Given the stained reputation of chengguan officers in China, the dissemination of any information about their misconduct, or even rumors, will easily ignite public fury and even extremist behavior. Those who intentionally spread rumors should be punished according to the law, but we should also consider why people don't trust chengguan officers.

And we should reflect on the way in which local governments deal with the clashes between chengguan officers and unlicensed peddlers. In the latest incident, the local government was accused of being too slow and not forceful enough in taking action to stop the escalation of the incident, which lasted from 9:00 am 4:00 pm. Facing a situation that was out of control, the local government was possibly at a loss as to how to respond, given that any inappropriate response might spark a more violent conflict. Experiences indicate that soft means and more self-restraint are better than tougher and forcible ones when dealing with mass incidents like this.

Flexibility and restraint are by no means a reflection of weakness.

It is terrifying to imagine the scene as thousands of people took to the street to attack the chengguan officers. However, what is more terrifying is why a minor incident escalated into a violent incident with the participation of thousands of people. Compared with previous mass incidents that usually occurred between two parties with direct conflicts of interests, such as ones involving land acquisitions or demolitions, the one in Cangnan occurred between chengguan officers and onlookers who had no direct conflict with one another. This should be a profound reminder to the authorities, that fairness and justice are the best medicine to soothe the rising social discontent and also the best stabilizer of social order.

Only through forcible administrative and judicial reforms, civilized law enforcement, as well as measures to promote judicial justice and punish corruption, can the government retrieve its weakened authority and credibility, eliminate public distrust and extremist sentiment and win the trust and respect of the public.

This is a translation of a commentary in Beijing Youth Daily.