On June 2nd, Professor Xia Chenghua, the MPA cooperative tutor of Shandong University and the former deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Stability Maintenance, gave a lecture entitled "Exploration and Effectiveness of Social Stability Risk Assessment" in Zhensheng garden, Qingdao campus of Shandong University. The lecture started from the mass event triggered by the construction of the Pubugou Hydropower Station in Hanyuan, Sichuan Province in 2004 and the "Longnan event" caused by the relocation of the Longnan Administrative Center in Gansu Province in 2008. The event of Pubugou Hydropower Station involving large-scale personnel, intense public sentiment, high processing specifications and far-reaching influence, directly contributed to the implementation and application of the risk assessment of social stability of major decision-making processes.

Director Xia first clarified the concept of social stability risk assessment. The assessment subject is the party and government organs and the target is the major decision made by the party and government organs. The assessment content is the impact on the interests of the masses. The assessment impact involves both material and spiritual matters. The assessment aim is to circumvent and prevent social risks. From the historical background, Director Xia proposed four factors to establish a social stability risk assessment system: with the transition from planned economy to market economy and the adjustment of interest distribution, social contradictions were latent; with the rapid social transformation of industrialization and urbanization, land expropriation and demolition, environmental pollution and other problems occurred frequently; through the transformation of major social contradictions, the impact of unbalanced and inadequate development needed to be taken seriously; considering the adjustment of the international situation, western countries still have not completely abandoned their hostility and vilification of China, and the penetration and incitement of foreign forces also aggravated the contradiction to a certain extent. As for how to establish the assessment system, Director Xia proposed four paths: the locals should summarize lessons and explore coping mechanisms, the national authorities should promote the mechanism to localities, then, the central government should issue norms and regulations for the whole country to implement. The practical significance of the social stability risk assessment lies in safeguarding the fundamental interests of the people, promoting scientific and democratic decision-making, keeping a close relationship between the party and the masses, and maintaining social stability at the source. As for the initial results of social stability risk assessment, Director Xia believed that the concept of social stability risk assessment is deeply rooted in people's minds, the assessment mechanism has been gradually improved, the assessment research has been gradually deepened, the assessment procedure has been gradually standardized, and the assessment work has been widely carried out. At last, Director Xia put forward the practical requirements for social stability risk assessment. He believed that in practice, the improvement of awareness should be put first place, the safeguarding of the interests of the masses should be at the center, solving problems and resolving contradictions should be emphasized, and preventing the occurrence of social group incidents should be the bottom line.

Director Xia stressed that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has paid special attention to establishing and improving a risk assessment mechanism for social stability in major decision-making, emphasizing scientific, democratic and law-based decision-making to prevent and defuse social risks at the source. He summarized the practice of social stability risk assessment in China based on his work experience, thus elucidating the attending students.

The lecture was hosted by the School of Political Science and Public Administration of Shandong University, and was chaired by Professor Ma Ben, Director of the MPA Education Center, Associate Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration, and Director of the Center for Risk Management and Emergency Management of Shandong University.