A villager was shot dead after some people on a farm in Panjin, a city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, got into a conflict with local police. This incident has gained increasing attention from the media and netizens.

According to the police, the policeman opened fire because his personal safety was being threatened. However, the public has linked this incident to forced demolition, making it more complicated.

Should the policeman have opened fire at that time? Was the compensation for the demolition reasonable? These are two different questions regarding this incident that we need to answer. We cannot just mix them up.

Our feelings toward the demolition cannot be the starting point of judging a policeman's right to defend himself.

The police do not decide on demolition policy. They were dispatched to the scene to maintain order.

The policeman who opened fire said that he had no intention of killing the villager, but just wanted to defend himself.

Currently, there's no evidence to show that the policeman's actions were intentional.

Accusations leveled at the policeman came from people's dissatisfaction with the demolition. Because of this sentiment, they believe that it is wrong for policemen to open fire on ordinary people on any occasion.

However, we should use the standard of the law instead of the standard of morality to judge the policeman's action. Generally speaking, a policeman cannot open fire on an unarmed person. But we cannot use this principle to limit policemen's specific acts of enforcement.

In fact, Chinese policemen are very cautious and restrained when opening fire to defend themselves. Over 400 policemen die and thousands more are injured in the line of duty every year. Obviously, this is related to policemen's scruples when opening fire.

Only judicial departments can judge whether the policeman's actions were reasonable. Indeed, the villager's death is deserving of sympathy. However, we cannot deny policemen's right of self-defense only because of sympathy.

Tragedies caused by demolition occur frequently all over China. Problems related to law, morality and special interests in China cannot be solved in a short time. At this time, a calm attitude from the public is very important. It should neither blindly support forced demolition nor encourage radical confrontation.

Governments' improper execution of policy and lack of communication are also important reasons for the increasing number of conflicts caused by demolitions.

Local governments should know that their credibility is currently at a low. As a result, some people tend to see governments' usual responses as attempts to suppress the truth.

In this special period, governments should take a serious and responsible attitude when dealing with social disputes.