Government's Response to Internet Public Opinion in Sudden Public Health Crisis in China: COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to classify the overall situation of internet public opinion during the COVID-19 epidemic, review the measures and existing problems of the government in responding to internet public opinion and provide some measures and suggestions for the government to improve its work in China. Internet public opinion is a concentrated reflection of people’s emotions in the fight against the epidemic, and plays a vital role in defeating it. After a major public health crisis occurs, governments at all levels must not only handle the incident itself, but also recognize the importance of responding to internet public opinion, promptly guide and regulate internet public opinion. During the COVID-19 epidemic, the government s response to internet public opinion was generally effective. However, at the same time, there are also problems in varying degrees. After analyzing the problems, this paper provided suggestions as follows. improving the information release mechanism of internet public opinion; improving public opinion monitoring and early warning mechanisms; innovating emergency response methods for internet public opinion; innovating implement differentiated, all-round internet public opinion guidance