The Chinese government is stepping up measures to root out potential troublemakers and suppress social discontent, after a spate of mass killings has shaken the country and stirred fears about public safety.
Armed police have been stationed outside of schools, with bollards erected nearby to prevent cars from ramming into people. Police officers have increased patrols in supermarkets, tourist attractions and other crowded places, and pledged to better regulate knives and other weapons. Officials have also promised to help the unemployed and distribute holiday subsidies to the needy.
The security push, which the authorities in some places have labeled “Operation Winter,” follows a string of recent attacks that put a renewed spotlight on China’s struggling economy. In November, a driver plowed into a crowd outside a sports center in the city of Zhuhai, killing at least 35 people in China’s deadliest attack in a decade. A stabbing that killed eight people, and another car ramming outside a school, followed barely a week afterward. In all three cases, officials said the perpetrators were venting financial dissatisfactions.
After the Zhuhai attack, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, ordered officials to “strictly prevent extreme cases.” The authorities at all levels have raced to comply.
The drivers in the two car attacks were sentenced to death late last month, in unusually speedy trials that showed the government’s determination to crack down on possible copycats.
Projecting stability and control has long been one of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s biggest preoccupations, its implicit justification for limiting citizens’ civil liberties. But that preoccupation has become even more central as high youth unemployment, soaring foreclosures and deteriorating international relations have fueled widespread anxiety about China’s future. Some government workers have gone unpaid, as local governments’ finances stagnate.
Public protests, mostly related to economic issues such as investment losses or unpaid wages, grew by 18 percent in the first 11 months of 2024, compared to the year before, according to a tracker by Freedom House, a Washington-based advocacy group.
But Beijing has remained reluctant to strengthen the country’s social safety net or offer substantial direct relief to consumers. Instead, it has leaned on more heavy-handed tactics to root out those with grievances.
The central government urged officials to ensure social stability during the holiday season, saying in a Dec. 27 notice that they should “conduct dragnet investigations for all kinds of conflicts and hidden risks and dangers.”
In Yinchuan, a city in northwestern China, police officers investigated whether there were any incidents of bullying or disputes between faculty or students, according to a news release.
In Yancheng, in eastern China, the police have checked karaoke bars, rental housing and hotels for potential layabouts.
At a recent meeting of villagers and local party officials in central Henan Province, the police “encouraged everyone to actively report on any conflicts and disputes that have occurred in the village recently.” Under Mr. Xi, the Chinese government has renewed calls for ordinary residents to keep an eye on one another.
The central government routinely issues guidance about ensuring a safe holiday season. But this year, the instructions on social stability were more detailed. They singled out venues to keep an eye on — including campuses and sports venues — and called on officials to monitor public opinion and provide “positive guidance.”
Discussion about the attacks, and about economic discontent in general, has been heavily censored. Relatives of the victims have also been prevented from speaking with journalists.
Economists and public commentators have suggested that the government should focus more on boosting consumer confidence, and offering stronger protections for ordinary people against financial hardships. The authorities have at times acknowledged those demands, such as in their promises to combat wage arrears for migrant workers, or provide holiday handouts to homeless people or people with disabilities.
This month, many civil servants across the country discovered that they had been given a surprise pay raise, according to discussion on social media, though the government did not issue any formal announcement.
Yet many calls for more substantive reforms have been censored, themselves deemed threats to social stability.
“They should have been looking for what forces turned these people into beasts, but instead they ran off to investigate the ‘five types of losers,’” Li Chengpeng, a former prominent Chinese journalist now living overseas, wrote on social media. He was referring to local government notices that circulated online directing officials to surveil people who had suffered losses, such as of jobs or investments.
Still, the same economic downturn that may be fueling some people’s grievances may also make it difficult to sustain the heightened security measures.
Many local governments are already swimming in debt. They are under intense pressure now to answer Mr. Xi’s call to prevent mass incidents, but their money and manpower will soon come under strain, said Hongshen Zhu, an assistant professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong who studies Chinese governance.
“As long as no new incidents occur, the priority of public safety will drop for local governments until the next public outcry happens,” he said.
