University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Crisis managment in the era of Weibo

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Crisis managment in the era of Weibo

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CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN THE ERA OF WEIBO

by

Shimin Yu

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(EAST ASIAN AREA STUDIES)

August 2012

Copyright 2012 Shimin Yu

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my thesis advisors
Professor Eugene Cooper, Professor Jian Wang and Professor Larry Pryor for their expert
guidance and mentorship, and for their encouragement and support throughout the
writing of this thesis. I would like to thank my advisor Grace Ryu for her guidance and
support during my two years’ graduate study. Last but not least, I am deeply indebted to
my parents, Jing Tu and Jingwei Yu, for giving me life in the first place, and for
educating me and supporting me unconditionally. Without all of them, this thesis could
not have been completed.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................. i
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ v
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1
1.1 Purpose .................................................................................................................. 1
1.2 The Development of Weibo in China.................................................................... 1
1.3 Definitional Issues in Crisis Management............................................................. 3
1.4 Method................................................................................................................... 6
1.5 Preview .................................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER 2 GUIDING PRINCIPLES.............................................................................. 8
2.1 Preparation, Before the Crisis................................................................................... 8
2.2 Response, During the Crisis...................................................................................... 9
2.3 Recover, After the Crisis......................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER 3 CASE STUDY 1: GUO MEIMEI AND THE RED CROSS CRISIS........ 12
3.1 Backgrounds and Case Review............................................................................... 12
3.2 Timeline of the Incident.......................................................................................... 12

iv

3.3 The Red Cross Organization’s Crisis Management in the Incident........................ 15
CHAPTER 4 CASE STUDY 2: SHANGHAI SUBWAY ACCIDENT CRISIS............. 19
4.1 Backgrounds and Case Review............................................................................... 19
4.2 Timeline .................................................................................................................. 20
4.3 The Governmnet’s Crisis Management in the Accident......................................... 21
4.4 What We Learnt...................................................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION............................................................................................. 25
5.1 Information Diffusion Characteristics of Microblogging....................................... 25
5.2 Other Implications .................................................................................................. 27
CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 29
6.1 Suggestions ............................................................................................................. 29
6.2 Further Studies........................................................................................................ 32

v

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Market Share of Microblogging Sites in China 7
Figure 2 Three Approaches to Crisis Management 10

vi

ABSTRACT
This thesis aims to use media analysis to examine the importance of crisis management
in the era of Weibo in China. Through examining two cases: the Guo Meimei and Red
Cross Crisis and Shanghai Subway Accident Crisis to determine remarkable trends and
their implications for crisis management, and suggest ways that brands, organizations and
governments can alleviate their loss in the era of microblogging.

1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose
This thesis intends to examine the importance of crisis management in the era of Weibo
in China. Through examining two most influential cases took place in 2011, namely the
Guo Meimei and Red Cross Crisis and Shanghai Subway Accident Crisis to determine
remarkable trends and their implications for crisis management and communication with
the blooming of weibo service, and suggest ways that brands, organizations and
governments can minimize their loss in the era of microblogging.
1.2 The Development of Weibo in China
Weibo, which is the Chinese version of Twitter, refers to the Chinese translation of
microblogs or microblogging service.
As the earliest weibo service in China, Fanfou was launched in Beijing on May 12, 2007
by Wang Xing, the co-founder of Renren which is the Chinese equivalent of Facebook.
Fanfou's users increased from 0.3 million to 1 million in the first half of 2009.
Some of the other weibo services such as Jiwai, Digu, Zuosa and Tencent were also
launched between 2006-2009.
1

After the July 2009 riots in northwest Xinjiang region, Chinese government shut down
most of the domestic weibo services including Fanfou and Jiwai. Many popular non

1
“Special: Micro blog’s macro impact”. Michelle and Uking (China Daily). March 2,
2011.

2

China-based microblogging services like Twitter and Facebook have been blocked since
then.
On August 14, 2009, Sina launched Sina Weibo and quickly became the most popular
microblogging site in China. According to iResearch, Sina takes 56.5% market share on
active users basis and 86.6% browsing time basis in 2010 China’s microblog market.
2

(See figure below)
Figure 1 Market Share of Microblogging Sites in China (CICC’s Investment Focus, 2009).
According to Sina’s Chief Executive Officer Charles Chao Sina has reached more than
300 million registered users by February 2012 and growing at a rate of about 10 million a
month.
3
Because of Sina Weibo’s popularity, netizens in China use the word “Weibo” to

2
“Sina Commands 56% of China’s Microblog Market”. Kyle. iResearch. March 30,
2011.
3
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-28/sina-s-weibo-outlook-buoys-internet-
stock-gains-in-n-y-china-overnight.html

3

refer to Sina Weibo sometimes. However, there are many other China-based weibo
services such as Tencent Weibo and Sohu Weibo.
1.3 Definitional Issues in Crisis Management
1.31 The Definition of Crisis
The definition of what accounts for a crisis is the first issue we need to be clear of. The
Chinese term for crisis is often mentioned because it combines the ideographs for
“danger” and “opportunity” (Fink, 1986). Fearn Banks defined a crisis as “a major
occurrence with a potentially negative outcome affecting an organization, company, or
industry, as well as its publics, products, services, or good name” (Fearn-Banks, 2007).
Paschall defined a crisis as “simply a sudden, unexpected event that poses an institutional
threat suggesting the need for rapid, high-level decision-making” (Paschall, 1992).
Coombs defined crises as threats, “meaning that they actually do or have the potential to
create negative or undesirable outcomes” (Coombs, 1999).
Also, the definition of crisis can be approached in different ways. Link, for example,
identified four types of crises according to how much time they allowed for managerial
response. The first type is an exploding crisis, the second is an immediate crisis, the third
is a building crisis, and the fourth is a continuing crisis (Link, 1989).
Lerbinger defined crisis according to its causes. He categorized crisis into seven
different types: (1) natural, (2) technological, (3) crises of confrontation, (4) crises of
malevolence, (5) skewed management values, (6) deception, (7) management misconduct
(Lerbinger, 1997).

4

In sum, crises vary in different factors. No matter what aspects they highlighted, all
crisis taxonomists emphasize that their categories are not mutually exclusive. The
definition of crisis in this thesis integrates the definitions mentioned above.
1.32 The Concept of Crisis Management
Coombs defined crisis management as “a set of factors designed to combat crises and to
lessen the actual damage inflicted by the crisis” (Coombs, 2004). Pearson and Clair
defined crisis management as “the systematic attempt to avoid organizational crises or to
manage those crisis events that do occur” (Pearson and Clair, 1998). The table below
shows three approaches Pearson and Clair used to examine the crisis management.

Table 2 Three Approaches to Crisis Management (Pearson & Clair, 1998)
Psychological
Approach
Socio-Political
Approach
Technological
Structural Approach
Causes Cognitive or
behavioral limitations
or errors, in
individuals or groups
Breakdown of shared
understandings and
social structures
Tightly coupled,
densely interactive
technological and
managerial structures
that foster complex
and unpredictable
interactions
Consequences Shattered assumptions
about organizations
Dissolution of shared
values, beliefs,
More or less
widespread disaster

5

and its members,
feeling threatened or
insecure,victimization
of affected individuals
structures, roles and destruction,
including self-
destruction
Cautionary Measures Understanding
vulnerability and
potential harm
Flexibility in norms
that guide interaction,
mutual respect,
wisdom
Avoidance of risky
and poorly understood
technology
Coping Techniques Readjusting beliefs,
behaviors, and
emotions
Reconstruction of
adjusted meanings,
collective adaptation
Emergency
intervention to repair
structural damage
Table 2, continued.
Crisis management is directed to draw away a crisis swiftly and accurately, and to be
head of crisis once it has taken place (Pearson & Clair, 1998). Most crisis management
approaches originated in the realization that good reaction and conduction in crisis
management “means saving lives, financial resources, and reputations and other valuable
resources” (Coombs, 1999, p.15-8). Crisis management is a strategic plan and procedure
for recovery for an organization that suffers negative impact as a result of a crisis and
helps the organization control the damaging situation (Coombs, 1999, p.15-8).
1.33 The Concept of Crisis Communication
To define Crisis communication, it is an interaction, dialog, or conversation between an
organization and its public and stakeholders before, during, and after the crisis occurrence

6

(Benoit, 1995, p. 90). In addition, crisis communication is also a vital part of crisis
management.
According to Fearn-Banks, crisis communication is an ongoing process rather than a
one-time strategic response (Fearn-Banks, 2006, p.11). It includes crisis planning,
development of contingencies, risk identification, and crisis avoidance (Gudykunst, 2002,
p.28-32).
Additionally, crisis communication is a two-way information exchange, not a one-way
conduction of information to the public. As Shrivastava mentioned in the book, crisis
communication “implies not only the transfer of information, but an exchange of
information, underlying assumptions and discourse aimed at reaching a common
understanding of issues” (Shrivastava, 1987).
1.4 Method
This thesis tried to identify and analyze two of the major online crises of 2011 in China
based on trending topics on mostly on Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo microblogs. The
thesis analyzed the Guo Meimei and Red Cross Crisis and Shanghai Subway Accident
Crisis to determine noteworthy trends and their implications for crisis management, and
suggest ways that brands can mitigate their risk in the era of microblogging.
1.5 Preview
In the chapter that follows, the thesis sets up the guiding principles of crisis
management and crisis communications that are widely used in the discussions
throughout the thesis.

7

In Chapter 3, the thesis analyzes the Guo Meimei and Red Cross Crisis.
In Chapter 4, the Chinese government’s performance in the SARS crisis is analyzed.
In Chapter 5, the case of Shanghai Subway Accident Crisis will be examined.
Chapter 6 follows up with some findings and discussions we can learn from the two
cases above.
In Chapter 7, the thesis provided some suggestions for future application and studies of
crisis management in the era of microblogging. And some future research directions are
shown.

8

CHAPTER 2: GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Crises generally can be categorized into three stages, before the crisis, the preparation
stage; during the crisis, the response stage; and after the crisis, the recovery stage. In
these three stages, we need to act and response accordingly (CIC and Ogilvy PR, 2011).
Therefore, in this chapter, I would elaborate on some of the basic guiding principles for
good crisis management and crisis communication, specifically in the era of weibo
microblogging.
2.1 Preparation, Before the Crisis
First and foremost, brands, organizations and governments should establish a crisis
monitoring system to get the first hand information from Internet and especially the
social media platforms such as Weibo. Tracking online information can do great help to
find out the sources of negative comments more swiftly and make prompt responses
therefore hopefully the crisis could be eliminated before it takes place. Regular and
consistent monitoring can also help brands, organizations and governments to come to a
better understanding of Internet culture and to be aware of the different aspects of
netizens’ attitudes and behaviors (CIC and Ogilvy PR, 2011).
Secondly, companies should establish their own official communications channels on
the Internet (CIC and Ogilvy PR, 2011), namely the blooming Sina Weibo or Tencent
Weibo. This will help to maintain the connections and communication with the
stakeholders and the public.
Thirdly, set up guidelines for how staff, particularly the leaders or the staff with greater

9

coverage or influence on the Internet, should engage on social media if their online
identities are linked to the company, organization, or government (CIC and Ogilvy PR,
2011).
Fourth, build healthy, interactive relationships with key traditional media and KOLs’
4

online accounts (CIC and Ogilvy PR, 2011).
2.2 Response, During the Crisis
First of all, during a crisis, the company, organization or government need to speak with
one voice and maintain consistency in their speech (Coombs, 2004).
The organization must deliver consistent messages to stakeholders, and a unified
response represents its consistency and credibility. The primary aim is to give the public
“accurate, coordinated, timely and easy-to-understand” information (Radvanovsky,
2006). A consistent message is more believable than an inconsistent one (Clampitt, 1991;
Garvin, 1996).
In the second place, be ready to provide information quickly (Coombs, 2004). The need
for quick responses in crisis communication is due to as information technology has
already make the transfer of information through Internet much more faster, this
distinguishing feature reduce the time a crisis team has for responding to the crisis
(Barton, 2001).
In most of the crisis cases, the stakeholders receive the facts and feedbacks from the
Internet and social media platforms before they have been officially informed, and this

4
KOL, also known as Key Opinion Leader, is the agent who is an active media user and
who interprets the meaning of media messages or content for lower-end media users.

10

would create enormous difficulties for the crises team.
If the crisis team does not contribute and provide the proper and objective information
to the media or public, they will be ill informed and be mis-leaded, and this will do the
organization great impairments. A quick response helps to ensure that the public and
stakeholders have the organization’s side of the story (Coombs, 2004).
From the stakeholder’s viewpoint, a rapid response demonstrates that the organization is
capable (Darling, 1994; Maynard, 1993). In the contrast, a slow response makes an
organization appear to be incompetent (Donath, 1984).
In the third place, make use of the new technology in means of communication, set up
an advanced communication system. According to Garnett’s review of the international
literature, effective communication among responders is crucial to handling crises
successfully (Garnett, 1997).
Fourth, try to understand the netizens’ emotional moods, concerns and attitudes (CIC
and Ogilvy PR, 2011).
Fifth, pay attention to KOLs’ comments and feedbacks on microblogs or blogs (CIC and
Ogilvy PR, 2011).
Sixth, maintain information openness and transparency.
2.3 Recover, After the Crisis
Firstly, Clearly show the new direction the company is taking, including new rules,
regulations and processes, and would guarantee that the same thing would not happen
again (CIC and Ogilvy PR, 2011).
Secondly, analyze the crisis and improve the company’s internal crisis management

11

protocol so that the company can better leverage various social media platforms (CIC and
Ogilvy PR, 2011).

12

CHAPTER 3: CASE STUDY 1: GUO MEIMEI AND THE RED CROSS CRISIS
3.1 Backgrounds and Case Review
Guo Meimei and the Red Cross Scandal was perhaps the most influential and
controversial topic on the Chinese Internet in year 2011. Guo Meimei, also known as
‘Guo Meimei Baby’ which was her verified account name on the biggest Chinese
microblogging platform, Sina Weibo, is a 20-year-old girl. Besides her attractive
appearance, her wealth and her luxurious life style also caught the eyes of ten of
thousands Chinese netizens. What had also triggered the crisis were the doubts and
suspects on the relationship between Guo Meimei and the Red Cross Organization
5
since
Ms Guo’s Weibo account had been verified as the general manager of a company called
Red Cross Commerce. With the development of the incident, the question was upheld to
suspicions of corruption in Chinese charities and public trust or accountability of charities
and the accountability of philanthropy organizations in China.
3.2 Timeline of the Incident
 June 21
st
, 2011
June 21st evening, a netizen discovered the Sina Weibo verified user “Guo Meimei
baby” (“郭美美baby”) really liked to show off her wealth, and she was identified as the

5
The Red Cross of China is one of China's largest charities and has strong ties to the
communist government.

13

“Business General Manager of Red Cross Society”. Within 2 hours, her microblog was
reposted by the users on Sina Weibo for over a thousand times. From June 21
st
evening
onward, netizens began a “massive human flesh search
6
” to find out whom she was. Soon
netizens discovered Guo Meimei’s Netease photo album and her information on the
58.com automotive sales website. They even digged out the fact that she had plastic
surgery, lived in rented apartments in the past in both Shenzhen and Beijing and used to
dressed up quite ordinarily. Yet in less than 2 years, she moved into a large villa, owned
several luxury sports cars, and it seemed like she has become rich all of a sudden
7
.
Guo Meimei posted a weibo stating ‘The Red Cross Commerce that I am at and the Red
Cross Society of China have a partnership; Red Cross Commerce is a commercial
business and is of a different nature from the Red Cross Association’. While the Red
Cross society did not give any response
8
.
 June 22
nd
, 2011
A Red Cross senior administrator Ding Shuo posted a weibo remarked that Guo Meimei
is actually an actress
9
. This contradicted with Guo Meimei’s online apology and
aggravated the crisis.

6
“Human flesh search” or “human flesh search engine” (人肉搜索引擎) is the Chinese
name for when people work together on the Internet to find information for a common
goal.
7
http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/stories/guo-meimei-red-cross-controversy-pissing-
off-chinese-netizens.html
8
lbid.
9
http://www.weibo.com/1501333927/eCACxpTk0yS.

14

 June 24
th
, 2011
Three branches of the Red Cross argued that Guo Meimei was in no way related to their
organization
10
.
 June 26
th
, 2011
On 26
th
June, in the afternoon, Guo Meimei once again posted a statement on her
microblog, continuing to seperate herself from having any connection to the Red Cross
Society. However, she did not respond to what netizens were suspicious about which was
the issue of her sudden wealth. The tone of her speech was completely different from
before, and leaded to even worse skepticism and suspicion
11
.
 July 1
st
, 2011
Red Cross claimed that they suspended the Commerce Company
12
.
 July 4
th
, 2011
Red Cross posted a long explanation on its Sina Weibo microblog. More than 50% of
the netizens responded with harsh criticism
13
.
 July 24
th
, 2011
Red Cross announced that it would make a RMB 300,000 donation to the Wenzhou

10
http://www.weibo.com/1642088277/eCLsyeIcDjn.
11
http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/stories/guo-meimei-red-cross-controversy-pissing-
off-chinese-netizens.html.
12
http://news.163.com/11/0701/22/77TN3K7R00014JB6.html.
13
http://www.weibo.com/2205860842/eDkocAYelf8.

15

train accident but was accused by the netizens for their stingy that the amount was barely
enough
14
.
3.3 The Red Cross Organization’s Crisis Management in the Incident
In this section, some of the guiding principles of good crisis management and crisis
communication that have been discussed about in the Chapter 2 will be used to analyze
the performance of the Red Cross Organization in this scandal.
Firstly, regarding the principle of providing information and reacting quickly, the
response speed of Red Cross can be considered as tardy at the first days when the
incident took place. In the statement posted on the Red Cross official website on June
22
nd
, they tried to claim that there was never an organization named Red Cross
Commerce, no position hold as business general manager, and they do not have an
employee by the name of Guo Meimei. Nonetheless, this explanation was contradicted
with Guo Meimei’s statement and therefore denied by the netizens. The Financial Times
coverage of the incident on June 29
th
stated, “To the credit of the Red Cross Society of
China, it has tackled the controversy and the allegations head-on. It has held a news
conference, published two statements on its website to refute the various Guo Meimei
rumours and issued a detailed response to the five problems found in the audit. Charities
in China must be hoping that the public accepts its explanations.”
15
And apparently, their
explanation was too good for the public to accept.

14
http://www.weibo.com/2205860842/xgdFAq05T.
15

“Biggest casualty of China audit: philanthropy?”. The Financial Times, June 29
th
,
2011.

16

Secondly, Red Cross did a substandard job when regarding the principle of trying to
understand the netizens’ emotional moods, concerns and attitudes. On June 24
th
, they
posted three statements again trying to argue that they have no relationship with Guo
Meimei. The information revealed was consistent with their previous arguments, but they
ignored the fact that the netizens’ attention had already shifted from the truth of the fact
to the corruption of the charities. Just as one of the microbloggers stated, "We are not
aiming at Guo Meimei, but those commercial organizations behind her that make
exorbitant profits out of charity, as well as those charity institutions and activities that
lack transparency and regulation.”
16
On July 3
rd
, New York Times followed the incident,
and remarked as follow: “That fear is mostly rooted in the government’s insistence on
controlling charity work and promoting its own vast organizations, while setting limits on
the activities of private foundations. So large state-run charities, especially the Red Cross,
are suspect in the eyes of many Chinese.”
17
No matter whether the Red Cross had
realized this shift in the netizens’ concerns and attitudes, they did nothing to prevent the
crisis from deterioration and they did not show their attitude towards the public’s
concerns.
Thirdly, regarding the principle of clearly show the new direction the organization is
taking and guarantee that the same thing would not happen again. Wang Ru Peng, the
general secretary of China’s Red Cross Organization, posted the dialogues between him

16
See http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2011-07/15/content_12912148.htm
17
“An Online Scandal Underscores Chinese Distrust of State Charities”. New York
Times, July 3
rd
, 2011.

17

and the netizens on his blog on July 4
th
. As usual, the answers were of no differences
with any other ‘official talks’ made by the government speak persons. “The Guo
Meimei incident has discredited the RCSC (Red Cross Society), but at the same time, it
makes us realize the problems and challenges in our project operation and fund raising.
We sincerely welcome public and news organizations to oversee our work. If loopholes
appear, we will spare no effort to probe and find the truth. However, we hope the public
and news organizations shun extremism and treat the Guo Meimei incident in a more
rational way.”
18
This speech shows no substantial contents and could not convince the
public as well.
3.4 What We Learnt
First of all, there is a noticeable phenomenon we should pay attention to in the case of
Guo Meimei and Red Cross Crisis. On the Weibo microblogging platforms, most of the
reposts made by the netizens came from the posts of KOLs’. A statistics data from CIC
IWOM shows that one third of the reposts were direct results of posts by 3 KOLs: Pan
Shiyi, Liu Chun and RenZhiqiang. Therefore it is obvious that the microblogs and
speech made by KOLs can increase greatly the influence and the reach of the coverage
of the incident and can serve the function of either ease the tension or exasperate the
situation (CIC and Ogilvy PR, 2011). Hence it is relatively crucial for organizations,
brands and governments build healthy, interactive relationships with key traditional
media and KOLs’ online accounts and pay attention to KOLs’ comments and feedbacks

18
See Wang Rupeng’s blog, http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_51018c580100s8rd.html.

18

on microblogs or blogs, no matter it is before, during, or after the crisis.
In the second place, we can observe that timely, honest and rational official responses
can be really helpful in crisis management. Otherwise, tardy and cursory responses may
further jeopardize the situation (CIC and Ogilvy PR, 2011). As Yu Jianrong noted, a
professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Science, “The incident has triggered a
collective outburst of long-time frustration about the Red Cross's murky bureaucracy
and questionable governance. And faced with this crisis of trust, the Red Cross Society
of China failed to give a reasonable explanation. It will lose its credibility completely if
it does not learn lessons from the corruption scandals involving the overspending on
meals and other spending irregularities.”
19

Therefore, to make their responses more effective in crises management process,
responding groups have to present their attitude of honesty and be willing to reveal the
ultimate truth to the public and maintain a consistent style in their crisis management
progress.

19

See http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2011-07/15/content_12912148.htm.

19

CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDY 2: SHANGHAI SUBWAY ACCIDENT CRISIS
4.1 Backgrounds and Case Review
Another case of crisis took place that had given rise to huge public outrage and put
Chinese authorities under fire in China in year 2011 is the Shanghai subway accident.On
September 27th, 2011, a subway train slammed into the rear of another train on Shanghai
Subway Line 10, which is one of the city’s newest subways, opened just in 2010. It was
reported by the state-run news media, Xinhua News Agency, 271 people were injured
during the accident and among them 20 people were seriously hurt. Because of the
accident came just two months after the high-speed train crash in the city of Wenzhou
that caused 40 people dead, the incident had ignited media and public debate about the
safety of China’s railway system, which has developed rapidly in recent years. The New
York Times published a report on the accident on September 27
th
, remarking that, “Up to
now, China’s transportation systems have proved to be a boon to its economy, with few
fatalities. But there have been increasing reports over the last few years of substandard
roads and bridges and worries that subway and high-speed rail construction may be
moving too quickly and could pose safety problems. ”
20
The Wall Street Journal also
reported “The subway accident prompted a flurry of online messages that compared it

20

“Shanghai Subway Accident Injures Hundreds”. New York Times, September 27
th
,
2011.

20

with the far worse collision on July 23 of two high-speed trains on an above-ground,
intercity line.”
21

4.2 Timeline
 September 27
th
, 14:10
Shanghai Metro Line 10 accident happened.
 September 27
th
, 14:20
Within 30 minutes two apologies were publicly posted on the official Sina Weibo
microblog of Shanghai Subway about their dealing with the accident’s aftermath.
Shanghai Subway posted a Weibo announced that there would be a speed reduction in the
operations of Line 10 due to technical impairments; the estimated waiting time for train
would be longer than usual. In addition, some suggestions for the travelers were made
22
.
 September 27
th
, 14:40
Shanghai Subway reminded commuters again to rearrange their travel
23
.
 September 27
th
, 15:17
An hour after the accident, Shanghai Subway suspended Line 10
24
.
 September 27
th
, 15:23
Shanghai Subway posted updates on the accident on their official Sina Weibo
microblog
25
.

21
“China Train Crash Spurs Safety Fears”. Wall Street Journal, September 28
th
, 2011.
22
http://www.weibo.com/1742987497/xq7b61Bwk.
23
http://www.weibo.com/1742987497/xq7copH01.
24
http://www.weibo.com/1742987497/xq7zClkp0.

25
http://www.weibo.com/1742987497/xq7Ga4EpH.

21

 September 27
th
, 16:03
Shanghai Subway claimed that all the injured had been sent to the hospital
26
.
 September 27
th
, 19:11
Shanghai subway posted that all its subway lines are now back in operation
27
.
 September 27
th

Shanghai subway published investigation results on Sina Weibo microblog and 12
people responsible had been punished
28
.
4.3 The Governmnet’s Crisis Management in the Accident
In this section, I will analyze the performance of the Shanghai Subway in this accident
regarding the guiding principles.
In the first place, regarding the principle of providing information and react quickly, as
we could observe from the incident timeline in the last section, Shanghai Subway can be
considered as really swift and prompt in reaction. In only an hour’s time after the
accident, Shanghai Subway had already posted a serial of weibo posts on its official Sina
Weibo account to offer apologize to the public, keep providing updates of the accident
information and also some suggestions for the commuters who would be affected by the
accident.
Furthermore, Shanghai Subway also took a relatively fast reaction in the investigation of
the reason of the accident and the government punished the agents who should be

26
http://www.weibo.com/1742987497/xq7RZ7zTg.
27
http://www.weibo.com/1742987497/xq96zpC0K.
28
http://www.weibo.com/1742987497/xrvTx0Ak6.

22

responsible for the accident.
Second of all, regarding the principle maintaining information openness and
transparency, we can notice that the information flow provided by Shanghai Subway and
the news agencies in China regarding this incident can be evaluated as transparent. They
revealed the number of injury at the scene and the aftermath and the resolutions of the
accident in a timely manner.
Thirdly, regarding the principle of clearly showing the new direction that the
organization is taking and guarantee that the same thing would not happen again. As
China Daily reported, “Sun Jianping, the traffic bureau chief, promised that authorities
would conduct a thorough investigation into the accident. ‘Independent experts will be
invited to join the probe,’ Sun said during the news conference. An investigation team,
led by the city's work safety department, has been set up. The team declared on Tuesday
night that operations on Line 10 would be suspended for an unspecific period of time
starting on Wednesday as part of the investigation.”
29
May be this announcement is not
good enough to quench the anger of the public, but at the very least it shows that the
authorities are really concerning about the incident and are actually taking actions in
solving the problem.

29
“271 injured in Shanghai's subway crash”. China daily, September 28
th
, 2011.

23

4.4 What We Learnt
First and foremost, we can observe from performance of the Shanghai Subway after the
accident that to be prompt and reactive at the very beginning of a crisis is crucial in
pursuing a positive outcome and quench the anger and the doubts of the public. A
reluctant reaction will run the risk of worsen the situation and make the crisis
management process even more difficult to handle in the future stage.
Second, acknowledge various stakeholders and using a comforting and compassionate
tone are important in accident management (CIC and Ogilvy PR, 2011). A very
representative example in this case can be account to the apology announcement posted
on the Shanghai Subway’s microblog: “Today is the darkest day in the history of the
Shanghai Metro's operation… No matter the ultimate cause and responsibility, (we feel)
particularly guilty about the harm and losses borne by the public. We will put in our
utmost ability to rescue the wounded, resume operations as soon as possible ... and
cooperate with the relevant departments in the investigation… Even if our apologies pale
in comparison to the actual injuries, we are deeply sorry.”
30

This can be valuated as a rational attitude that every party in stake should take. On the
contrast, any arguments or attitude that try to be clarify and refuse to taking and shun
from the responsibilities would only trigger a wider range of anger and accusation from
the public. Holding a relatively humble, modest and conscientious attitude towards the
incident during no matter the crisis responding stage or recovery stage is significant in the

30
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44682501/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/t/hundreds-
injured-shanghai-subway-crash/#.T9wOPI6-HlK

24

strategy of crisis management.

25

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION
5.1 Information Diffusion Characteristics of Microblogging
Hu Yong, a CMP31 fellow and also a Professor at Peking University describes
microblogs as a new form of broadcasting and argues that the medium has four
characteristics.
32

The first characteristic is speed. Hu notes that newspapers, for example, make news
calculations on a daily cycle. However, microblogs are not limited by this as they belong
to the instantaneous medium of the Web.
33
And since microblogs encourage short posts
and easy mobile posting, they have even a higher frequency of both contribution and
consumption than other forms of Internet mediums, such as blogging. This significant
characteristic of microblogging again calls for quick and concise responses at the very
beginning of a crisis in order to prevent the bad information from spreading fast and
further damage to the organizations.
Second, the information shared on microblogs is fragmented. In the past, mass media
distributed information from the center to the periphery. But today there might be
microblog users at the scene of the story, and they can transmit information instantly.
People who were unknown or insignificant might now become the center of the

31
China Media Project.
32
See http://cmp.hku.hk/2010/03/26/5290/.
33
lbid.

26

information, having a powerful influence.
34
Therefore personal and emotionally charged
expressions have become an important driver in the spread of a crisis. This characteristic
implies that organizations should indeed set up a crisis detectoring system to spot sources
of negative remarks more quickly so that a response can be made quickly and hopefully
prevent a crisis from happening.
Third, the information posted on microblogs is direct. For example, making statements
through the traditional media has required going through layers of intermediaries. Now
microblog users can go directly into their topics.
35
And even if there is a very tight
censorship on Chinese Internet regulation, the information can still be spreading even
before the regulators have noticed. This would require the organizations to set up their
own official communications channels on the Internet. These may include official
websites, official microblog accounts and a blog to sustain means of communication with
its stakeholders and the public.
The fourth character is the micropower of the microblogs. “Micro” is about every
ordinary citizen. “Power” is about translating language into action. Through “micro-
information” and “micro-conversation” netizens can together exercise “micropower” and
influence the Chinese society.
36
Therefore, organizations will need to comprehend
netizens’ emotional moods, concerns and complaints. By the same token, pay special
attention to KOLs’ reflections and remarks is also important.

34
lbid.

35
lbid.
36
lbid.

27

5.2 Other Implications
There is an old saying in Chinese, bad news travels a thousand times faster than the
good news. This is particularly accountable in the era of weibo during a certain crisis.
Microblogs have indeedly become a place of origin for crises. In the era of traditional
mediums, which include television broadcasting, newspaper, radio broadcasting and so
forth, it takes up a relatively long time for bad news to spread. This gives an organization
more time to prepare for the upcoming crisis. Also, the coverage on the traditional
mediums may be relatively neutral and disinterested, and it is difficult for the public to
give feedbacks or comments regarding the incident. However, when it comes to the time
of microblogging, bad news spread in seconds. As we all know that it usually takes up
years of time for no matter a brand or an organization to build up a credible and healthy
image. With the development and popularization of weibo, this image may be damaged
in a second. Weibo provides the netizens a perfect platform to release their emotions,
comments, viewpoints, and sometimes anger. Consequently, the information on weibo
may be more harsh and subjective and may trigger the crises into an even higher level.
This renders the crisis management more difficult and requires more efforts to be put
into.
According to the white paper issued by CIC and Ogilvy PR, online crises can be
classified into three categories: public credibility crises focus on governments, non-
governmental organizations and when there seems to be no apparent target; personal
crises focus on individuals, particularly celebrities or corporate executives; brand crises
focus on corporations, private enterprise and industry (CIC and Ogilvy PR, 2011).

28

In both cases of public credibility crisis and brand crises, the leaders, senior executives
or even junior stuff of a certain organization can be viewed as the representatives of the
agent they are in. Therefore, if they post some unprofessional contents on their
microblogs, the consequence would be serious and can even provoke crises sometimes.
By the same token, personal crises can also jeopardize the image of the organization the
person serves. Hence, it is decisive to establish some guiding principles for the stuff on
how they should engage on microblogs, set up a clear-cut of the dos and don’ts.

29

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION
6.1 Suggestions
This thesis examined two public crises in China in year 2011, the Guo Meimei and Red
Cross Crisis and the Shanghai Subway Accident Crisis, and particularly on how the
burgeoning weibo microbloging platform has influence the progress of a certain crisis.
Through the analysis of these two incidents, I sought to figure out some practical
implements for brands, organizations and governments to prevent, to response and to
recover from the crises that would gravely damage the interest of theirs.
First, brands, organizations and governments should establish a crisis monitoring
solution to get the first hand information from Internet. This stage is critical in crisis
management process because it serves as a protective barrier of the organizations. In this
era of complexity, there are so many incidents and possibilities that may trigger a crisis to
happen. Therefore, organizations should not run the risk of being unprepared when a
potential crisis occurs. Build up a social media monitoring system may help greatly in
tracking social media coverage and stay informed about what is being said about you,
your brand, your competitors and so on.
Second, establish official communications channels on the Internet and social media
such as Sina weibo or Tencent weibo. Most of the brands, organizations and government
departments have come to realize the importance of establishing their official weibo
accounts. It is reported by Xinhua News Agency that the official microblog of China's

30

Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has attracted more than two million followers, a total
of 937 microblogs have been reposted and 415,000 comments have been received, since
the ministry released its first microblog at weibo.com and t.qq.com in August 2011.
37
By
the end of September 2011, about 5,000 police officers nationwide had registered
personal microblogs with their real identities verified.
38
The official microblog can be
used as a channel for interacting and communicating with the public, releasing correct
and authorized information to dispel misunderstandings and receiving clues in order to
better serve the public and more importantly, to mitigate whenever there is a crisis.
Third, set up guidelines for how staff, particularly the leaders or the staff with greater
coverage or influence on the Internet, should engage on social media if their identities are
linked to the company, organization, or government. As I have mentioned in Chapter 5,
the leaders, senior executives or even junior stuff of a certain organization can be linked
tightly with the partied they serve. Therefore, any unprofessional arguments or comments
made by them would be a source of crisis and will put their parties in risks eventually.
Hence, it is decisive to establish some guiding principles for the stuff on how they should
engage on microblogs, set up a clear-cut of the dos and don’ts.
Fourth, build healthy, interactive relationships with key traditional media and KOLs’
online accounts for preparation and pay attention to KOLs’ comments and feedbacks on
microblogs or blogs during a crisis. The microblogs and speech made by KOLs can
increase greatly the influence and the reach of the topics and can serve the function of

37
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/7716451.html.
38
lbid.

31

either ease the tension or exasperate the situation. Hence it is relatively crucial for
organizations, brands and governments build healthy, interactive relationships with key
traditional media and KOLs’ online accounts and pay attention to KOLs’ comments and
feedbacks on microblogs or blogs.
Fifth, react quickly using an advanced communication systems and maintain
consistency and transparency when providing information. To be prompt and maintaining
consistency in crisis management and communication is no doubt the key benchmarks of
pursuing a better outcome from a crisis. What confronts the Chinese organizations and
the government authority most lies in the information openness and transparency. The
Chinese government has long been accused of its censorship on media coverage and
withholding information from the public, especially when a national catastrophe takes
place. One example is the SARS crisis in 2003. During the beginning of the crisis,
Chinese government tried to cover up the facts and prohibited the media from reporting
the up-to-dated infected numbers which triggered a catastrophic crisis national wide. This
can be referred to information transparency promotes accountability and provides
information for public about what is going on. Also, it helps to prevent the rumors from
spreading and help to build up the credibility of any parties involved.
Sixth, comprehend and have better understandings of the public emotions, concerns and
attitudes. Microblogs are the platforms for every ordinary people. As I have discussed in
the last chapter, people who were unknown or insignificant in the era of traditional media
might now become the center of the information, having a powerful influence. Therefore
personal and emotionally charged expressions have become an important driver in the

32

spread of a crisis. The micropower of the microblogs should therefore never be ignored.
Understanding what are the primary concerns of the netizens, what triggers the public’s
outrage and response in a comforting and compassionate tone of voice are important in
crisis management and communication. Never try to shun from the responsibilities and
show sensible and righteous attitudes when dealing with crises.
Last but not least, after the crisis, present to the mass the new direction the company is
taking, analyze the crisis and improve the company’s internal crisis management protocol
so that the company can better leverage various social media platforms (CIC and Ogilvy
PR, 2011). As the Chinese phase for crisis--- ‘wei ji’, ‘wei’ means danger while ‘ji’
stands for opportunity. When properly handles, a crisis may turn into an opportunity that
would enhance the future development of no matter a brand, a organization or
governments.
6.2 Further Studies
This thesis used two incidents as illustrates to how different parties should interact
during microblog-based crises. One is the Guo Meimei and Red Cross Crisis, which
begins as a personal crisis nonetheless turns into a larger scale of public credibility crisis
with the development of the event. The Shanghai Subway Crisis is a public credibility
crisis, which concerns the government authority. Another type of crisis, the brand crisis is
untouched in this thesis. Future studies can be expanded more on the brand crisis
management in the era of microblog and delve more deeply into the other two. Social
media, especially microblog platforms are expand constantly and with significant

33

complexity nowadays, rendering the crisis management and communication a even more
consequential and complicated element in the survival and success of every party.
Continuing research effort in this realm is greatly in need to a better understanding of this
new era and the crisis management efforts and strategies.

34

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Abstract (if available)

Abstract This thesis aims to use media analysis to examine the importance of crisis management in the era of Weibo in China. Through examining two cases: the Guo Meimei and Red Cross Crisis and Shanghai Subway Accident Crisis to determine remarkable trends and their implications for crisis management, and suggest ways that brands, organizations and governments can alleviate their loss in the era of microblogging.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Yu, Shimin (author)

Core Title Crisis managment in the era of Weibo

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program East Asian Area Studies

Publication Date 08/01/2012

Defense Date 08/01/2012

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag crisis management,microblog,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Cooper, Eugene (committee chair), Pryor, Lawrence (committee member), Wang, Jian ""Jay"" (committee member)

Creator Email huhu_yida@hotmail.com,shiminyu@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-81513

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