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Social trust improving in China: blue book

Author  :  Chen Yixin     Source  :    news.163.com     2014-10-14

A new study has found overall trust in Chinese society has reached a “basic” level. Three major factors were found to have contributed to the increase of social trust, namely an improvement to the government’s image, the decline of social deception and positive changes to social media.

The findings were detailed in The Blue Book of Social Mentality: Annual Report on Social Mentality of China (2014). The report was released at a press conference in Beijing on October 8 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Sociology and Social Sciences in China Press.

The report states that social trust is a key indicator of social harmony. Social trust reflects public confidence and approval of government and social organizations, the degree of social stability and public willingness to cooperate with government and social organizations.

The survey was conducted in eight major cities: Beijing; Harbin, Heilongjiang Province; Shanghai; Zhengzhou, Henan Province; Wuhan, Hubei Province; Guangzhou, Guangdong Province; Chongqing; and Xi’an, Shaanxi Province in September 2013.

The report found that China has entered an all-round social transition phase, along which social trust is also undergoing a transition. The average social trust index for the aforementioned cities in 2013 was 60.9, up 1.2 year-on-year. Social trust had reached the level of “basic trust.” which was above the median level.

The study found 3.9 percent of respondents had “high trust” in society, 45.6 percent had “fair trust” and 41.6 percent had “so-so” trust. A further 8.9 percent of respondents said they were skeptical about social trust, showing little or no trust

Regionally, levels of social trust differ throughout China. Trust was highest in Guangzhou and Xi’an. Trust was slightly lower in Shanghai, while lowest in Harbin and Wuhan.

The report found that social trust in five major fields –commercial industry, public services, social organizations, media and government departments – has improved across the board, which has boost overall social trust.

The report found that trust in the government is the greatest contributor to the social trust system as a whole. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November 2012, successful measures have been implemented to improve the conduct of government departments; public officials have greatly enhanced social trust through their behavior.

Social deception, which refers to practices including false advertising, food and drug safety scandals, misconduct of public officials and false media reports, dropped 7.1 points in 2013 based on a 2011 index.

In recent years, Chinese traditional media increased coverage of ordinary people’s work and life, transmitting positive energy to the public, while new media has strengthened supervision in society, with strict management cracking down on false reports and reducing people’s suspicion.

 

The Chinese link: http://news.163.com/14/1008/17/A827BT6V00014JB6.html

 

Translated by Du Mei
Revised by Tom Fearon 
 

Editor: Chen Mirong

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