On the evening of December 31, 2014, a stampede in Shanghai’s Chen Yi Square killed 35 people and left 43 injured. 1 A tragedy of this magnitude in such a large city sends shockwaves throughout the country, and many are struck with sorrow after the loss of 35 lives. In recent years, stampede accidents have occurred with greater frequency in China. In 2002 a stampede through a middle school in Inner Mongolia killed 21 students. In 2009 another stampede through a middle school in Hunan caused the deaths of 8 children. 2 These stampedes have highlighted some major public safety issues in China, especially as they relate to policies surrounding public safety, safety education, psychological counseling, and regulation.
To effectively prevent stampedes in public places, security needs to be improved and effectively managed. First, the government should develop a more effective regulatory framework. Although the government has established relevant polices, including the “Master State Plan for Rapid Response to Public Emergencies,” and has improved public safety management in recent years, widespread laws are still lagging behind, especially in terms of effective regulation. One remaining point of weakness is the current “early warning information release system.” This system does not effectively inform the public of dangerous situations. The second oversight is that people lack comprehensive security and safety education. Less than 2% of the Chinese population have been provided with self-help or mutual aid capabilities.
Second, people are most likely to gather together, en masse, on public holidays like National Day, for religious activities, large parties, major expositions, and for other popular events. Thus, effective and practical security plans must be set out in advance, so that groups can be quickly, smoothly, and safely evacuated. This is a necessary measure to prevent injury and loss of life. For large group activities, the local government holds responsibility for preparing appropriate security arrangements and developing contingency plans in the event of any danger or catastrophe. As for large activities in public places, population capacities need to be strictly defined and enforced, and on-site monitoring of population movements must be strengthened. Additionally, necessary fire protection facilities and security technology equipment with warning communications and broadcasting capabilities should be installed. Furthermore, evacuation sites and channels need to be reserved for the police, firefighters, rescue teams, and other support personnel. To that effect, the number of security personnel should be arranged ahead of time, along with their confirmed assignments and training sights. Additional public safety personnel should be charged with overseeing box offices, entrances, and the main movement channels. Fortunately, 1 year after this accident, the government has acknowledged the importance of early warning mechanisms and is now implementing more effective systems.
Stampede accidents and injuries are usually a result of overreaction and panic. Once people panic, serious accidents follow closely behind. It is unfair to blame victims or those who choose to gather in a given place for their lack of security awareness. Spontaneous activity also easily leads to excessive growth of crowds, which is caused entirely by the people themselves. The public’s response to emergencies should also be closely linked with prevention and accident control. Authorities should consider that major events attract many participants and should strengthen public safety education before the activities are scheduled to begin.
Domestic public safety education has been both orally communicated and written into law for years. Following deadly accidents, the public demands an examination of public safety policy and security education programs. Unfortunately, the state of affairs will return to a “normal” pre-disaster state after a public safety education program has been advertised and implemented. Thus, in China, safety education is irregularly offered. How can the “post-education” model actually prevent injuries and death during the next stampede?
