2014
http://www.studytimes.cn/shtml/xxsb/20140324/4272.shtml

Xinhua published an article on China’s so-called "naked officials" who have moved their spouses, children and assets overseas while they remain at home in China. 

Yixin Wealth (Credit Ease) and the Lianban Finance Institute recently released a report on the distribution of wealth in China. According to the report, the top 10 percent of the population owns 63.9 percent of the wealth in China.

On Monday, February 17, 2014, hundreds of workers from the Xining City Western Mining Company in Qinghai Province rallied in front of their company’s office building demanding that they be paid the dividends for the shares they had invested. Even though the company has made good profits and these workers have been the company’s shareholders for 9 years, they have never received any dividends from the company.  Special policemen cracked down on the protesters at the rally. Many were injured and arrested.

Source: Oriental Daily, February 21, 2014
http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20140221/00178_001.html

As of February 15, 2014, the main district in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, permanently closed its live poultry markets. Starting in July, other main cities in Zhejiang Province will close all live poultry markets as well. As bird flu spreads, there are still 4 million chickens ready for sale in Hangzhou, yet they cannot be sold. The total loss is estimated to be nearly 100 million yuan. About one-third of the poultry businesses in Zhejiang Province faces bankruptcy. The local Hangzhou authorities indicated that frozen poultry businesses will replace the live poultry businesses.