Opinion | Why Beijing’s new fact-finding campaign to drive better policy is a chance to end the destructive path of punishing bad news

China has rolled out a nationwide “fact-finding campaign” to listen to truths on the ground as a starting point for good policymaking. “You must listen to true words, inspect real situations, be loyal to truth and correct any wrongs,” according to a recent circular issued by the ruling Communist Party to cadres. “You must report both good news and bad news.”

The campaign sends a strong signal that China’s leadership is not 100 per cent happy about screened information from the bottom and selective reporting by local officials. Like the situation in ancient dynasties, the top authority is sometimes not given the full picture from the ground, in case it provokes anger, leading to ill-informed policies.

To ensure that “true words” are heard, Beijing should seize on this opportunity to end the unhealthy practice of labelling unwelcome information as “negative energy”.

The practice of calling good news “positive energy” and defining bad news as “negative energy” became routine in recent years. Likewise, the knee-jerk reaction from local authorities to suppress any unwanted story – whether it be an accident or a real protest.

But constantly sweeping problems under the carpet is not a sustainable position. Anyone who read China’s public reports or even social media posts last year about the country’s rigid Covid-19 controls would have been forgiven for thinking that most people were happy with the situation. Only by digging deeper would you have realised that public anger was bubbling up, with many demanding an end to draconian quarantines.

A related problem is the tendency for authorities, including the police and internet regulators, to act as the ultimate arbiters of “truth”, treating anything not in line with official narratives as “rumours” to be crushed.