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Human Rights and Rule of Law - News and
Analysis
Ministry of Public Security Reports Rise in Public Order Disturbances in 2005
Public order disturbances in China increased during 2005, according to Ministry of Public Security (MPS) statistics released in a January 19 news release and January 20 News York Times and South China Morning Post articles. Crimes of "disturbing public order" rose by 6.6 percent over 2004, to 87,000. "Interferences with government functions" increased by 18.9 percent, while incidents of "mass gatherings to disturb social order" rose by 13 percent.
The MPS statistics on public order disturbances reflect a general increase in social unrest in China. In July 2005, Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang said that "mass protests" or "mass incidents," including riots, demonstrations, and collective petitions, had risen from 58,000 in 2003 to 74,000 in 2004. The MPS use of different terms, "mass incidents" and "public order disturbances," in the two sets of statistics complicates direct comparisons between them.
The increase in social unrest reflects a range of citizen grievances, including citizen protests linked to land disputes, labor issues, and environmental pollution. In a December 29 speech reported in a January 19 Xinhua article, Premier Wen Jiabao noted that official failures to provide farmers with adequate compensation for land seizures has generated "mass incidents" that pose a "signficant problem for social order." Weak protection of labor rights and worker discontent over wages and benefits resulted in a rise in mass labor disputes from 1,482 in 1994 to 11,000 in 2003. In 2005, villagers in Zhejiang province engaged in a series of mass protests against environmental pollution created by local factories.
Despite increasing unrest, Communist Party officials rule out significant political reform as a response, instead emphasizing the need to strengthen Party controls over society and government. For more information, see section II of the Commission's 2005 Annual Report, Growing Social Unrest and the Chinese Leadership's Counterproductive Response.
| Source: New York Times (2006-01-20 / English / Registration) |
Posted on: 2006-01-30 |
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| Link directly to this item with: http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=37602 |
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