The frequent occurrence of major public emergencies in today's risky society has caused severe harm to the public, community, and state. The social assistance system, which guarantees the basic survival of the people in need, has been dramatically impacted. As an emergency system arrangement in the social assistance system, the ability of the temporary assistance system to give full play to the function of emergency assistance is crucial to the effective response to significant public emergencies. In view of the impact of major public emergencies, such as COVID-19, on the temporary assistance system, this paper summarizes the domestic and international experience and practice of temporary assistance in response to COVID-19 and puts forward proposals for further improving China's temporary assistance system: Promoting the rule of law in the temporary assistance system immediately; Strengthening the emergency response of the temporary assistance system effectively; Emphasizing the inclusiveness of the temporary assistance system; Improving the accessibility of the temporary assistance system continuously; Improving the timeliness of the temporary assistance system continuously.

Zheng Yan, Guo Jiawen. Study on Major Public Emergencies and the Improvement of the Temporary Assistance System. International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology (2023), Vol. 5, Issue 14: 77-84. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJFS.2023.051413.

[1] Yu Depeng. Research on Specialized Legislation on Social Assistance [M]. Beijing: China Social Science Press, 2014.

[2] Zhang Yujie. On the Improvement of Temporary Relief System for Children in Difficulties in China--Taking the Case of Child Suicide in Bijie[J]. China Youth Social Science, 2016, 35(3): 69-73.

[3] Liu Fang. Research on Temporary Assistance System for Rural Expenditure-type Poor Families in Hebei Province [D]. Baoding: Hebei University, 2019.

[4] Zhao Chuanfang. A brief discussion on the current characteristics, problems, and coping strategies of temporary assistance in China [J]. Social Welfare, 2021(4):25-28.

[5] Lv Xuejing. The Latest Reform of Japan's Social Assistance System and Implications for China[J]. Journal of Soochow University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition), 2016(3):45-50.

[6] Zhu Yidan. Comparative study of social assistance system between China and foreign countries [D]. Changchun: Northeast Normal University, 2015.

[7] Liu Baochen. Temporary assistance for low-income families in the U.S.: system changes, operational characteristics and inspiration [J]. Economic system reform, 2018(6):156-162.

[8] Xie Zengyi. China's social assistance system: problems, trends and legislative improvement [J]. Social Science, 2014(12):91-101.

[9] Guan Xinping. Several Issues Should be Attended to Regarding the Comprehensive Establishment of the Temporary Assistance System [J]. China Civil Affairs, 2015(7):19-21.

[10] Lin Mingang. On the Positioning, Framework and Focus of Social Assistance Legislation in China [J]. Social Science Series, 2019(4):90-95.

[11] Zhu Meng, Yan Xinming. Improvement Path of Temporary Relief System for Major Public Health Emergencies [J]. Journal of Party School of Ningbo Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, 2020(04):42-50.

[12] Zheng Gongcheng. Reasonable positioning and reform orientation of China's social assistance system [J]. Journal of National School of Administration, 2015(4):17-22.

[13] Yu Shaoxiang. Developmental social assistance: theoretical framework and institutional construction [J]. Zhejiang Journal, 2022(3):108-116.

[14] Zhang Mingwu. Research on Social Assistance Emergency Response Mechanism under Major Public Events [J]. Yangtze River Forum, 2021(1):51-55.

[15] Kong Weina, Huang Xiaoyuan. Analysis of social assistance in significant public health emergencies--Taking the fight against COVID-19 as an example [J]. Social Welfare (Theoretical Edition), 2020(7):16-20+63.

[16] Yang Xiewei. Social Assistance in the New Crown Epidemic: Practical Logic and Optimization Path [J]. Heilongjiang Human Resources and Social Security, 2021(10):23-26.