Local authorities told to be vigilant against organized crime

A leading official in charge of political and legal affairs has required local authorities to stay vigilant against gang-related crimes and take more concrete measures such as opening more direct reporting lines to receive public reports.

"A three-year national campaign targeting organized crime has achieved an overwhelming victory, but the fight against such crimes is always ongoing," said Chen Yixin, secretary-general of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the national office against organized crimes.

Chen said organized crime still exists in some regions and industries, with some gang forces temporarily hibernating to escape capture, and the soil that breeds such crimes has yet to be eradicated, according to a media briefing released on Friday.

"The struggle against organized crime is long-term, complicated and arduous work, and it's impossible to achieve the overall victory in a single battle," Chen said. "We must fight such crimes whenever they emerge and when they're still in the early stage."

Political and legal affairs authorities across the country should go through all related evidence by the end of September, to ensure each gets proper handling, he said.

The hotline for the national office, 12337, should also be established at provincial and city levels to help the public offer tips, he added.

The national office will dispatch inspection teams to cities with a large number of tips and a comparatively low public sense of security, according to Chen.

Special attention will be paid to street crimes such as provocation and affray, as well as crimes that receive high public attention such as child abduction, fraud targeting elderly people, gambling, drugs, robbery and crimes related to food, medicines and the environment, he said.

Continuous efforts should be made to capture suspects who are on the run, even if they've gone overseas. Key cases should be reviewed again to ensure no fish escapes from the net.

Those who shelter gangs or get involved in corruption in related cases must be dug out and brought to justice, according to Chen.

He also called for stronger promotion of the Anti-Organized Crime Law, which came into effect on May 1, to raise public awareness and form a sound legal environment.

Fighting organized crime became a topical issue among the public recently after a violent case in which four women were beaten by several men in Tangshan, Hebei province, sparking suspicion that there might be gang crimes involved.

Local authorities said on Tuesday that some of the nine suspects in the case are likely to be involved in other crimes such as gambling and money laundering. But whether they are associated with organized crime needs to be further probed, according to the police.