The Social Blue Book points out that, based on the economic recovery, job market recovery, consumption growth, the stability of commodity prices and other key indicators of economic and social development, China will be the first out of the shadow of the international financial crisis and entering a new growth period. From the perspective of the industrialization, urbanization, and consumer spending trend, China is entering a new growth phase of the post international financial crisis. The so-called new growth phase, on one hand means that China is entering a new growth cycle with an above 8% economic growth rate; on the other hand it means that the new driving force of the upcoming growth cycle will encounter significant changes compared to the past. It will be more dependent on industrial structural upgrades, economic and social restructuring, and the domestic consumption growth. 

The 2010 social blue book, The 2010 China Social Situation Analysis and Forecast, pointed out that in 2010, China will enter the new growth phase of the post-international financial crisis; industrialization and urbanization will enter a new accelerating interim growth stage; changes in social structure will break the existing urban-rural structure in the new growth stage; the general public will enter the mass consumption of the new growth stage; higher education will be available for the mass public; there will also be nationwide coverage of social security, and primarily economic reform that later transitions to a comprehensive reform. The level of purchasing power of the urban and rural population improved significantly improved 2009. In 2009, the overall level of satisfaction of urban and rural residents was "relatively satisfied" with the overall satisfaction of rural residents being higher than urban residents in regard to their living. In 2009, the employment situation was basically stable, while the pay rate of new college graduates was significantly lower. In 2009, the overall public safety and order were stable with criminal cases still staying at a high level. In 2009, the tension in labor relations in some of the enterprises and social security became the main focus of migrant workers’ rights issues. The Internet became a source of independent news media, and mobile phones became the most powerful carrier of public opinion. [1]

The People’s Net [the website for People’s Daily] reported the following on the same day, “On December 21, the Academy of Social Sciences published the 2010 Social Blue Book. It points out that the rate of mass incidents remains high this year. This is because some areas that are in the process of accelerating local development and restructuring have accumulated many historic conflicts and problems. These problems have not been solved in time, which has caused deep resentment among the people.” [2]

The report quoted Li Peilin, director of the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in his speech, “Now, the more prominent issue is the occurrence of mass incidents. This year’s rate of mass incidents remains high.”[2]

“In particular, what’s worth noting are the repetitions of the same type of incidents, such as the Hubei ShiShou incident, which was almost a repeat of the WongAn incident that occurred in 2008. In other words, the WongAn incident was about a secondary school female student drowning to death. The Hubei incident was about a young chef (Tu Yuangao), who jumped off a building and died. Just like what happened in WongAn, while people were talking about the death, the government announced that it was an unnatural death. However, the general public, through the Internet, began to question whether the incident was murder, suicide, or homicide. Later, the government concluded, after an autopsy, that he had committed suicide. His family did not believe it, and didn’t allow the corpse to be taken away for up to 30 hours. The autopsy conducted by the local agency wasn’t convincing. It went to the provincial level, and eventually led to a mass incident involving thousands of people, resulting in the burning of cars and buildings, and a serious clash between the police and the people. Of course, this time, the extent of violence wasn’t as serious as it was in WongAn, but its process and the logic behind it was the same as in the WongAn incident.” [2]

“We categorize such conflicts as non-class and non-direct interest group conflicts because the participating people are from all aspects of society, and the participating parties have no direct conflict of interest related to the event itself. This shows that some areas, because of financial weakness, especially in the past 30 years of reform and opening up, and in the process of accelerating development and restructuring, have accumulated a lot of historical conflicts and problems, such as enterprise reform, housing demolition, land acquisition, and fund collection, etc.  In handling of these things, much is owed to the masses. These problems are not solved promptly, and they result in deep resentment. Therefore, when the unexpected incidents occur, they tend to develop into the so-called non-class, non-direct interest group conflicts.” [2]

As to the reasons why there is such a high frequency of this type of incident, People’s Net made this analysis: “According to incomplete statistics, in 1993, our country had 8,700 mass incidents, by 2005, it increased to 87,000 cases, and in 2006, more than 90,000. The number of mass incidents in 2008 and their intensity surpassed any from the past.” [3]

"All incidents usually involved casualties. This consequently intensified the confrontation between government officials and the public. This is clearly not something that people want to see. Meanwhile, there is no doubt, China is in its golden age of development, but it is also in a period of high conflicts. It is easy to breed mass events, so in dealing with mass incidents, there should not be any fear, much less politicization. Of course, they cannot be neglected either.

What is the reason for the outbreak of mass incidents? Some scholars believe that it is due to deep resentment from (the public toward the government). That does make sense. So, why is there resentment? What is the discontent? To put it plainly, people’s interests and rights have been violated, such as in enterprise restructuring, housing demolition, land acquisition, fund collection, etc. Some government agencies have owed much to the public. Indebtedness can raise the public’s grievances. What is worth mentioning in particular is that grievances if not abreacted for too long a time, will explode in the end.

Unfortunately, when grievances arise, certain government departments do not take them seriously and act in a timely manner, not to mention handling them proactively. … Worse still, some people have been wronged and unfairly treated, and their appeals only met with obstruction. Some officials even demonize petitioners, and petitioners are labeled as “trouble-making people.” As reported, the petitioners are therefore often carefully “watched.” When they show up at government office premises, various approaches are used to suppress them. Violence, pressure, and threats are most commonly used, because of the government’s fear of losing face and its image being damaged. In such situations, all it takes is a triggering event to cause a mass incident.

Days ago (on December 1, 2009), the Qiushi magazine published a long article by the Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu, titled “Strengthening the Development of the Five Abilities and Fully Improving the Proficiency for Maintaining Stability.” The article said, “At present, China’s economic and social development have shown a series of characteristics in the new phase.  In the area of social stability, it has shown a basic trend of prominent contradictions among the people, a high incidence of criminal offenses, and complicated struggles against the enemy. The Internet has become an important means for the anti-China forces to infiltrate, sabotage, and amplify the energy for destruction. This brings new challenges to the public security organs to maintain national security and social stability. The relevance, complexity, and sensitivity of various social contradictions have significantly increased, which brings new tests to the public security organs in their handling of complicated situations. The public security organ’s new tasks of social control include all kinds of crimes and a significant increase in social security issues. People’s awareness of their legal rights has significantly increased. The extent of media and public monitoring has increased to an unprecedented level. All these factors put forward new requirements for the public security organs’ law enforcement activities. Given the new situations and new tasks, public security still has many outstanding issues and weaknesses that need urgent solutions. From the present to a certain period into the future, we must unswervingly carry out development of the Three Basic Skills. Meanwhile, we must further public security’s information technology development, law enforcement standardization development, and the development of harmonious community relations (the Three Constructions). This will enable us to focus on efforts to strengthen the Five Abilities, to raise to full-scale the ability and level for maintaining national security and social stability, and to constantly enhance the people’s sense of security and satisfaction.

Working with the masses is a fundamental job of the public security authorities; the ability to work with the masses is the most basic and central capability of the public security authorities. Under new historic conditions, we must unswervingly emphasize the work with the masses as a basic task, and improve the capability to work with the masses as a basic skill, so as to solidify the grass roots support base for public security work.

Grass roots police, especially the community police in local stations, should take “three understandings and four abilities” as basic skills: understanding public psychology, understanding the language used by the public, and understanding communication skills; the ability to solve conflicts, the ability to mediate disputes, the ability to actively provide service, and the ability to mobilize. … We need to further improve the approaches of evaluating the performance of grass roots police. … We must maximally alleviate the burdens of grass roots personnel, and make sure that that grass-roots public security authorities will focus their energy and manpower primarily on work with the masses and infrastructure work.

Under the current complex law enforcement environment, public security’s law enforcement activities must focus on the overall requirement of “maximally increasing the harmonious factors, maximally reducing the disharmonious factors,” and putting the domestic and international situations, the Internet, and real world factors into perspective.

Put together all systemic resources, and the efforts to break the "compartmentalization" barriers, and strive to build a resource sharing public security information platform of vertical and horizontal integration as soon as possible. Strengthen basic source information gathering and recording. Make it not only a grass roots important responsibility and daily job of the police, but also a link toward basic tasks such as population management and preventive control. Thus the information can be grasped anytime and anywhere, and gathered and recorded anytime and anywhere. Tightly grasp the detailed information and be able to control and manage it. Informationalize the fundamental jobs, regularize the information work, and provide strong support for a unified information platform and information sharing. Speed up the in-depth application of the information, further strengthen the comprehensive analysis of intelligence, constantly improve the abilities of predicting, warning, and prevention, and firmly hold the upper-hand in the public security work.

The key to building an information network is real time application. We must fully rely on the information network, vigorously implement new anti-crime mechanisms such as web-based synchronized investigation and evidence collection, investigating cases and on-line pursuit of criminals, make efforts to reduce the cost of operations, enhance effectiveness, and improve attacking skills. We should actively adapt to a dynamic environment of social management, give full play to the advantages of the information network, improve the integrated operation mechanism of strike-prevention-management-control, strive to spot key areas in prevention and control, discover vulnerabilities in strikes and management, and continuously improve the comprehensive management and control capacity of the dynamic society. We must comprehensively strengthen the buildup of “Six networks” including the street-level prevention and control network, the community prevention and control network, the work place prevention and control network, the video surveillance network, the regional police cooperation network, and the "virtual society" prevention and control network. We must also actively build social security networks combining points, lines and planes, combine prevention through humans, equipment, and technology, combine striking, prevention, management, and control, and combine online and real world controls, so as to achieve an all-position, all-time, seamless, and three-dimensional coverage of the dynamic society.

Actively prevent and properly handle major social unrest. … Social unrest is usually related to conflicts of interest. Therefore the key to preventing social unrest is to resolve conflicts and disputes. Many years of practice have shown that the cost is minimal if the conflicts are handled the first time (they come up) and at the initial stage. We must always adhere to focusing on prevention and mediation as the first choice. … Focus the work more on the grass roots and the daily matters, gain accurate knowledge of social conditions and public opinion, timely grasp the social dynamics, and further resolve conflicts and disputes. On issues that matter to the people’s personal interests and signs of instability that might trigger major social unrest, promptly report them to the Party committee and the government. Relying on the Party committee and the government, try all means to solve the problems, alleviate the conflicts, resolve the disputes, maximally kill the conflicts and disputes at the lowest level, solve the problems locally, and eliminate hidden dangers in the bud, so as to prevent the occurrence of massive unrest at the root.

When handling mass unrest, we must be early in discovering the problem, swift in resolving it, and proper in handling it. We should prevent the incident from spreading and expanding, so as to reduce its impact and harm to society to the minimum. On the occurrence of a major social unrest, we should insist on early detection, early reporting, and early control to ensure that the situation does not expand, does not escalate, and does not intensify. Timely report them to the Party committees and governments for proper handling. When dealing with the incident, do more propaganda, explanation, and persuasion, in an effort to alleviate their emotions and guide the masses to express their interest through rational and legal channels to resolve conflicts of interest and to safeguard their own interests.

Comrades at all levels of the public security authorities ought to continuously learn from the experiences of handling major social unrest, strengthen the study of the features of major mass unrest, and improve the capability of on-site command and handling the incident by law. We need to build an emergent command mechanism with unified command, swift response, orderly coordination, and efficient operation. Clearly specify the responsibilities of all departments and all police forces and improve the effectiveness of command to form an integrated force that will handle the major emergent incidents. We should vigorously strengthen the special forces and equipment for handling emergent situations, constantly improve the plans, intensify the exercises, and improve emergent response capabilities.

With the rise of the Internet and other new media, the environment of social discussion has undergone a major and profound change. It’s becoming an important task to strengthen the capabilities of the public security authorities to actively research and make judgments, to respond to Internet public opinion, and to improve the capabilities of communication with the public. We must actively use the platform of the Internet. … A higher priority should be put on correctly guiding Internet public opinion, and striving to find new ways to strengthen and improve public security’s guidance of public opinion in the information age.

Tackling a major incident has two components: on-site handling and guiding public opinion. We must pay high attention to the work on public opinion and promptly release authoritative information at the same time as on-site handling of the incident.

We must establish and improve the speedy response and coordination mechanism for major incidents. Once a major emergent incident occurs, immediately launch the emergency response mechanism with each relevant authority taking its own responsibility. We must establish and improve the consultation and decision-making mechanism and adhere to early detection, early reporting, and early guidance, so as to timely clarify the truth and eliminate in the bud the unstable signs that could trigger a major crisis. … We must further improve the public security authority’s spokesperson system to make sure that once a major incident takes place, we can objectively release the authoritative information the first time, publicize the truth, guide public opinion, and gain the initiative.

We should fully utilize news media as the bridge between the public security authorities and the public, strengthen communications with the media, and proactively share the work of public security and the media. … Maximally gain understanding and support from the media for the public security work. … We should improve the contents and format of the propaganda work of public security, … and constantly strengthen the influence and appeal of the work of public security, so as to build a good public opinion atmosphere for public security work.

Endnotes:
[1] Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, December 21, 2009
http://www.cass.net.cn/file/20091221252540.html
[2] People’s Daily, December 21, 2009
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/10623670.html
[3] People’s Daily, December 22, 2009
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/10624587.html
[4] People’s Daily, December 1, 2009
http://theory.people.com.cn/GB/10483616.html

"The notice called for a full understanding of the importance of further promotion of the establishment of party subsidiary organizations in non-publicly-owned economic organizations. The non-publicly-owned economic organizations are a crucial component of the party’s grass-roots organizational work. In recent years, the work of party buildup in non-publicly-owned economic organizations has been vigorously advanced, but generally speaking there is still weakness, such as limited coverage of the party organizations and widely existent ‘difficulties in launching activities and playing effective roles.’” [1]

"(The noticed required that) in non-publicly-owned economic organizations with three or more party members, a grass roots party organization is to established; those with less than three party members can either partner with organizations in the same region or industry to set up a joint party organization or rely on industry and business federations, self-employment associations, private enterprise associations, trade associations, and industrial leaders to institute a party branch. Those that qualify for the conditions to have party organizations should do it actively and timely. For those non-publicly-owned economic organizations that for the time being do not meet the conditions to establish a party branch on their own, a higher level party organization can dispatch a political instructor to create the conditions for the establishment of a party branch in the future." [1]

"Additionally, the notice stressed to pick the right person to be in charge of the party organization in non-publicly-owned economic organizations, especially the secretaries. It emphasized to appoint to the leading positions those who have a strong party character, understand business operations, are capable of management, and are good at working with people. For the economic organizations that do not have a suitable candidate, after consultation with the company, the higher party branches may recommend or appoint someone for the job. … A timely adjustment is needed where those persons in charge of party branches are not competent to hold their position." [1]

"The notice also called for playing effective roles in the grass roots party organizations in non-publicly-owned economic organizations. … (It required) improving the education, management, supervision, and services for the party members in the non-publicly-owned economic organizations. (The notice asked to) do a good job in actively and steadily recruiting party members in non-publicly-owned economic organizations, to pay close attention to enrolling party members among people who work on the frontline of production as well as among the outstanding youth, to discover, train, and recommend talented people, and to strengthen the education and training of those who are active in joining the party to ensure the quality of new party members. … (It expected to) further improve the leadership and guidance of the party organizations in non-publicly-owned economic organizations, and effectively resolve issues such as the lack of operating funds and lack of activity venues." [1]

Prior to this, on July 2, 2009, Xinhua.net published another article by Zhong Youping, a member of the party branch of the State Administration of Industry & Commerce (SAIC). Zhong Youping “asked the party branches at all levels below SAIC as well as party branches of all the associations of private firms, to adapt to local conditions and times, and actively advance the party buildup in private firms." "Zhong Youping requested that the party branches of all the industrial and commercial authorities and private firm associations focus especially on larger enterprises, and take effective approaches to expand the coverage of party organizations. The enterprises that do not yet meet the conditions to establish a party branch on their own may adopt formats such as ‘joint formation with other enterprises,’ ‘joint formation with local communities,’ and ‘relying on trade associations, under the guidance of the organization department." "Zhong Youping emphasized that the party branches of the industrial and commercial authorities should establish party organizations, conditional on consent from the organization department of the local party committees and relying on private enterprise associations at each level. They should timely enroll the mobile party members from private enterprises in grass roots party organizations, so as to reduce the ‘blind spots’ and ‘blank spots’ of party coverage.” [2]

Last year, there were special instructions from the higher authorities at the CCCCP, calling for strengthening the ideological and political work of people from the non-publicly-owned enterprises. Owners of some private enterprises seemed to show positive responses to “political trainings to enhance ideological and political enlightenment” by saying “This makes the corporate direction more clear; we will just follow the party.” [3] Some said that this policy can “develop and strengthen a team in private enterprises that will firmly support the party’s leadership and unswervingly take the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” [3]. On November 8, 2009, Global Times under People’s Daily reported that, driven by Weng Jieming, Chongqing City’s Municipal CCP Committee member and chief of Chongqing’s United Front Department, the Chairman of Chongqing’s Creative Business Association, Zhou Jin, on behalf of Chongqing’s Association of Industry and Commerce, signed the ‘Cooperative Agreement for an Advanced Training Course for Representatives of Non-Public Enterprises in Chongqing, with the Central Party School, sending a group of 59 representatives from private firms to the Central Party School for a week long training.” “In the organizer’s view, this ‘Advanced Training Course for Representatives of Private Enterprises’ was to be very significant for the enterprises to be in sync with the government on ideology.” The report quoted the class leader of the training, the chairman of Chongqing Construction Materials Business Association, and CEO of the Ao’yun Group, Sun Renyuan, who said, “This was not only a power charge, but an opportunity for us to upgrade our political consciousness and accurately steer the direction of private enterprise development.” The report said at the end, “In fact, as early as 2001, there was a ‘fever’ for owners of private enterprises across the country to go and study at the Central Party School. The ‘External Training Center’ under the Central Party School, responsible for giving short trainings and ad hoc classes, was also established that year. According to their data, since then, nearly ten thousand private enterprises owners have attended these training courses." [3]

Compared to building party organizations in the private enterprises, the CCP’s policy in state-owned enterprises is to ensure that these businesses are always under the party’s leadership. [4] As for how to maintain the core position of the party in the state-owned enterprises, on August 27, 2009, People’s Daily published a commentator’s article, stressing “firmly establishing the party branch as the political core in the governing structure of state-owned enterprises is a valuable experience learned from 30 years of reform and practice, as well as an important principle that must be strictly followed while strengthening and improving party development work in state-owned enterprises. It reflects the distinctive character and requirements of the modern Chinese state-owned enterprise system." [5]

"The basic channel for the party branches to play a core political role is to actively participate in the decision making process on the enterprises’ major issues. Party branches in enterprises should focus on major issues, the big picture, and a clear direction. For major decisions and important personnel appointments and removals that matter for the overall reform and development of the enterprise, as well as critical issues that involve personal interests of the employees, the party branches should give serious study and discussion, and put forward opinions and suggestions. In order to participate in the decision-making process on major issues, it is necessary to strengthen the buildup of the system, make the issues transparent, standardize the procedures, and improve the mechanisms. On one hand, this will assure the board’s unified decision making power on major issues. On the other hand, the opinions of the party branches are respected and reflected in the decisions, (representing) a real combination of the party organization’s participation with the board’s decision making on major issues." [5]

"The key for the party branches to play a core political role is to perform a leading role in the selection and appointment of personnel. The leading role is reflected in the party branches’ determination of standards of hiring, and also in recommending candidates, improving the evaluation system, strengthening supervision and management, training reserve personnel, and so on. Adhere to the principles of the party’s managing cadres, combined with the board’s selection of managerial talent and managers deploying personnel; also adhere to the principles of the party recommending hires, combined with market oriented hiring of managerial personnel. Vigorously advance the reform of the human resource system to make enterprise personnel selection and appointments institutionalized and standardized with proper procedures, so as to both adapt to the requirement of the corporate governance structure and ensure the party’s leading role in the selection and appointment of hires inside the enterprise.” [5]

“The fundamental requirement for the party branches to play a core political role is to assure and supervise the implementation of the nation’s principles and policies inside the enterprise. The party organizations in the enterprises should not only pay attention to supervision of human resources, finance, and materials, and of key personnel in the enterprises, but also strengthen the supervision of how well the enterprises are carrying out the Concept of Scientific Development and national policies. The party should push the enterprises to play their leading role in national economic growth and carry out their political and social responsibilities.” [5]

"Truly carrying out the party branches’ core political role in the corporate structure of state-owned enterprises cannot be done without the support of necessary policies and mechanisms. … It is necessary to build an operational mechanism to ensure that the party organizations will give full play to their central political role. … The party has superiority on political ideology, leadership, and experience working with people. Only if adjustment is first made on the operation mechanism, can these advantages of the party (enhance) the core competitiveness of the state-owned enterprises. In turn, the party branches’ core political position will be consolidated, the party’s development work will become a crucial part of the values of the enterprise, and the party branches will truly become an integral part of the modern state-owned enterprise system with Chinese characteristics." [5]

The StudyTimes.com.cn published an article on October 12, 2009, detailing the measures to maintain the core political position of the party branches. “To ensure that the enterprises are always under their party’s leadership, we must create an organizational establishment, and strongly push for the model that ‘every subsidiary and division of an enterprise has a corresponding party branch.’ Within administrative agencies, institutes, state-owned enterprises, non-publicly-owned enterprises, China-Hong Kong joint ventures, and other ownership entities, we can establish stand-alone, joint, or affiliate party branches. This is to guarantee that wherever a business identity develops, the party organization and organizational work will also go. … Have middle-level leaders and cadres wearing party, administration, and business hats to cover all divisions and subsidiaries of the enterprise, making sure that the party’s leadership is everywhere. … At the same time, pay great attention to choosing good party branch secretaries with strong party character and who are good at ideological and political work, so that the party cadres take care of all of the internal divisions and subsidiaries who will be focusing on party buildup.” “Insist on advancing corporate cultural development through party buildup, and community cultural development through corporate cultural development. Actively deploy media outlets that carry the party buildup, including party journals, party newspapers, propaganda bulletin boards, and websites. Establish party member service centers, party member responsibility zones, party member pioneer posts, and conduct the activities of ‘showing your party nature.’” [4]

Endnotes:
[1] Xinhua, November 16, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-11/16/content_12470825.htm
[2] Xinhua, July 2, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-07/02/content_11640304.htm
[3] Global Times, November 18, 2009
http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2009-11/636187.html
[4] Study Times, October 12, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=0&id=2980&bid=11
[5] Chinese Academy of Social Science, August 27, 2009
http://www.cass.net.cn/file/20090827239716.html