Liu Han, alleged Mafia gang leader and former mining tycoon, bursts into tears during a court hearing in 2014. Photo: IC
China’s central law enforcement agencies will begin the second phase of their anti-gang campaign in the first half of this year, targeting organized crime in 21 provincial governments across the country.
Chen Yixin, general secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, announced the new initiative at a conference in Beijing. It starts in early April and lasts through early May and includes places like Tianjin Township, southern China’s Hainan Province, and northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, according to a post on the Chang’anjian public WeChat account, which is a member of the committee, on Thursday.
The third phase will begin in early June through early July and will include southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region and Shanghai and Beijing communities, Chang’anjian said.
This year’s campaign will target “shields” from gang crime, and authorities should verify that those who protect gangs were killed along with the gangsters, Chen said.
He also mentioned new types of gang crime like online lending and other cyber gang crimes. In these crimes, the authorities should carefully review the evidence and the application of the law, and ensure that each case is backed by solid evidence, Chen said.
Li Shaoping, vice chairman of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), said during this year’s two sessions that the SPC is trying to fill legal loopholes in dealing with organized crime.
The first phase of the gang crackdown began in July 2018. The person running the anti-gang unit is usually a ministerial official, Chang’anjian said.
Ten provinces participated in the first phase of the campaign, which ended in late December 2018. The operation grossed 4.94 billion yuan ($ 740 million) in criminal activity and eliminated 100 gangs.
Global times
Newspaper headline: Anti-gang campaign aimed at “shields”
