HZAU’s Online Lecture was a new form of academic exchange during the anti-epidemic period by making the best use of Internet Plus. Professor Zhang Wenhong, Dean of School of Sociology and Political Science from Shanghai University (SHU), delivered an online lecture at HZAU’s Forum on Sociology on the afternoon of April 3. The lecture on Social Governance of Epidemic Prevention and Control attracted more than 110 teachers and students, including Professor Zhong Zhangbao and Professor Tian Beihai, Dean and Vice Dean of HZAU’s College of Humanity & Law respectively, and inspired audiences to exchange ideas about public opinion management and community service in the course of epidemic prevention and control.
Professor Zhang Wenhong started the speech with the point that social governance, an integral part of national governance, was a solid foundation for building a safe China. Drawing on the Social Action Theory, Zhang illustrated the course of action of five kinds of social actors, namely the government, the market, social organizations, communities and individuals, concluding that China’s epidemic prevention and control was contained well thanks to the concerted efforts of those actors and the quick and efficient measures taken by China’s central government.
Secondly, Professor Zhang applied sociologist Hsiao-tung Fei’s The Pattern of Difference Sequence and social psychologist Stanley Milgram’s Six Degrees of Separation to epidemic prevention and control practice from the sociology’s perspective. Specifically, Zhang presented that social trust was the weapon in the battle against the COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019). Therefore, we should be alert to the spread of social discrimination, social exclusion, and stigmatization, and have a comprehensive understanding of the high risk of modern society. Moreover, we are expected to change our living habits and lifestyle, such as eating separately, stopping eating wild animals, and wearing masks in public places.
Professor Zhang Wenhong then summarized China’s great experience in prevention and control by enumerating the central government and Shanghai’s specific measures. Fox example, under the leadership of the central government, China made united and coordinated efforts to establish mechanisms for the legal framework, the targeted measures in the prevention and control of the epidemic, the open, transparent and highly efficient information release, and the big data-based  technological support.
Lastly, Professor Zhang Wenhong suggested some measures for improving China’s epidemic prevention and control system. For instance, we should develop public health regulation and institution systems; introduce a unified and efficient system for improved emergency management; and build a unified emergency supplies system in an orderly manner.

Source: http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2020/0404/56972.shtml
Translated by: Guo Yating
Supervised by: Wang Xiaoyan