By Hu Shuli, editor of Caijing
Related Article: Anger in the Streets

(Caijing Magazine) June 28 marked both the first anniversary of civil unrest in Weng An County in Guizhou Province and a remarkably similar incident in Shishou County, Hubei Province. Each event began with an "unnatural" death, a contentious autopsy, and crowds gathered around a coffin.

But while the public generally approved the timely handling of the Weng An incident, for which the government assumed responsibility, the same could not be said for the Shishou incident. Shishou officials apparently failed to heed the lessons of Weng An. A paralyzed local government badly botched the affair, shirked responsibility and moved indecisively, leading to one of the most serious mass incidents in recent years, and climaxing with the use of a large police force to put it down. Commentaries by the official Xinhua news agency and The People's Daily sided with public sentiments.

In fact, several mass incidents have occurred since Weng An and before Shishou. More than a dozen caught national attention, including taxi driver strikes in Xining and Chongqing, a clash between police and protesters in Huining, a bus driver strike in Bazhong, a tax protest in Nankang, and petitioning by rural school teachers in Zhengzhou. While local governments have made visible progress in handling such incidents, their attitudes, competency levels and methods have shown all stripes.

Yet the experiences should provide lessons. The dark cloud of economic crisis still looms, and the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China is upon us. For the sake of establishing rule of law and a harmonious society while modernizing China, we need to alleviate social discontent and reduce the frequency and seriousness of conflicts. It is high time to face reality and thoroughly review these incidents, with the goal of understanding why they occur.

Although the origins and timing of recent mass incidents vary, they share common threads. The cause is often an isolated event, sometimes a police or criminal case. But because inept officials disregard the basic rights of individuals concerned, and stir public anger that boils over, the friction escalates.

Once a conflict erupts, lives become entwined in legal affairs. That's when a local government is prone to mishandle an incident, abuse police power and bar information access. Invariably, the mishandled effort backfires, and a government loses credibility in the process.

Even though calm eventually may be restored, the methods used in handling incidents and their durations can exact high societal and political costs. Ultimately, these incidents test the capabilities and sincerity of leaders whose job is to serve the people. They also leave a lasting imprint on a government's credibility.

We have seen examples of rather satisfactory solutions. Not long ago, local provincial and municipal governments recognized what was at stake during a factory worker scuffle in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, and when taxi drivers went on strike in Chongqing. Government officials bowed to public sentiments by engaging in dialogue and consultations during the early stages of these conflicts, leading to timely resolutions.

The Weng An incident had dragged into a fifth day last year when a standoff between people and the government came close to getting out of control. Scattered violence broke out. The Guizhou secretary of the Communist Party, after probing the causes and sizing up the situation, soberly concluded that "on the surface, the trigger was a dispute over the death of a girl student from a middle school, but behind the scenes lurked frequent violations of citizen rights tied to mining, demolitions and resettlements.

"Some cadres who were sitting on their hands when the incident happened thrust the police to the front line," the secretary said. "This incident appeared to be an accident, but it was an accident waiting to happen."

This kind of recognition enabled the government to take prompt disciplinary action against local officials in charge, effectively calming the storm.

We can see that the officials who handled the Weng An incident relatively well managed to maintain the flow of information and let people express their opinions. Above all, they respected the media's right to keep watch, since clamping down on public opinion not only irritates the people but also aggravates a situation. The Internet makes information flow impossible to block, and inevitably spawns rumors that obscure realities, setting off or exacerbating conflicts. Some people have blind faith in the police and the use of force to quell demonstrations, which only fuel the fires, inciting violent confrontations.

Quashing with force can have huge negative consequences. But by engaging in dialogue and consultations on the basis of law, the government can show tolerance and courage. In this way, the government can assume responsibility that helps mitigate conflict, maintain order and encourage good governance.

Civil incidents always leave people with far-reaching and more profound lessons than the incidents themselves. For that reason, we need to tackle the system's ills and deepen reform. To achieve real harmony, we need to explore ways to reduce mass incidents and prevent conflicts from escalating into confrontations.

Deep reform means resolving civil unrest cannot end with the finding of middle ground. Proper statesmen are good at compromise, consulting and dialogue. But more importantly, they keep their word and, after treating symptoms of a problem, fulfill promises while tackling fundamental reforms with new ideas. They must address the long-term interests of the people and restore government credibility.

A more immediate task calls for improving governance and building a framework for democratic dialogue. Mass incidents in China's current stage of development highlight the characteristics of a society in transition, and relate to improper use of public power without oversight. Urgently needed are improvements to governance. A process is needed for advancing democratization, letting the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference fulfill their functions, building a more effective system of checks and balances, and empowering social organizations such as labor groups, women's leagues and other non-governmental organizations to widen channels for effective expression of public opinion.

Rule of law has special significance. Procedures for China's criminal procedure law have yet to be properly defined. Under China's current legal system, the police function is more powerful than in countries with established rule of law. The police and prosecutors, therefore, should be more restrained and cautious in exercising power so that clumsy law enforcement does not trigger public resentment.

From a wider perspective, civil unrest calls for political solutions. Society ultimately needs rule of law as a reliable stabilizer. The road to this goal is long and arduous, but it is reachable by supporting an independent judiciary for each social incident, establishing proper procedures to ensure dialogue, and giving equal voice to all parties in a conflict. Advancing rule of law would benefit all. The effort should start now and continue without letup.