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li shu

the decision of the cpc central committee on further comprehensively deepening reform and promoting modernization with chinese characteristics, adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th cpc central committee, proposed to improve the mechanism for guiding public opinion and the mechanism for coordinating public opinion responses. in the process of further comprehensively deepening reform, we should be good at turning the internet, a governance variable, into an incremental capability, scientifically manage “small incidents and big public opinions”, promote the main theme and gather positive energy, and “prevent illness before it occurs” to prevent “small incidents and big public opinions”. some seemingly accidental and individual “small incidents” will become “big public opinions” that attract widespread social attention if we don’t pay attention. the evolution of “small incidents” into “big public opinions” not only wastes public resources, but more importantly, destroys a good social mentality, interferes with normal social order, and affects the government’s credibility. therefore, avoiding “small incidents and big public opinions” is a challenge that administrative governance entities at all levels must face in the new information environment; preventing “small incidents and big public opinions” and promoting “big governance” in society are the inherent meaning of promoting the modernization of the social governance system and governance capabilities.

identify the small and distinguish the big: scientific judgment is the premise of public opinion management. it is better to prevent it before it happens than to deal with it after the fact. whether the direction of public opinion management is correct and whether the measures are effective first depends on whether the event and the possible direction of public opinion are accurately identified.

on the one hand, we must remain sensitive to public opinion. there are signs of public opinion before it occurs. if we can judge, discover and respond early, we can be proactive in the governance process. looking at the evolution of "small events and big public opinion", there are three common points: first, the public has become the driving force for the expansion of public opinion. the decentralized communication characteristics of the internet make the "size" of an event not determined by the number of participating entities or the level of the reporting media, but by the degree of public concern and whether it can trigger their emotional resonance. second, social platforms have become the main venue for fermenting public opinion. social platforms aggregate massive users with their powerful "connection" capabilities and become the main way for the public to obtain social issues and participate in event discussions. the algorithm push mechanism of the platform further accelerates the speed of public opinion generation and amplifies the intensity of public opinion. third, the grassroots have become the first gateway to respond to events and deal with public opinion. if the grassroots have the habit of avoiding perfunctory work and waiting for superiors in judgment and handling, it can only lead to the spread of vague information, a vacuum of facts, public suspicion and the dissolution of authority. therefore, in order to discern the "size" of an incident, the governing body must strengthen public awareness, establish platform thinking, and enhance its ability to face problems online.

on the other hand, we should be tolerant of public opinion. the development of technology has made it very convenient to perceive public opinion through data monitoring, but there are also specific expression contexts, complex emotions and implicit social psychology behind the data, which affect the judgment of the nature of social public opinion to varying degrees. therefore, we should attach importance to public opinion data, obtain monitoring indicators such as sensitive words, clicks, forwarding, and follow-up evaluations in a timely manner, and combine text analysis to judge public opinion risks; but we should not just look at the data and the popularity, and be overly sensitive to normal social public opinion. the governance subject should be good at listening to good words and communicating on an equal footing, and realize that praise, suggestions, criticism, complaints, and even attacks and abuse are the real components of social public opinion. facing this point squarely will not only help us correctly distinguish the nature of the incident and the different voices in the public opinion field, but also help us achieve better practical results through multi-faceted reasoning and providing selective content when implementing public opinion guidance.

treating big problems with small ones: social governance is the foundation of public opinion governance. "small incidents" that can evolve into public opinion often contain big problems, reflecting the public's major demands for people's livelihood, justice, safety, etc. when evaluating the effectiveness of public opinion governance, we cannot simply use the pacification of negative public opinion as a standard, but also look at whether the problem is solved well.

on the one hand, we must combine the handling of public opinion with the resolution of issues, and focus on real-time results. public opinion is a reflection of the effectiveness of social governance. the intensity of public opinion is the intensity of public sentiment, and the direction of public opinion is the direction of the development of issues. in response to public opinion that has already formed a certain scale, blocking negative information, self-justification or playing word games is tantamount to "putting out a fire with fuel". not only can it not calm public opinion, it often produces more serious "secondary public opinion". therefore, in order to manage public opinion well, we must resolve issues well. the key to dispelling negative public opinion is to establish a linkage mechanism between the propaganda management department and the functional departments, and to promote the proper resolution of "small incidents" with rapid and effective actions. once the matter is resolved, the handling of public opinion must be "concluded" in a timely manner, and the course, cause, impact, nature, etc. of the incident must be clearly defined, leaving no room for malicious interpretation and play by those with ulterior motives, and ensuring that things develop along a benign track.

on the other hand, we must combine the restoration of public trust with the optimization of social governance, and focus on long-term results. public opinion governance cannot replace social governance. public opinion governance is often based on quickly handling problems, calming explicit public opinion, and demonstrating the efficiency and determination of the governance subject. to truly regain the public's trust, we must start from the "small incidents" that bring "big public opinion", improve the "soil" for the breeding of problems on a larger scale, and continuously optimize social governance. only by digging deep into the deep-seated, stubborn, and complex problems hidden in "small incidents", adopting modern governance methods, and exploring fundamental, substantial, and universal solutions from the level of laws, regulations, systems, and mechanisms, can we truly promote social "big governance" and win the trust and support of the public.

accumulating small things to build big things: value recognition is the purpose of promoting social "big governance". public opinion governance has a certain "integration" function, but this integration should not be aimed at "uniform public opinion", but should be aimed at seeking multi-level "recognition" from the public.

recognition of the handling of "small incidents". when an incident is made public in cyberspace, the right to interpret it is handed over to the public, and the judgment of the incident becomes an open and constructible discourse. the handling of public opinion is not a simple hedging or control of public opinion. the discourse construction of the governor must convince people with reason and win people over with credibility. based on the present, each specific handling of "small incidents" and their public opinion by relevant departments should be the maintenance of public order, good customs, laws and regulations; looking at the long term, the development trend of countless "small incidents" will accumulate to form the shaping of social customs and the guidance of mainstream values.

identification of the governance subject. whether it is public opinion governance or social governance on a larger scale, what is reflected behind it are the concepts and capabilities of the governance subject. trust is the basic element of modern governance. appropriate characterization, active handling, sincere communication and sustained and powerful actions in public opinion governance can help repair and reshape the damaged trust relationship. only by implementing the people-centered governance concept can we win the public's recognition and form a benign mutual promotion between the recognition of the governance subject and the realization of governance goals.

identification with core values. the expansion of the subject of expression, the multi-directional standpoints and opinions, the agitation of emotions, and the divergence of expression paths in "small events and big public opinions" have increased uncertainty in value identification and even brought obstacles. only by being good at analyzing social psychology and essential demands, and making targeted discourse expressions around the public's thoughts and wishes, can public opinion governance be dominant in diversity, seek consensus in diversity, and set directions in change, and can it continuously enhance the public's identification with the core socialist values ​​and enhance the centripetal force and cohesion of the whole society.

(the author is the dean of the communication research institute of communication university of china and a researcher at the beijing research center for xi jinping thought on socialism with chinese characteristics for a new era)