China begins intense nationwide crackdown against organized crime

A year-long campaign against organized crime has been launched nationwide, with a focus on cracking down on offenses perpetrated through online platforms and by means of "soft violence", in order to build a safe, socially stable China, according to a senior official.

"Soft violence" often refers to organized, non-physical means of oppression — including stalking, verbal intimidation, and nuisance-making — aimed at forcing compliance through fear and disruption.

Chen Wenqing, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, emphasized the significance of the campaign at a recent meeting against organized crimes via video link.

Also head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, Chen underscored the need to ensure that no genuine cases of organized crime are overlooked, while avoiding the misidentification of non-criminal matters.

At the meeting, he affirmed the progress made in the national crackdown on organized crime since the 20th National Congress of the CPC in 2022, requiring deeper research into the forms and characteristics of such illegal activities under the new circumstances.

He called for maintaining a high-pressure posture of deterrence and striking with full force to address problems that have drawn strong public resentment, with intensified efforts to rectify and regulate malpractice in industries that breed such crimes, so that the people's sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security will be more substantial, better guaranteed, and more sustainable.

Chen also stressed stronger coordination between disciplinary and judicial efforts, a resolve to turn the blade inward in self-supervision, and an unwavering commitment to uproot the "protective umbrellas" that shield criminal gangs.

Additionally, measures of punishment and prevention should go hand in hand, with intensified force to carry out rectification and risk-prevention moves in key industries and regions, so as to eradicate the breeding grounds for organized crime, he added.