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Read in Chinese

Speakers: 

Mr. Wang Zhizhong, vice minister of public security

Mr. Yang Xin, director of the Research Office of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS)

Mr. Qiu Baoli, director general of the Bureau of Public Security Management of the MPS

Mr. Li Jiantao, director general of the Bureau of Food and Drug Crime Investigation of the MPS 

Chairperson:

Mr. Chen Wenjun, director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO

Date:

Oct. 24, 2023

Chen Wenjun:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). This is the 27th briefing in the series "Embarking on the New Journey — A Government Perspective." Today, we have invited Mr. Wang Zhizhong, vice minister of public security, to brief you on the topic of "safeguarding public safety to ensure high-quality development," and take your questions. Also joining us today are Mr. Yang Xin, director of the Research Office of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS); Mr. Qiu Baoli, director general of the Bureau of Public Security Management of the MPS; and Mr. Li Jiantao, director general of the Bureau of Food and Drug Crime Investigation of the MPS.

Now, I will give the floor to Mr. Wang Zhizhong.

Wang Zhizhong:

Thank you, Mr. Chen. Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good morning. I would like to express my gratitude for your interest in and support for the work concerning public security. I will now brief you on the related progress we have made.

Since the beginning of this year, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the public security system across the nation has focused closely on the main task of implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and striving for the modernization of public security work. It has worked to both pursue development and safeguard security and adhered to a holistic approach to national security. It has also adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, and spared no effort to prevent risks, safeguard security, ensure stability and foster growth. As a result, a safe and stable political and social environment has been created, setting the stage for the building of a modern socialist country in all respects.

First, the MPS has comprehensively strengthened absolute Party leadership over the public security work. The MPS has arranged training sessions on the public security system across the country to study and implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and develop a strong sense of loyalty. In accordance with the general requirement of "grasping guiding principles, enhancing Party consciousness, emphasizing practices and making new progress," the MPS has taken a holistic approach to advance theoretical study, carry out investigation and research, promote development, conduct inspections and rectifications, and introduce regulations. It has also delivered more substantial and concrete outcomes from the theoretical study programs on implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The MPS has strictly implemented the "top agenda" system which prioritizes the study of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important remarks and instructions, and put into practice regulations such as the system for requesting instructions and submitting reports, in a bid to ensure unimpeded implementation of policies and decisions. The MPS has formulated a five-year plan for the inspection arrangements of its Party committee, improved its system of political inspection and investigation, and ensured absolute Party leadership over every aspect and process in the public security work.

Second, the MPS has resolutely safeguarded the country's political security. It has made coordinated efforts in operations against infiltration, subversion and cults, while carrying out related online operations, in a bid to resolutely safeguard the security of China's state power, systems and ideology. The MPS has also launched fights against terrorism and separatism in accordance with the law, continuously advanced management efforts at the source, and strengthened international counter-terrorism cooperation. As a result, the country has seen growing momentum in countering terrorism and separatism. 

Third, the MPS has spared no effort to maintain social stability. The MPS launched a campaign in the summer to ensure public safety, and has taken legal actions to crack down on criminal activities that are of greatest concern to the public, such as those involving guns, explosives, pornography, gambling, drugs, food, medicine, the environment, theft, robbery and fraud. The MPS has carried out campaigns to combat and root out organized crime in a regular manner, with 1,169 mafia-like organizations and criminal groups broken up and 11,381 suspects arrested. The MPS has cracked down on telecom and cyber fraud, with 689,000 cases handled. It has also resolutely combated and curbed serious violent crime, and the homicide clearance rate has remained at 99.9%. In addition, the MPS has been fighting cybercrime in accordance with the law, handled 55,000 related cases, and created a safe and clean cyberspace. From January to September, the number of public security cases and criminal cases nationwide saw year-on-year decreases of 1.9% and 1.2%, respectively.

Fourth, the MPS has strengthened public security management in an all-round manner. The MPS has launched a campaign to create demonstration cities for crime prevention and control systems, and continued to enhance the safety and strengthen risk prevention efforts on transportation routes such as railway lines, civil airlines, maritime transport, subway lines and bus routes. The MPS has further carried out a special program targeting transport accidents, reducing the number of deaths while preventing and controlling the number of severe accidents. As a result, the number of road accidents and fatalities fell by 9.8% and 21.7% year on year, respectively, and there have been no major accidents for 45 consecutive months.

Fifth, we have stepped up efforts to ensure high-quality economic and social development. Taking the building of a high-standard socialist market economy as our priority, we have committed to cracking down on all kinds of economic crimes. We investigated 114,000 cases of economic crimes from January to September, with 18.37 billion yuan of economic losses being recovered. We have also advanced "National Sword" actions to investigate more than 4,600 smuggling cases, with a total value of 112.99 billion yuan being involved. In the effort to build a beautiful China, we investigated 53,000 criminal cases concerning environmental and resource protection, with more than 4,800 cases related to illegally occupying farmland. In order to better serve major strategies of the Party and the country, we also formulated a series of measures to ensure high-quality development and put in place a batch of new policies to better serve the public and enterprises, benefiting hundreds of millions of people. Over 20 billion yuan has been saved for individuals and enterprises in terms of traffic management thanks to such convenient measures. Moreover, the MPS continued to implement the Internet Plus Government Services initiative, ensuring that 58.2% of matters can be dealt with in person without the need for a second trip, while 36.9% can be totally resolved online. 

Sixth, we have advanced the building of a public security team with ironclad conviction, commitment, competence, and discipline. We have stepped up efforts to implement the strategy of strengthening the police force through reform and advanced development of grassroots infrastructure. Moreover, we accelerated the building of an smart public security system and advanced a three-year action plan to strengthen the police force through technology so as to significantly improve the efficiency of the public security organs. We also strengthened management of our team, and made consistent and sustained efforts in improving its conduct. Stepped-up efforts have been made to intensify supervision and discipline enforcement, and education and rectification campaigns have been carried out among officials in a coordinated manner. We intensified police force training under combat conditions on a regular basis, and implemented various supporting measures to improve cohesiveness and morale of the police team. 

Moreover, the MPS has implemented the important instructions made by General Secretary Xi Jinping, including the guiding principles of promoting well-coordinated environmental conservation and avoiding excessive development, and further promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt to better support and serve Chinese modernization. As such, I'd like to share with you the positive results we have achieved to crack down on illegal fishing and sand mining in the Yangtze River basin. The MPS set up a leading group for the well-coordinated protection of the Yangtze River, and launched a three-year campaign in 2020 to crack down on illegal fishing crimes in the Yangtze River basin and to ensure a peaceful Yangtze River. We have dealt with over 20,000 criminal cases related to illegal fishing and seized more than 900,000kg of catches and over 3,500 vessels. By doing so, a healthy trend is gathering steam in the recovery of aquatic biological resources in the Yangtze River. We also further advanced the special campaign to crack down on illegal sand mining in the Yangtze River and improved the sand mining management cooperation mechanism in the river, which has effectively curbed large-scale illegal sand mining crimes.  

Going forward, the public security organs across the nation will follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress. We will remain true to our original aspiration and founding mission, have the courage to take on responsibilities, and work hard to promote the modernization of work related to public security. We will step up efforts to advance the Peaceful China Initiative and build the rule of law in China so as to safeguard China's new development pattern with a new security architecture and ensure high-quality development with a high level of security.

That's all for my introduction. Thank you.

Chen Wenjun:

Thank you. The floor is now open for questions. Please identify the media outlet you represent before asking your questions.

Cover News:

In August, the MPS issued several measures for the public security organs to ensure high-quality development. There are 26 specific items, involving public security, household administration, and entry and exit services. What progress has been made in the implementation of these measures over the past two months? Thank you.

Yang Xin:

Thank you for your attention to our work. Since the release of the 26 measures in August for public security organs to ensure high-quality development, the MPS has organized public security organs across the nation to refine and implement these measures in an effective and orderly manner. So far, 23 out of the 26 measures have been put in place, and the remaining three are steadily progressing. Some of the measures achieved initial success as soon as they were adopted, while others have developed into detailed and effective institutional arrangements. 

First, we have made more efforts to increase institutional supply to better serve the major strategies of the Party and the country. Localities have been urged to further lower requirements for permanent residency registration, improve the points-based household registration system, and explore a unified household registration admission system for city clusters. By doing so, we have sped up work on granting permanent urban residency to people originally from rural areas and help them better integrate into new environments. Based on actual needs, we have issued port visas and multiple entry visas to foreign persons who came to China for business and trade talks, exchanges and visits, investment and start-ups, among other activities. 

Second, we have further streamlined administration, simplified procedures, and increased efficiency to better serve the public and start-ups. We have advanced public security administrative services, such as one-stop field services, one-stop online services, and inter-provincial services. Procedures related to the processing of driver's licenses and passport documents have been managed using a unified national system, based on which all types of household registration transfers can be handled in non-native places among 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. Since August, more than 500,000 transfers have been delivered on an inter-provincial basis. A WeChat mini-program named "Ping'an Chuhai" (literally, safe voyage) was put into use, making work and life of over 9 million seafarers more convenient.

Third, we have refined public security and traffic management services to better meet people’s transport needs. Measures have been launched to offer improved services, such as easier access to license and certificate applications, simplified vehicle registration and transactions, better management of bus lanes in cities, time-limited parking spaces, and the fast handling of minor traffic accidents via online videos. More than 10 million people have enjoyed these services since August. Among them, 1.2 million people took improved motorcycle examinations, 280,000 new vehicles from 33 automobile manufacturers were tested in 36 cities, and 205,000 minor traffic accidents in 116 pilot cities were dealt with in a faster way via videos. Meanwhile, we have attached importance to the construction of institutions and mechanisms, introducing specifications for public security departments to receive and file cases in a more standard way and to efficiently deal with complaints from the enterprise's reporting platform.

Next, public security departments will continue to ensure coordination between security and development, vitality and order, as well as service and supervision. We will make concrete efforts to fulfill the major political responsibility of advancing and ensuring high-quality development through better services. Striving for new efforts, new undertakings, and new achievements, the public security departments will continue to contribute to serving and ensuring high-quality development and sustaining the miracles of fast economic growth and long-term social stability. Thank you.

Nanfang Metropolis Daily:

The recently concluded summer crackdown campaign by the public security departments has indeed garnered significant attention. Can you give an introduction as to its achievements? Will this summer campaign become regular in the future? Thank you.

Qiu Baoli:

I'll take your questions. From June 25 to Sept. 30 this year, the MPS organized a nationwide summer campaign to crack down on illegal and criminal activities of all types and deal with outstanding problems concerning social security. This action, referred to as the "summer campaign," was implemented by all public security forces across the country. All policemen nationwide were dispatched to work on the campaign, taking regular patterns and characteristics of cases often found in summer into consideration. Our primary targets have been outstanding criminal activities and places with serious public security problems. We have concentrated on "two unifications, large campaigns, thorough investigation, and dynamic zeros," which refers to the unification of crackdowns on major cases, unification in public security inspection and publicizing activities during summer nights, promoting large campaigns in accordance with local conditions, thoroughly investigating all individuals and items that need to be investigated, and achieving dynamic zero risks and hidden dangers. By implementing these comprehensive measures, we have made remarkable progress. During the campaign, the ministry successively deployed three cluster battles, three rounds of centralized and unified inspections and publicizing activities during summer nights, and seven large regional campaigns. All police forces nationwide were coordinated to promote the actions in a comprehensive way. Consequently, more than 566,000 criminal cases were uncovered, 2.042 million cases of public security offenses were tackled, and 975,000 suspects were captured in the campaign. We also resolved 2.846 million disputes and eliminated 865,000 hidden dangers. Reported crimes and public security offenses received by the 110 hotline fell by 13.8% and 5.2%, respectively, achieving our expectations.

In the next step, the MPS will summarize and consolidate the valid practices gathered from last year and this year’s summer campaigns, further enhancing the analysis and research on the patterns, characteristics and situation of social security during summer, and always staying responsive to the call of the people. While cracking down hard on all kinds of illegal and criminal activities, we will also organize public security organs across the country to address prominent criminal behaviors and public security problems that seriously affect social stability and public peace, making every effort to safeguard the safety of people's lives and property, so as to ensure overall social stability. Thank you.

The Poster News APP:

Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. As a main force in safeguarding ecological security, what achievements have been made by public security departments in cracking down on environmental pollution crimes? This work requires coordination and cooperation between various departments and localities. What valuable practices and experiences can be shared with us? Thank you.

Li Jiantao:

I will answer your questions. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC has made major strategic deployments to promote green development and harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature while pursuing modernization. Public security departments have thoroughly learned and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and the Rule of Law, upheld the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,” adhered to the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law to protect the ecological environment, cracked down on all kinds of environmental pollution crimes in accordance with the law, and helped win the battle against pollution.

First, we have conducted special campaigns to crack down on crimes. We have organized the "Kunlun" operation for five consecutive years, with environmental pollution crime as the focus of the crackdown. From January to September this year, public security organs across China have filed and investigated more than 2,400 cases of environmental pollution crimes, representing a year-on-year increase of 19.7%.

Second, we have made great efforts in investigating key cases. We have tackled minor crimes at an early stage while simultaneously fighting major crimes, focusing on environmental pollution crimes that are severely harmful and despised by the public, and targeting the organizers, profiteers, and operators within the criminal chain. The MPS has supervised the handling of more than 70 major cases. A number of major cases, such as the inter-provincial disposal of waste lead batteries by 26 people led by Li in Wuqing district, Tianjin, and the inter-provincial disposal of aluminum ash via internet by 49 people led by Cai in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, have been successfully solved across the country.

Third, we have actively engaged in early-stage management. We integrated preventive and regulatory measures with actual crackdowns, and timely informed relevant administrative departments about the hidden problems, discovered while investigating cases, such as the illegal dumping of hazardous waste using oil field facilities, and the unlawful transfer and disposal of specific types of hazardous waste across provinces, thus to work in collaboration to address problems at the source.

Given the often cross-regional and cross-departmental characteristics of environmental pollution crimes, public security organs have vigorously strengthened coordination and cooperation mechanisms to promote collaborative governance. In terms of enhancing inter-departmental cooperation, we have worked with relevant departments to improve interaction between administrative law enforcement and criminal law enforcement, continuously organized special actions to crack down on environmental violations and crimes involving hazardous waste, and conducted cross-departmental special rectification on fraud crimes by third-party environmental protection service agencies, to generate synergy and work together. Regarding cooperation among regions, we have guided regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, Yangtze River Delta, Yellow River Basin, and Chengdu-Chongqing area to establish and improve cross-regional and cross-basin police cooperation mechanisms and have solved a number of cross-provincial cases such as the illegal disposal of oily mud led by Wu in Yongchuan District of Chongqing.

A sound ecological environment is a universal wellbeing. In the next phase, the public security organs will thoroughly learn and implement the guiding principles of the Party's 20th National Congress, shoulder political responsibilities, innovate thinking and ideas, crack down and maintain high pressure on crimes of environmental pollution, and introduce hard measures to offer legal guarantee for building a beautiful China. Thank you.

The Paper:

With the rapid development of the internet, we've noted that telecom and cyber fraud has become more rampant, and the general crime situation is still grave and shows new changes and characteristics. My question is, what measures have public security organs taken in anti-fraud, especially in cracking down on telecom and cyber fraud this year, and what achievements have been made? Thank you.

Wang Zhizhong:

It's a good question. Let me respond. Indeed, the current situation of telecom and cyber fraud remains challenging. The Party committee of the MPS has placed emphasis on curbing, implemented the decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and organized public security organs to grasp the new characteristics and patterns of telecom and cyber fraud. We've undertaken specific research, formed special teams, tackled specific cases, and leveraged technologies. We have strengthened internal synergy and fostered external synergy to strengthen crackdown, prevention, and control measures and taken management work to new heights. Since August this year, the number of telecom and cyber fraud cases and the property losses caused by fraud have dropped by 24% and 20.5%, respectively, year on year.  

First, we've stuck to cracking down on the fraud. Following the unified deployment of the MPS, public security organs across China have strengthened the crackdown and launched a number of special campaigns, including those to hunt fugitives via cloud services and platforms, freeze the SIM cards and bank accounts used by suspects, intercept domestic recruitment by criminal groups operating from abroad, and pursue the heads and key members of criminal groups. By the end of September this year, we had arrested a total of 387 heads and key members of telecom and online fraud groups, hitting hard at the egregious deeds of fraudsters, jointly handled a batch of major cases with the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and exposed a series of typical cases, forming a powerful deterrence. We organized regional combats, specific case strikes, and clustered combats domestically, enhanced cooperation with all departments to beat the criminal deeds related to the promotion of criminal groups, money laundering, and technological development, cut off key chains of crimes and deterred the rampant situation of telecom and online fraud crimes.

Second, we have enhanced preventive and protective measures. Efforts on crime prevention should be initiated at earlier stages by various measures to guard against being deceived to the greatest extent. We have guided public security organs to establish graded and classified early warning and dissuasion mechanisms and promoted the implementation of the "Xiamen experience" across the nation. Since the beginning of this year, we have sent 310 million alarm instructions to localities, and local public security organs have sent 130 million alarm messages to mobile phone users. Together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, we've established an auto-system that can send dissuasion messages after the user receives suspected fraud calls, with a total of 640 million reminder messages already sent. Through cooperation with the Cyberspace Administration of China, we've set up and promoted an app entitled National Anti-fraud Center, with 15.785 million warning instructions already sent.

Third, we have held anti-fraud publicity campaigns. Together with the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, we launched a month-long anti-fraud publicity campaign themed "Never Neglect Precaution and Dissuasion Words and Pay High Attention to Property Safety." During the event, the National Anti-fraud Center released the 2023 edition of the telecom and cyber fraud precaution brochure. We also united with relevant departments to supervise financial institutions, teleservice operators, internet service providers to carry out anti-fraud campaigns targeting employees and clients, jointly hold a national senior citizen anti-fraud knowledge competition with the China National Committee on Ageing, launched anti-fraud publicity campaigns in schools in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, and screened anti-fraud films in rural areas and primary and middle schools through cooperation with the China Film Group Corporation so as to enhance public participation.

That's all. Thank you.

CCTV:

Recently, General Secretary Xi Jinping chaired a symposium on further promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze Economic Belt, stressing that the "10-year fishing ban" on the Yangtze River should firmly be implemented, and the achievements already made be consolidated. What specific measures will be adopted by public security organs to consolidate the gains made in cracking down on illegal fishing in the Yangtze River basin? Thank you.

Qiu Baoli:

Let me answer this question. The MPS will fully implement the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech at the symposium on further promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze Economic Belt, stay true to the Party's founding mission, boldly take on responsibilities, and concentrate on the central task of economic development, serving the overall interests of the country. We will give full play to the functions and advantages of public security organs, and keep up the pressure against illegal fishing in the Yangtze River so as to effectively protect aquatic biosecurity in the Yangtze River, strive for a peaceful Yangtze River and safeguard the high-quality development of the Yangtze Economic Belt.

Firstly, the work will be advanced on a regular basis. During the 10-year fishing ban period, the MPS will organize a special campaign called "Peaceful Yangtze River," focusing on combating illegal fishing and criminal activities in the Yangtze River annually, continue to take stronger combat, prevention, management, control, and construction measures, and firmly prevent illegal fishing activities from re-emerging once dealt with. At the same time, the MPS will keep the regular operation of its special work group for well-coordinated protection of the Yangtze River and ensure that its mechanism, standards, and efforts will be maintained.

Secondly, long-term mechanisms will be consolidated. We will improve the police cooperation mechanism in the Yangtze River basin, actively advance the application of information and smart technologies of the water policing in the Yangtze River basin, and strengthen the dispatch, grasp, comprehensive analysis, and unified command when cracking down on prominent illegal and criminal activities. We will continue to advance law enforcement cooperation mechanisms with departments of agriculture and rural affairs and others and improve information sharing and resource integration so as to foster stronger synergies effectively.

Third, coordinated governance will be advanced. In response to the loopholes in regulation over the sector found in work, we will advance relevant departments to strengthen comprehensive regulations and continue to ramp up regulatory measures at the source to combat the illegal production and sale of fishing nets and gear and the illegal trade of fishing catches. At the same time, we will work with the departments of agriculture and rural affairs to introduce documents to standardize law enforcement and guide localities in a scientific manner to give equal emphasis to education and punishment, ensuring that law enforcement is effective. Thank you!

People.cn:

Recently, a proposed list of the third batch of national "Fengqiao-style police stations" was released to the public. Can you talk about that in detail? In addition, can you talk about how the public security organs will carry forward the "Fengqiao experience," and how will they innovate and develop the "Fengqiao experience"? Thank you.

Qiu Baoli:

I will answer this question. The "Fengqiao model" was originally developed at the community level by public security organs. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress categorically stated that we should apply and further develop the "Fengqiao model" for promoting community-level governance in the new era. The Party Committee of the MPS has always taken the application and development of the "Fengqiao model" as a crucial task, organized police stations nationwide to be committed to combining concrete work with the mass line, adopted proactive and preventive policing, and made efforts to prevent and defuse various problems and risks, effectively maintaining social harmony and stability. We have mainly adopted three measures. 

Firstly, we have launched campaigns to build "Fengqiao-style police stations" on a regular basis. Since 2019, the MPS has nominated a batch of 100 "Fengqiao-style police stations" every two years. In November this year, the third batch of police stations will be selected and nominated. Currently, public security organs at ministerial and provincial levels have nominated 1,313 "Fengqiao-style police stations," which has yielded good results in the building of 1,000 demonstration police stations and making improvements to 10,000 police stations and has led police stations to work on and deliver solid progress in sorting out and diffusing problems and adding more substance to the mass line. About 6 million cases of social problems and disputes have been addressed annually, and the number of cases that developed into criminal cases from civil cases triggered by problems and disputes has fallen over four consecutive years.

Second, we have implemented the "Police Officers Visit Households" campaign in police stations nationwide, which involves visiting households, addressing people's concerns, resolving conflicts, and preventing risks. On average, we have visited over 52 million households of various types each year and handled more than 12 million requests for assistance from the public.

Third, we have organized the "Five Prevention" community outreach campaign, which involves in-depth engagement with the local communities to promote awareness and the prevention of theft, fraud, drug abuse, conflicts and disputes, and public security incidents. As a result, the number of criminal and public security cases nationwide reported to the 110 emergency hotline has been declining, achieving a favorable situation of joint efforts between the police and the public in creating a safe and secure environment.

Next, the national public security organs will apply and develop the "Fengqiao model" in the new era, further deepen the establishment of "Fengqiao-style police stations," and promote governance with laws and regulations, systematic and comprehensive measures, and an emphasis on addressing problems at the source. We will strive to resolve conflicts and disputes in a timely manner at the community level and nip them in the bud, actively advancing social harmony and stability. Thank you.

China News Service:

Drug safety is closely related to the daily lives and physical health of the general public, and it has consistently received extensive attention from various sectors of society. Could you please share the achievements made and measures taken by the public security organs in combating drug-related crimes?

Li Jiantao:

I will brief this question. Since the 20th CPC National Congress, the public security organs have focused on combating prominent drug-related criminal activities that have been strongly reported by the general public. We have taken decisive actions, striking hard and swiftly, and maintained a high-pressure crackdown to effectively ensure the safety of medication for the people.

First, target actions have been taken. We have extensively organized the "Kunlun" targeted action to strike drug-related crimes. In response to prominent issues concerning drug safety, we have deployed targeted actions in accordance with the law to vigorously crack down on the manufacturing and selling of counterfeit and substandard drugs. In collaboration with 11 departments, including the State Administration for Market Regulation, we have taken targeted actions to address outstanding issues in the medical aesthetics industry. From January to September this year, public security organs have successfully solved over 4,600 drug-related criminal cases.

Second, efforts have been made to strengthen breakthroughs in solving cases. In 2023, the MPS has listed 55 major drug-related cases for special supervision. In collaboration with the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the National Medical Products Administration, 10 cases have been jointly listed for special supervision. We have adopted a comprehensive approach to combat cross-regional drug-related crimes online, targeting "all aspects, all elements, and the entire chain" with a resolute determination to dismantle criminal networks. Localities have successfully solved a series of major cases, including the Yibin, Sichuan, "Feb. 25" case, involving the production and sale of counterfeit traditional Chinese medicine containing chemical powder, the Guangdong "Mar. 15" case involving the production and sale of counterfeit Angong Niuhuang Wan, the Chongqing case involving the production and sale of counterfeit botulinum toxin by Sheng and others, and the Shanghai "Aug. 29" case involving the illegal production and sale of counterfeit anticancer drugs.

Third, the interdepartmental collaboration has been deepened. We have cooperated with the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate to revise and issue the "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases Endangering Drug Safety." This has provided a more powerful legal weapon for the strict enforcement of drug-related crimes. In conjunction with the National Medical Products Administration and other departments, we have formulated and implemented the "Administrative Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Coordination Measures for Drug-related Offenses," further improving the coordination mechanism between administrative and criminal enforcement in the field of pharmaceuticals and enhancing joint efforts to combat and rectify such offenses.

With the continuous intensification of crackdown and governance, the overall situation of drug safety in our country has improved and remained stable. However, influenced by various factors, there are still numerous negative factors that breed drug-related crimes, especially the prominent issues of illegal production and sale of drugs in black workshops and dens. In the next step, the public security organs will always adhere to the principle of putting the people first, focus on prominent issues in the pharmaceutical field, and carry out targeted actions to crack down and rectify in-depth in collaboration with relevant departments, ensuring drug safety. At the same time, efforts will be made to increase the exposure of cases and promote legal awareness, guiding the general public to enhance their ability to identify counterfeit and substandard drugs. Here, I would like to once again urge everyone to obtain drugs through legal and compliant channels. Do not easily believe in so-called "miracle drugs" or "elixirs" that claim to cure all diseases but lack proper registration and approval. If you discover any clues of illegal activities, please actively report them to public security organs and relevant departments. Thank you!

Phoenix TV:

My questions are about food safety crimes. We've seen repeat occurrences of food safety crimes in recent years. How does the MPS view the offenses? What measures has the ministry taken to fight against them? Thank you. 

Li Jiantao:

I'll answer these questions. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress includes a section on food safety being added into the public safety system and emphasizes tightening supervision over food and drug safety. The public security authorities, after thoroughly studying the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, have acted on them and adopted a series of strict measures to crack down on and rectify food contamination, aiming to resolutely ensure that people's every bite of food is safe. 

First, we have stuck to a strict fighting approach in alignment with the law and carried out in-depth, transparent, and targeted campaigns. The MPS has deployed public security organs across the country to conduct the "Kunlun 2023" special operation to take down crimes in the areas of food and medicine safety. Efforts have been pooled to deal with high-profile crimes regarding the excessive use of additives and illicit addition of toxic or harmful non-edible substances to food. We have cracked down on more than 5,300 criminal cases involving illegal additions to internet-famous food, abuse of clenbuterol, and the production and sale of fake beef and mutton, arresting over 6,300 criminal suspects.

Second, we have always taken proactive actions and constantly enhanced our crime-battling capabilities. To address the issue of numerous hard-to-find and hidden food-related cases, we have mobilized more than 500 food and drug rapid testing laboratories nationwide built under public security organs to proactively sample and test food products with a high incidence of issues, timely identifying a number of issue-related clues. Currently, the self-discovery rate of case leads stands at 60%. In response to growing food-related crimes on the internet, we have intensified online inspections, conducted cross-regional coordinated operations, and sundered a number of online crime chains. Facing the problem of changing criminal forms of illicit addition, we have cooperated with scientific research institutions to tackle technological challenges and joined departments involved to develop testing standards and methods, rendering the battle more effective and efficient. 

Third, we have been committed to collaborative governance and contributed to improving the overall management of food safety. In fulfilling our crime-fighting responsibilities, we have collaborated with relevant departments to shift post-incident handling to incident prevention in food safety regulation. A coordinated mechanism with administrative authorities has been set up to proactively report major food safety issues and jointly address the hidden risks. We have conducted in-depth field trips and visits for the benefit of the public and enterprises, carefully heeded their views and suggestions, and encouraged the public to report food safety offenses. We have also strengthened the publicity of typical cases, timely issued risk warnings, and fostered a positive public opinion environment.

At present, China's food safety has achieved stable and positive performance. However, driven by economic interests and other factors, food-related crimes remain frequent and recurrent, making combating them a daunting task. Going forward, the public security organs will fully implement the "four most stringent" requirements (most rigorous standards, strictest supervision, most severe punishment, most serious accountability), focus on the public's concerns regarding food safety, and continue to crack down on related crimes with a zero-tolerance approach. By doing this, we aim to upgrade food safety regulations and ensure that the public can eat safer and healthier food with greater reassurance.

Thank you!

Chen Wenjun:

The last two questions, please.

Beijing Radio & Television Station:

We have noticed that in terms of public security reform, the concept of public security organs at the city level being mainly responsible for combating problems and police stations at the county level working on prevention is gaining increasing traction. Could you give a detailed explanation of this approach as well as the experiences and achievements obtained so far? Thank you.

Yang Xin:

I'll answer this question. In August 2022, the MPS held a meeting to advance comprehensive public security reform. It underscored how we should follow the principles of Party committees exercising leadership, ministerial-level authorities heading the overall work, provincial-level departments taking the major responsibility, city and county-level organs in charge of combating, and police stations responsible for prevention, and focusing on expediting the institutional reform that can adapt to, align with, and complement that in the police force. The goal is to promote system integration, seamless synergy, and efficient coordination in varied police security reforms, thus driving the high-quality development of police security work. Following the MPS's deployments and requirements, the public security organs across the country have regarded combat capability as the criterion, acted on the demands under combat conditions, honed professionalism, and advanced flat management. They have actively facilitated the reform of streamlining departments and police categories in the public security organs at the city and county levels and improved the integrated mechanism of "intelligence-command-action." Additionally, they have deepened the reform of establishing one comprehensive command room and two teams of police officers working in the communities and as law enforcers and promoted the full coverage of one police officer responsible for one village (grid). For example, public security organs in Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, and other regions have made valuable explorations in accordance with the principles of provincial-level departments taking the major responsibility, city and county-level organs being in charge of combating, and police stations being responsible for prevention. It also emphasizes the improvement of the organizations, police categories, grassroots structures, and foundations. They have made notable progress in such areas as optimizing responsibilities, improving police force operational mechanisms, and channeling police resources toward lower levels. 

Next, the MPS will continue to advance police reform, promote grassroots infrastructure development, and persistently implement policies and measures that prioritize the grassroots level. These efforts are geared towards effectively bolstering the capabilities of grassroots units, stimulating vitality at the grassroots level, and enhancing their combat capabilities.

That's a brief overview. Thank you.

Hong Kong Bauhinia Magazine:

Strengthening intellectual property rights protection is an inherent requirement for promoting the development of an innovative nation and driving high-quality growth. May I ask what measures public security authorities have taken to enhance the protection of intellectual property rights? Thank you.

Wang Zhizhong:

I will answer this question. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress has made significant arrangements regarding "strengthening the rule of law protection for intellectual property rights and establishing a fundamental institutional framework to support comprehensive innovation." The MPS has provided guidance to all public security organs nationwide to further enhance their sense of responsibility, vigorously crack down on infringement and counterfeiting crimes in accordance with the law, effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the masses and enterprises, and promote the construction of an innovative country while providing high-quality development services.

First, we carried out special operations. We have deepened the "Kunlun" special operation, focusing on driving innovation and intensifying efforts to combat various intellectual property crimes, including infringement of technological innovation achievements. From January to September this year, public security organs successfully investigated and cracked down on 28,000 cases of intellectual property infringement and the production and sale of counterfeit goods, effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and enterprises, and protecting and enhancing the ecosystem of technological innovation.

Second, we protect according to the law and ensure equality. Adhering to the rule of law fosters the best business environment, and we uphold a property protection system based on the principle of fairness. We provide equal protection under the law for the legitimate intellectual property rights of various market entities, including state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, domestic and foreign enterprises, and enterprises of different sizes - large, medium, and small. We have continuously investigated and resolved several criminal cases related to intellectual property rights, contributing to the establishment of a market-oriented, law-based, and international business environment. In response to these efforts, foreign institutions in China, multinational corporations, and private enterprises have expressed their gratitude through letters to public security organs. During the fourth and fifth Summits on Rule of Law Construction in the Private Economy, public security organs executed the "Kunlun" special operation to combat infringement and counterfeiting crimes in accordance with the law. This initiative was subsequently recognized as one of the "Top 10 Events" for strengthening the development of the rule of law within the private economy in the new era, and also as one of the "Top 10 Escort Actions" for the development of the rule of law within the private economy in 2023.

Third, we are promoting the principles of collaboration, participation, and shared benefits. We have significantly strengthened our cooperation and coordination with relevant departments, reinforced the connection between law enforcement actions, and forming a collaborative force. We are continuously conducting research and engaging in activities under the theme of "benefiting the people and supporting enterprises" to understand and address prominent issues, establish channels for reporting clues, and actively respond to the concerns of the public and businesses. We are guiding Tianjin, Jiangsu, Sichuan, and other regions to explore the establishment of "Intellectual Property Mobile Police Stations," "Intellectual Property Protection Service Outposts," "Intellectual Property Cloud Police Offices," and other initiatives, aiming to promote the improvement of the social governance framework and safeguard the smooth operation, secure management, and sustainable development of enterprises.

Next, public security organs will thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, closely monitor various criminal activities that infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of market entities and consumers, continue to advance "Kunlun" operation and other special operations, and continuously increase efforts to combat intellectual property rights infringement crimes, effectively contributing to high-quality development. Thank you.

Chen Wenjun:

Thank you to all the speakers and friends from the media. Today's press conference is now concluded. Goodbye.

Translated and edited by Zhu Bochen, Wang Qian, Gong Yingchun, Li Xiao, Zhou Jing, Yuan Fang, Qin Qi, Liu Sitong, Mi Xingang, Yang Xi, Xu Kailin, Wang Yanfang, Wang Ziteng, Ma Yujia, Xu Xiaoxuan, Wang Yiming, Liu Caiyi, Li Huiru, David Ball, Tom Arnsten, and Jay Birbeck. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.