Existing studies on mass protests primarily examine the process，consequences and implications of protests from such angles as resource mobilization，political structure and opportunity，as well as policy frameworks，with little attention paid to the guiding role that related government policy documents have in dealing with a mass protest. This paper analyzes the basic characters of government policies on the basis of related policy texts for dealing with mass protests，and further explains the basic logic behind their creation in the context of the Wukan protests and corresponding confirmatory analysis. The study has found that all policy elements such as policy purpose，target groups，framework of rules，policy instruments，and executive bodies have remarkable underlying assumptions about effectiveness. As soon as some of these assumed conditions fail to occur，policy failure is likely，as illustrated by the government response to the Wukan incident. Finally，the paper recommends that policy design discriminate such factors as protester scheme completeness and level of organization，conflict and information accessibility，as well as attitudes and reactions of objects of protest，and process-based dynamic management of stressors. Meanwhile，in face of varying circumstances，it is recommended that the policy design attach importance to policy design elements in relation to social construction，and adopt as appropriate an open，interactive policy design model which involves protesters in policy design and gives the public the right to know and to participate in decision-making.