Today is the 3rd anniversary of the July 23 Wenzhou train crash that claimed more than 40 lives and injured over 200. The debate over China's high-speed railway triggered by this accident still lingers in people's minds.

The July 23 incident was a case study in mismanagement. It continues to serve as a tough lesson for railway authorities. It is worth reflecting why public opinion has evolved from criticism of this particular accident to complete opposition of the country's high-speed rail project. Such an unusual situation can be attributed to several reasons. First, the arrest and sentencing of Liu Zhijun, the former railway chief, on corruption charges shook the public's confidence in the technology and management of high-speed rail in China. The public has used the belief that corruption and jerry-rigged, slapdash projects are intimately connected to single out high-speed rail for criticism.

The year 2011 witnessed a flourishing of social media in China. In early 2011, online opinion dealt a heavy blow to the Red Cross Society of China. Owing to their State-owned nature, China's railway authorities became a prominent target of public opinion. Railway authorities also left themselves open to criticism in the aftermath of the incident, as there were a number of deficiencies in their handling of the accident.

One fundamental reason for all the criticism is that Chinese society lacks confidence, especially when it comes to high technology. Since the beginning of its reform and opening up, China has studied, and even imitated, the West, but there are very few instances in which it has technologically exceeded the West. Seeing that the US has no high-speed railway, while China's high-speed railway development is in full swing, the Chinese public has naturally started to doubt itself.

The July 23 train crash consolidated the role of public opinion in the country's governance, while also exposing the immaturity of that opinion. Populist sentiments, as magnified by social media, have both positive and negative effects. A seam in between national interest and the public's long-term interests has been forced open, the result of widespread acceptance of paranoia and bigotry.

Chinese society should encourage the spirit of taking risks and doing concrete things. Any creative economic or technological initiatives always bring uncertainty. This is, on the one hand, a completely normal occurrence; on the other, it shows how negative aspects of Chinese culture continue to bar the path to national progress.

Some of the individuals who were most active online three years ago now refuse to admit their past opposition to high-speed rail. But public opinion has undeniably affected the development of high-speed railway in China. They took a shortsighted view, and it is now time for them to admit their mistake.