The mood of distrust has spread among more people in the country. According to a recent survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, comprehensive trust among residents in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou has been decreasing over the years, and is lingering at an average level, says an article in People's Daily. Excerpts:

Though the decrease of trust among Chinese citizens as a whole is a cause for concern, their doubts over food safety is more worrying. Frequent food safety scares are beyond people's comprehension, challenging their already frayed nerves and weakening the trust in the food industry.

Worse, the public has started questioning experts opinions and "official information and clarifications". People have even started doubting the figures on average salary and income growth that the statistics department releases every year.

To a certain degree, doubting or refusing to blindly believe given information may help people get closer to truth. Rumors and guesses of all kinds that lead to distrust have forced open other channels for people to get information and promoted open-mindedness in society.

But the decrease of trust can also have negative influences. If people start doubting everything, they will suffer from a sense of insecurity and be deprived of happiness. Considering the bigger social picture, distrust will inevitably increase operational cost and make social management difficult.

The drop in social trust should be taken by the government as a warning to review the current social relationship and rebuild social trust. But such an exercise will take time to complete.

It is crucial that government departments and relevant organizations at all levels take active measures to correct the situation and establish and improve a mechanism that encourages faith and favors rebuilding social trust.