What Risks Are Chinese People Concerned About?

TLDR

The study investigates how Chinese citizens perceive risks across various issues in contemporary China. The authors carried out two urban surveys in 1996 and 1998, comparing risk perceptions among occupational groups, genders, and employment statuses. Respondents ranked national stability and economic development risks highest, while high‑technology risks were least concerning; employees of profitable firms feared catastrophic risks more than laid‑off workers, who prioritized daily risks, and the study highlights the roles of exposure, media coverage, culture, and psychometric factors in shaping these perceptions.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate public perceived risk on various issues in present‐day China. Two surveys were conducted in urban China in 1996 and 1998. In the first survey, risk perceptions of different occupational groups are compared. Gender differences within each occupational group are also analyzed. In the second survey, participants with diverse employment status were recruited. The overall risk rankings of both surveys indicate great concern with risks that threaten national stability and economic development, and less concern with high‐technology risk such as threat from a nuclear power plant. It is also found that employees from high‐profit firms are more concerned about macroscopic catastrophic risks, whereas laid‐off workers and employees from money‐losing enterprises are more concerned about daily life or self‐concerned risks. The importance of actual exposure to risk, mass media coverage, culture, and psychometric dimensions are discussed.