With a large number of criminal offenders to be punished according to law, the worsening public security situation is expected to make a turn for the better.

Although some people still worry about a looming peak of crimes even after this campaign, senior judicial officers and experts hold a different view. They said that China will focus on addressing the deep-rooted problems that led to the rise of crimes during the said campaign, which will be more effective to curb the rising offenses.

The upcoming anti-crime drive initiated by President Jiang Tuesday was officially named "'strike hard' and rectification drive."

"The drive is not an expedient response to the recent series of explosions and other violent crimes, but a long-term endeavor to achieve the ultimate goal of improving China's public order situation in the future," said Xiao Yang, president of the Supreme People's Court.

The recent emergence of gang crimes and explosions are only " the tip of the iceberg," experts say.

According to official statistics, crimes registered by police for investigation last year rose by 50 percent over 1999. Gang crimes with Mafia features handled by courts across the country went up seven times, with many involving high-ranking Party and government officials. And the number of explosions increased by 2. 6 times over the past two decades.

"All signs have indicated that China is at its fourth crime peak since 1983 when the country's first 'strike hard' campaign was launched," said Wang Dawei, a researcher with the China Criminology Society. The last similar campaign was in 1996.

Based on the crime situation, this time the "strike hard" campaign will focus on three kinds of crimes: the gang crimes with Mafia features, violent felonies involving explosives, manslaughter, robbery and kidnapping; and thefts. Theft of motor vehicles and other property accounted for 65 percent of all the reported criminal offenses in 2000.

Law enforcement officials and experts said the government is adopting different approaches to deal with such criminal offenses listed above.

-- A campaign to "wipe out gangs and hooligans" has been underway since last December to deal with gangs with Mafia features, leading to the detention of over a dozen gang leaders and their members.

-- The police department is drafting new regulations on the control of explosives for civilian use. Dr. Wang Jianxin, an anti- explosion expert with the Chinese People's University of Public Security, said that a clear-cut regulatory method on the production and sale of explosives would have prevented most of the explosions in recent years.

-- Greater attention has been given to preventing theft. In this regard, anti-crime specialist Wang Dawei said that the prevention is of prime importance. He suggests that more effort be made to educate the public on safety measures.

However, those approaches are not directed at those "deep- rooted factors" that are behind the rising criminal offenses, Wang said.

The dramatic social change taking place in China is producing a growing disadvantaged population, he said, noting that this is likely to give rise to underground violent gangs engaging in illegal activities.

Some people whose vested interests have been affected over the years may resort to violent means to take revenge upon an individual or an institution, he explained.

Dealing with the social issue of a "disadvantaged population" will not be easy, just as in many other countries, including developed countries, Wang warned, but he pointed out that the Chinese government and academic circles have become fully aware of that.

The government promised in its new five-year plan promulgated in March to narrow the income gap and install a social security network to cover all its citizens. Research teams have been set up in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Qinghua University to focus on vulnerable people.

In fact, many judicial and administrative measures have also been introduced to effect a better public security environment:

-- The Supreme Court is mulling over rules to set up juvenile courts across the country to better protect, educate and reform minor perpetrators, as minors are becoming an ever-growing part of the country's offenders.

-- Central and local governments are investing more in remote mountainous areas to prevent farmers there from growing opium.

-- The Ministry of Justice is stepping up efforts to rectify prison management for effective reform of inmates and to reduce their recidivism rate.

With the improvement in the operational mechanism of society and tough crackdowns on crimes, China is highly probable to reverse its worsening crime situation in two years, said Wang, the anti-crime specialist.

(People's Daily 04/06/2001)