The Mayan doomsday prophecies have found a potent grip in China. 

As well as the panic-buying of candles in Sichuan and a Jiangsu woman who sold her house, Shanghai police received 25 complaints within one day about people spreading apocalyptic prophecies to residents citywide. In Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, con artists tried to swindle people to donate money to others just to do something meaningful before the end of the world.

Most of the victims in the incidents are senior citizens who are vulnerable to scams. But others are also targeted.

When I asked my 12-year-old daughter during the weekend whether she had any idea what the purported Mayan prediction was, her reply was no but she expressed strong curiosity about it. Upon hearing my explanation, she was nervous and uneasy.

In the following days, she kept raising the issue and repeatedly asked me whether I believed the supposed prophecies, although my answer was always a firm no.

This shows the vulnerability of the young, as well as the old, to such balderdash, especially if the adults involved set out to cause deliberate harm.

We saw this with the panic-buying of salt after the Fukushima disaster. Unfortunately the elderly and the young are both susceptible to such rumors, even if others ignore them. And we have to admit that when the Chinese public is besieged by negative information, their response is not very satisfying. They may take some extreme actions.

Considering the vulnerable groups, some grass-roots organizations should step in to play an important role.

Senior citizens spend most of their time in community centers and residential compounds. Eye-catching notices and warning letters should be posted to warn residents not to be fooled. The entrances of buildings and the elevator walls are ideal places for the notice to be placed. Thus the right information can reach the targeted group and be effective.

Since students can easily fall victim to rumors if they aren't given the right guidance, educational institutions from kindergartens to universities should also help spread the right information about hot issues.

More importantly, children should be taught to logically evaluate sources themselves, rather than simply swallowing what their elders tell them. They should be able to keep calm and make correct judgments.

The police should step in, since they're trusted by both old and young people, and fulfill their community function by helping calm things down. The Shanghai police did a good job after they had noticed the increase in doomsday prophecies complaints. They issued warning on their official Weibo account which has millions of followers and hoped the public can be aware of all scams in the name of "good deeds before the end of the world." They revealed the common tricks used by fraudsters to remind the public to be cautious.

Some companies are responding in a much lighter and even humorous way to the doomsday warnings.

One boss was quoted as saying that "Since they can't concentrate on their job, why not give them a break to accompany their family members?"

Admittedly, it's a very humane practice given that the company can afford a day.

With the rise of Weibo and other sources that spread gossip and rumor fast, the public needs to equip themselves with good judgment.

Teaching people how to distinguish between true and false sources is necessary because nowadays we are confronted with a great deal of information. Getting people into the habit of rational thinking is the best solution to any possible crisis.



The author is an editor with the Global Times. fengyu@globaltimes.com.cn