Chongqing Evening News, August 18 2009

Yesterday there was news about a successful drunk driving clamp down; today's news is about a successful crackdown on criminal gangs.

According to official statistics, the crackdown on organized crime by the Chongqing police starting in June has resulted so far in 1,544 arrests of people suspected of gang ties. According to media reports, 57 of them are either gang bosses or senior members.

The Chongqing Evening News interviewed a local newspaper peddler, a woman named Cheng Guihua, who told the paper that she felt much safer now than before. Chen stated that starting on January last year, her newsstand had been visited by some unemployed young men, who would demanded some "cigarette money" from her.

Since the extortion started, Chen has paid about one thousand yuan; she was too afraid to report them. However, Chen said she has not been bothered by them since April this year.

According to a statistics cited by the report, from January to July the Chongqing police have solved 13,867 crimes, including 303 homicide cases. The number exceeds the total amount of crimes solved by the police in the five previous years.

It is also reported that citizens had been very active in reporting crimes, providing over 7,700 leads to the police. Over 80% of citizens chose to use their real identity when providing such information, which, according to the report, reflects their confidence in the police.

At present, Chongqing's crime incidence is at a five year low, and is lower than Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, China's other three provincial-level municipalities.

At the end of the report is a Xinhua editorial reflecting on why so many of the busted crime bosses were able to insert themselves into the local political scene: Some of them were members of People's Congress or CPPCC of various levels.

"Black power is not only expanding to different economic sectors, it is also trying to infiltrate into politics, damaging the image of the Party and the country. To prevent gang bosses becoming people's representatives, all members must be screened strictly and people's right to information, participation and supervision must be guaranteed."