Three residents from South China's Guangdong Province, wearing panda headgear, accept awards for giving tips on criminal gangs to local public security bureaus on July 5. Two of them received 200,000 yuan ($29,099) each and one received 100,000 yuan from the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department. (Photo: VCG)
Aside from doing his usual work as a police officer in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi Province, Mu Tu (pseudonym) now needs to work on tips received from residents on gangs or violent crimes.
"We usually conduct investigations on tips which may indicate gang crimes. We also have to assist other departments of the public security bureaus on cracking down on criminal gangs," Mu told the Global Times.
Mu's work, and the slogans on banners hung in the streets in Taiyuan, reflect Shanxi's efforts on cracking down on criminal gangs in recent months. The authorities in Shanxi have cracked down on 560 organized criminal gangs, arresting 4,529 gang members through September, according to news site chinanews.com.
Shanxi is not the only region that has undergone the operations against gangs. The whole nation is ramping up efforts on a three-year-long operation on cracking down on mafia-style organizations.
According to a document released by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council in January, the fight against organized crime will focus on industries and areas prone to organized crime that prompt the "strongest public reaction" and are "detested" by the people, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Results of the anti-gang operations from many regions in China have been released to the public in recent weeks with many vowing to continue the tough stance against criminal gangs.
A total of 514 criminal gangs and 2,993 violent groups were nabbed nationwide and police of all levels have busted more than 34,000 criminal cases from January to July. The central government has deployed 10 inspection groups to regions, including Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Fujian, Guangdong and Chongqing, to promote the anti-gang operation, people.cn reported.
Closing the 'protective umbrella'
Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, told the Global Times that conducting the anti-gang operations is necessary for deepening the nation's overall reforms as some organized criminal gangs, which were formed with the development of the black economy over the past decades, are seeking a protective umbrella among local officials.
"By drawing local or even higher-ranking corrupt officials over to their side, mafia-style gangs achieve quick development, which severely affects social order," Su said, adding that the development of criminal gangs in foreign countries has offered lessons for officials to learn from.
Shanxi is famous for unchecked collaboration between corrupt officials and gang leaders. According to releases from the disciplinary inspection commission in Shanxi, from September 12 to 14, 22 officials were punished for getting involved with criminal gangs and among them, 14 worked in the prison management system, four in law courts, two in prosecutorial organs, one in the public security department and one worked as a lawyer.
Organized criminal gangs are more often seen in villages where some local officials are also gang leaders, experts said.
Police in Jiangmen, South China's Guangdong Province, busted a criminal gang based in Meige village and nearby villages on September 7. Twenty-six suspects were arrested for blackmail, assault and running casinos; and six officials, including two deputies for the People's Congress of the county, were arrested for serving as a protective umbrella, Guangzhou Daily reported on Wednesday.
"Cracking down on mafia-style gangs in villages is important especially when China is reforming the land system. Once the rural management system is influenced by criminal gangs, it will bring damage to economic development," Su said, adding that the operation will also bring a safer living environment to the people.
Obey laws and regulations
As the whole nation is ramping up efforts on fighting against gangs, governments of all levels and experts are also stressing that all actions should be taken in accordance with laws and regulations.
China's current laws and regulations have clearly classified "criminal gangs" and related punishments, Zhi Zhenfeng, a legal expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times.
"The key point of the anti-gang operation lies in how to prevent criminal gangs from colluding with corrupt officials. Future work may still focus on building anti-corruption mechanisms and having discipline education for officials," Zhi said.