Shanghai (CNS) -- Almost half of the hot social issues in the third quarter were publicized within hours after they took place, mainly via news websites, followed by the Weibo microblog and newspapers, according to the 2011 Third Quarter China's Public Opinion Report released by Shanghai Jiaotong University on November 8.
The report is based on a sample of 60 influential news events in China during the third quarter. More influential incidents took place in the third quarter than the previous two. September saw the largest number of hot issues, totaling 23.
A growing number of disastrous news, especially traffic accidents, grabbed the most attention. There are 11 such events, including the Wenzhou high speed railway tragedy on July 23, the Shanghai rear-end metro collision on September 27, the bus fire accident on the highway between Beijing and Zhuhai and the shipwreck in Shaoyang, central China's Hunan Province.
Henan and Zhejiang are the two provinces with most hot social issues.
Weibo also played a vital role in facilitating public debate over moral issues, such as the Guo Meimei China charity crisis and dozens of incidents on the controversial rich second generation, said the report.
