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Map depicting ‘image crisis’ stirs criticism
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A map showing image crises in China has aroused heated discussion since it was released in late June.
It is part of the blue book of “Research Report on Image Crisis Handling 2013-14” conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Guangdong Province, Beijing and Henan Province top the list of provinces and cities with the most severe image crises, while Shanghai ranks 21st among the total 31 on the list.
The research and map were based on 2,074 cases publicly reported in 2013. They include the oil pipeline explosion in Qingdao, Shandong Province; the criminal underworld led by Liu Han and Liu Wei; a waste-incineration power plant in Wuhan, Hubei Province, dumping waste improperly, causing cancers and deaths; the sky-high price of nursing homes in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province; and various scandals of corrupted government officials.
The number of cases (out of the total 2,074) confronting a government determined its “image crisis degree.” The cities and provinces were scored and ranked in five major categories — public security, social order, ecological environment, public service and official quality. About 55 items were covered to complete the map.
According to Tang Jun, chief editor of the report, the major reasons for the high scores of Guangdong, Beijing and Henan were their difficulties in social management due to big population, especially the huge migrant population; the related category of ineffective social management reform; and active media activities (where problems are reported via various media).
However, some sociologists questioned the validity of the rankings and expressed pessimism about the positive effects.
“Is the indicator system scientific? Is the database big enough?” challenges Shanghai sociologist Gu Xiaoming. “There are too many questions about the report and ranking which can make the result invalid.”
At a press conference to announce the blue book’s release, Tang said: “The ‘risk map’ has pointed out the dominant factors of our social risk in the transition period, with an aim to get local governments’ attention on social management, thus getting them to prevent, correct and properly deal with the problems through risk management scientifically, and eventually contribute to a satisfactory social management system.”
Yu Ning, an official who attended the news conference, said, “Surely the ranking list will make some provinces uncomfortable, but it should work as an alarm bell for them and to prompt them to improve.”
But Gu expresses concern that the rankings may arouse more “image projects” that only improve the image, not people’s lives, or even worse, might trigger more bribery cases to improve the city’s or province’s ranking.
“The image of particular city or province should be scored by the residents who live there, rather than some organizations far away,” says Gu. “Otherwise, it will just be a meaningless label. I strongly advise the officials to take the ranking as entertainment news, while putting more effort into improving people’s real lives, rather than image.”
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