ABSTRACT
Under the looming shadow of nuclear disasters, how can governments carry out effective risk communication for nuclear power projects? Why do governmental communication strategies so often lapse and fail? To answer these questions, in this chapter we examine the 2013 protests against a nuclear plant construction project in the city of Heshan, Guangdong province. Through in-depth interviews with officials and reporters involved in the incident, we found that a lack of credibility attributed to the government and scientific experts was at the root of the communication failure. This is reflected in what Dickson (2005) has termed the “deficit model,” which attributes public skepticism or hostility toward scientific expertise to a lack of understanding, which itself stems from a lack of information. In Heshan, after official communication failed, the project was abandoned under public pressure. This chapter also revisits the democratic model of decision-making, emphasizing that in communication, local government should respect the interests of different groups and make better use of experts and their professional knowledge, so as to eliminate panic and enhance social trust.
