The Role of ICT in Publc Safety and Emergency Management in China

Abstract

Since the outbreak of “SARS” crisis in 2003, the theory and practice of public safety emergency management had started in China and China government gradually established a general system which took so called “one contingency plan, three systems” as its core mechanism. This article analyzed the position and role that information and communication technology occupied and played at all stages of this formation of general system. Also this article took China weather emergency management practice as an example to describe the specific and significant role that ICT played. Finally, this article also explained the objectives and plans of China government to improve the existing public safety emergency management. Public safety emergency events refer to those sudden outbreaks that government faces in managing national affairs, such as earthquakes, natural disasters, epidemics, terrorist attacks and so on. It falls into four categories: natural disasters, accidents, public health events and social security events. It has three characteristics: abruptness, universality and urgency. First of all, these events happen in a sudden and difficult to predict. Even through information gathering and observations, we can capture some earlier warning information, but it is still difficult to accurately report details of events such as time and place. Secondly, public safety emergency events affect a wide range of persons and often bring a chain of effects like dominos. It pushes the public safety emergencies to a more complex level. Along with the pace of globalization, public safety emergency events may further affect a wider range of area. It could bring catastrophic destruction to the world. For example, the earthquake and tsunami crisis in Japan in 2011 evolved into nuclear radiation crisis. Furthermore, due to public safety emergency events can’t be prevented and controlled in advance, it always make us harder to deal with. In view of such features, it is not difficult to see that if we can’t make effective and timely treatment when the emergencies happen, it will not only affect people’s lives and interests, but also will cause serious social unrest and threaten the community’s trust in government. Public safety emergency management is to establish a public safety emergency response system to enhance crisis response ability and reduce the loss of the crisis. Public safety emergency management is a comprehensive affair that involves multi sectors and disciplines. Information and communication technology has been playing an irreplaceable role in China’s Public safety emergency management practice. Broadly speaking, since the beginning of human society, public safety emergency events never stop to affect people’s lives. To some extent, how to integrate a variety of resources to deal with catastrophic events is an important reason of the birth of government. Before the outbreak of “SARS” crisis in 2003 which sweep not only China but also the whole world, emergency management practice of Chinese governments at all levels stayed in a passive and lack of coordination state. It can be said that a self-conscious, integrated and institutionalized emergencymanagement practice started since the “SARS” outbreak in 2003. After the “SARS” crisis, China’s ruling party and government had decided to strengthen the emergency management structure, mechanism and legal system and made strategic deployment along with working plans [15] From 2003 to 2008, Chinese Government gradually established a general system which took so called “one contingency plan, three systems” as Its core mechanism. Three systems here refer to the emergency management structure, mechanism and legal system [1].