China mounts fight against gang crime

BEIJING -- China has issued four documents clarifying the legal definitions and handling of several types of gang crime in its latest efforts against gangs.

China has taken a tough stance against gangs. In January last year it began a three-year campaign against gangs and officials who shelter criminal organizations.

More than 79,000 suspects had been prosecuted as of March and trials are crucial at this stage of the campaign, said Chen Yixin, director of the leading group for pursuing a national crackdown on gang crime, at a news conference in Beijing Tuesday.

The documents, jointly issued Tuesday by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the ministries of public security and justice, feature catchy Chinese terms used by the public.

For example, one of the documents focuses on the legal elements of "Eshili," concluding it is a less severe type of criminal form and does not legally qualify as a criminal gang.

The standards of identifying such groups should be strictly observed, without narrowing or widening the scope, according to the document.

Criminal activities, such as gambling, drug trafficking and robbery, that were carried out solely for economic gain but did not oppress society, should not be treated as organized crime, said the document.

The other three documents provide detailed guidelines on handling fraudulent lending, non-violent oppressive acts and assets involved in such cases.

The details need to be clarified as they directly affect the immediate interests of the public, said a commentary published Wednesday by the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, hailing the publishing of the documents for targeting new problems and difficulties in judicial practices.