Deciphering sense of safety in China

China Plus Published: 2018-02-09 18:25:02
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Chinese authorities recently launched a new crackdown against organized crime, and against corrupt officials who provide shelter to criminal organizations. The crackdown is mainly targeting the problems of prostitution, gambling, drug trafficking, pyramid selling, and human trafficking. Authorities say that special attention should be paid to cases where wrongdoing is related to poverty reduction work.

Disciplinary agencies are required to punish any party members involved in gang crime.

China's government strives persistently to provide social stability and law and order as part of its efforts to improve people's wellbeing. But these are not easy things to achieve.[Photo: Xinhua]

China's government strives persistently to provide social stability and law and order as part of its efforts to improve people's wellbeing. But these are not easy things to achieve.[Photo: Xinhua]

China's government strives persistently to provide social stability and law and order as part of its efforts to improve people's wellbeing. But these are not easy things to achieve. China is a vast country with the largest population in the world. Due to rapid economic growth, its social structure has been changed in an unprecedented manner. New social stratum has emerged. And uncertainty triggered by the volatile situation in some of China's neighboring countries poses unique challenges to social governance.

Surveys show that the number of violent crimes in China fell by nearly 52 percent in 2017 compared to 2012, with more than 95 percent of respondents satisfied with the level of safety in society today. More and more people around the world consider China to be one of the safest countries, with 'social stability' and 'economic dynamism' frequently mentioned by people from other countries.

It was in the early 1950s that Chinese authorities began to realize that the public has an integral part to play in social governance, and that they can assist police in preventing criminal activity. This was an early form of the concept of community policing, an idea that would emerge in the West about 30 years later.

Over the last four decades, new social problems have emerged as a consequence of China's reform, in part because of dramatic changes to the social structure and accelerated human migration around the country. But China has strived to respond to these challenges, thanks to the participation of the overwhelming majority of people who believe that safeguarding security is a fundamental part of their responsibility as citizens.

From elderly ladies with red armbands patrolling residential communities since the 1980s to the young security volunteers providing tip-offs for the showbiz drug busts of recent years, the general public continues to serve as the solid foundation of China's social governance scheme. China's success could become a subject of case study for security officials from other countries.

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LU Xiankun Professor LU Xiankun is Managing Director of LEDECO Geneva and Associate Partner of IDEAS Centre Geneva. He is Emeritus Professor of China Institute for WTO Studies of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and Wuhan University (WHU) of China and visiting professor or senior research fellow of some other universities and think tanks in China and Europe. He also sits in management of some international business associations and companies, including as Senior Vice President of Shenzhen UEB Technology LTD., a leading e-commerce company of China. Previously, Mr. LU was senior official of Chinese Ministry of Commerce and senior diplomat posted in Europe, including in Geneva as Counsellor and Head of Division of the Permanent Mission of China to the WTO and in Brussels as Commercial Secretary of the Permanent Mission of China to the EU. Benjamin Cavender Benjamin Cavender is a Shanghai based consultant with more than 11 years of experience helping companies understand consumer behavior and develop go to market strategies for China. He is a frequent speaker on economic and consumer trends in China and is often featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Channel News Asia. Sara Hsu Sara Hsu is an associate professor from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She is a regular commentator on Chinese economy. Xu Qinduo Xu Qinduo is CRI's former chief correspondent to Washington DC, the United States. He works as the producer, host and commentator for TODAY, a flagship talk show on current affairs. Mr. Xu contributes regularly to English-language newspapers including Shenzhen Daily and Global Times as well as Chinese-language radio and TV services. Lin Shaowen A radio person, Mr. Lin Shaowen is strongly interested in international relations and Chinese politics. As China is quite often misunderstood in the rest of the world, he feels the need to better present the true picture of the country, the policies and meanings. So he talks a lot and is often seen debating. Then friends find a critical Lin Shaowen criticizing and criticized. George N. Tzogopoulos Dr George N. Tzogopoulos is an expert in media and politics/international relations as well as Chinese affairs. He is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre International de Européenne (CIFE) and Visiting Lecturer at the European Institute affiliated with it and is teaching international relations at the Department of Law of the Democritus University of Thrace. George is the author of two books: US Foreign Policy in the European Media: Framing the Rise and Fall of Neoconservatism (IB TAURIS) and The Greek Crisis in the Media: Stereotyping in the International Press (Ashgate) as well as the founder of chinaandgreece.com, an institutional partner of CRI Greek. David Morris David Morris is the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commissioner in China, a former Australian diplomat and senior political adviser. Harvey Dzodin After a distinguished career in the US government and American media Dr. Harvey Dzodin is now a Beijing-based freelance columnist for several media outlets. While living in Beijing, he has published over 200 columns with an emphasis on arts, culture and the Belt & Road initiative. He is also a sought-after speaker and advisor in China and abroad. He currently serves as Nonresident Research Fellow of the think tank Center for China and Globalization and Senior Advisor of Tsinghua University National Image Research Center specializing in city branding. Dr. Dzodin was a political appointee of President Jimmy Carter and served as lawyer to a presidential commission. Upon the nomination of the White House and the US State Department he served at the United Nations Office in Vienna, Austria. He was Director and Vice President of the ABC Television in New York for more than two decades.