Media has an important role to play

The terrorist and separatist forces in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are now launching attacks outside Xinjiang, first in Beijing, now Kunming. Although the media reported the Kunming attack shortly after it happened, there are still many problems.

The reporting strategies for such incidents should be, first, to provide timely and accurate reports to meet the public’s right to know. The media should correctly guide the public by dispelling rumors and refuting false statements. There should be no sensationalism or exaggeration of the bloody scenes.

After the attack, other people may tend to blame all Uygur people or their religion, and express extreme comments, which is exactly what the extremists expect. Therefore, the media should provide timely and effectively guidance to decrease the chance of irrational reactions against Uygur people.

The Uygurs are worried that after the incident, other people and the government will increase their vigilance against future attacks, which might lead to further deterioration in their living environment. The government and media, while offering timely guidance to the people in general, should also reassure the Uygur people. The government should select some relevant experts and professors to do further research in the Xinjiang as soon as possible, and, a consensus should be reached, to strategically “desensitize” ethnic issues and enable experts and scholars to voice their true thoughts.

Situations, such as the “results” of a false public opinion survey being used by a few local governments in Xinjiang for their own purposes, should be avoided. It can only increase Uygurs’ mistrust of the government if such manufactured information is released.

As for the management of the region in the wake of this attack, local officials should be investigated and held responsible if loopholes or failures in their duties exist. However, if there are no such loopholes or failures, “scapegoats” should not be held accountable under the pressure of public opinion. Or else the government will fall into the trap that the terrorists have laid.

Bi Yantao, director of the Center for Communication Studies, Hainan University Contact the writer at @chinadaily.com.