Recent years have seen a series of public health scandals in China, from melamine-tainted infant formula a few years ago to toxic running tracks exposed lately. Although local authorities have been forced into actions with Beijing ordering a complete test of synthetic tracks and Shenzhen tearing up a toxic athletic track in November, public trust in local governments has seen no sign of improvement. 

An article of yours, "Multiple failures created toxic school tracks" by Liu Zhun, warned last week that "the authorities are suffering a crisis of diminishing public trust. They should act before it's too late." In fact, China will risk falling into the "Tacitus trap" if nothing is done to pull society out of the quagmire of public health scandals.

The "Tacitus trap" means that "neither good nor bad policies please the public" if the government loses its credibility. Without trust from citizens, authorities' explanations are mocked by citizens as an attempt to find excuses for their faults in scandals.

According to the media, the majority of Chinese netizens are suspicious of local authorities. For some radicals, economic figures are "fabricated" by authorities; the election of young-aged officials must have an "inside story" and the authorities' goodness to citizens is just a "political show."

Such suspicion is not surprising, and the authorities should be the first to be blamed. Certain authorities, instead of providing detailed explanations and offering solutions, always try to cover up or tone down scandals after the exposures, so as to exempt themselves from liabilities. Just as Liu pointed out, "the clumsy PR work" is "notorious for finding excuses and weaseling out." With no transparent information provided, the public does not regard local authorities as reliable.

Once scandals are exposed, the public is keener to find out the truth by themselves than relying on local authorities. In the latest toxic running track case, parents demanded a test of the entire school environment by a third party rather than by local authorities.

Public distrust is a result of accumulated dissatisfaction after being hoodwinked by the malicious and powerful.

The high frequency of the exposure of scandals has, to a large extent, dampened public trust as well.

The increasing number of public health problems is due partly to the expanding middle class in China, who, according to Liu, have higher aspirations than being just "fed" and "dressed." They pay more attention to their quality of life than previous generations.

This means, with stricter supervision from the middle class, health scandals are more easily exposed than before.

Admittedly, public distrust, as a reflection of citizens' enhanced awareness of their right to political supervision, may force authorities to introduce mechanisms to regulate public power. However, a crisis of diminishing public trust will pose heavy burdens on social governance in the long term, and thus has to be properly addressed.

China can learn from Singapore, which is renowned for its strict rules and clean governance, how to strengthen supervision on local authorities. Heavier punishments for dishonest civil servants may help them improve their behavior. In addition, better rules and laws can be introduced to regulate public power.

To better implement laws, ordinary citizens can be given more rights to participate in the supervision process. Public approval is a necessary precursor to government credibility. To be more reliable, authorities should provide the public with more transparent information.

At present, some local governments are still reluctant to publicize the latest governmental news, upsetting the public's demands for information. In the Internet era, this has to be changed. Active and effective communications and interactions between authorities and the public will help prevent China from falling into the "Tacitus trap."

Liu Lulu, a freelance writer based in Beijing