Ministry of Public Security Urges Use of "Strike Hard" to Counter Social Unrest

May 22, 2006

Bai Jingfu, Assistant Party Secretary of China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS), urged the nation's public security agencies to "strike hard" against rising social unrest, according to January 26 articles by the China News Agency (in Chinese, via Xinhua) and Reuters. The MPS Communist Party Committee concluded at a January 25 meeting that China will continue to face internal conflicts, high crime rates, and struggles against unnamed "enemies" for a long time to come. It also emphasized that public security agencies should keep close watch and "strike hard" when dealing with terrorist activity, in order to safeguard national security and social stability.

Bai Jingfu, Assistant Party Secretary of China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS), urged the nation's public security agencies to "strike hard" against rising social unrest, according to January 26 articles by the China News Agency (in Chinese, via Xinhua) and Reuters. The MPS Communist Party Committee concluded at a January 25 meeting that China will continue to face internal conflicts, high crime rates, and struggles against unnamed "enemies" for a long time to come. It also emphasized that public security agencies should keep close watch and "strike hard" when dealing with terrorist activity, in order to safeguard national security and social stability.

The Reuters report notes that the Chinese government believes its greatest terrorist threat exists in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). At the CECC's November 16, 2005, Issues Roundtable on China's Changing Strategic Concerns: The Impact on Human Rights in Xinjiang, Dr. S. Frederick Starr explained in his statement that the government has employed a sustained "Strike Hard, Maximum Pressure" campaign within the XUAR since the late 1990s. It has used this campaign to focus on crimes of separatism, terrorism, and religious extremism. According to Dr. Starr, the central government reaffirmed the use of "Strike Hard, Maximum Pressure" in August 2005, even though the campaign "has long since wiped out whatever separatist currents may have existed in Xinjiang a decade ago." A January 18 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report adds, "'Strike Hard' campaigns subject Uighurs who express 'separatist' tendencies to quick, secret, and summary trials, sometimes accompanied by mass sentencing rallies. Imposition of the death penalty is common." On January 17, Ismail Tiliwaldi, Chairman of the XUAR government, announced that in 2006, the government would maintain its crackdown against separatism, terrorism, and religious extremism, and "resolutely implement" the central government's policies on maintaining stability in the XUAR.

"Strike Hard" developments in the XUAR are consistent with information about China's nationwide "Strike Hard" policy, discussed in Section III(b) of the CECC's 2005 Annual Report. The 2005 Annual Report states, "Within [an] evolving 'strike hard' framework, public security agencies continued to launch frequent, small-scale anti-crime campaigns targeting particular regions or crimes." It also states, "The Chinese government's 'strike hard' anti-crime campaigns are evolving from periodic and intense national crackdowns into a lower intensity but permanent feature of the law enforcement landscape." In December 2005, the Communist Party Central Committee (CPCC) and State Council ordered stronger controls over society and called on officials to both prevent and promptly "strike" against crime. Politburo member Luo Gan spoke at a national conference on December 5 and 6, 2005, and called for a "harsh crackdown" on criminal activities, to create a sound social environment for implementing the 11th Five-Year Program and building a "harmonious society," according to a December 7 Xinhua article (via People's Daily). Supreme People's Court (SPC) President Xiao Yang later spoke at a meeting of provincial-level high court judges and demanded that court officials continue to uphold the "Strike Hard" policy, according to a January 5 Xinhua article (in Chinese). President Xiao's January 2006 message differed from the one he delivered at a mid-December 2004 meeting of high court judges, which reportedly instructed courts to strengthen rights protection and ensure that innocent people are not prosecuted in the course of efforts to fight crime and maintain social stability. In 2006, President Xiao more explicitly called for strengthening adjudication of criminal cases in order to safeguard public order, according to the January 5 Xinhua article. The new "public order" language brings the SPC's policy goals more closely in line with those of the CPCC and State Council.

On January 19, the MPS reported a rise in public order disturbances in 2005, reflecting a general increase in social unrest in China. Despite increasing unrest, Party officials have emphasized the need to strengthen control over society, but continue to rule out significant political reform. For more information on Growing Social Unrest and the Chinese Leadership's Counterproductive Response, see the Introduction to the CECC's 2005 Annual Report.