Protests halved in economic hub

The annual number of public protests in Guangdong province has dropped from a peak of more than 4,000 a year to 1,800 last year, with more than half related to labor disputes.

Due to improved capability in maintaining social stability in China's economic hub, the disputes have decreased by 4.6 percent, 8.9 percent and 3.5 percent year-on-year in the past three years, said Chen Shaobo, secretary-general of the committee of political and legislative affairs of Guangdong provincial Party committee, on Wednesday.

The peak of such conflicts happened about a decade ago, said Ying Limin, deputy director of the committee's research office.