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Crime in China

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
People's Republic of China
Crime rates* (2020)
Violent crimes
HomicideUnknown
RapeUnknown
RobberyUnknown
Property crimes
BurglaryUnknown
Notes

*Number of reported crimes per 100,000 population.

In China crime occurs in various forms. The Chinese government does not release exact unified statistics on crime rates and the rate of criminal offending due to such information being considered politically and socially sensitive. Scarce official statistics released are the subject of much academic debate due to allegations of statistical fabrication, under-reporting and corruption.[1][2] The illegal drug trade in China is a significant driver of violent crime, including murder.

According to the "Global Organized Crime Index" (2023), China is grappling with deep-seated criminal activities across diverse markets, while its resilience is limited by corruption and the centralized control of governance and information.[3]

History

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A distinguishing feature of the Qin empire was its treatment of criminals: harsh but careful and fair.[4] Succeeding dynasties moderated the law in various ways. In Ming times, commercialization and urbanization meant that scams abounded.[5] Fences who disposed of stolen goods thrived. The People's Republic of China was established in 1949 and, from 1949 to 1956, underwent the process of transferring the means of production to common ownership.[6] During this time, the new government worked to decrease the influence of criminal gangs[7] and reduce the prevalence of narcotics[6] and gambling.[8] Efforts to crack down on criminal activity by the government led to a decrease in crime.[8]

Between 1949 and 1956, larceny, arson, rape, murder, and robbery were major nonpolitical offenses.[8] The majority of economic crimes were committed by business people who engaged in tax evasion, theft of public property, and bribery.[8]

Government officials also engaged in illegal economic activity, which included improperly taking public property and accepting bribes.[8] Between 1957 and 1965, rural areas experienced little reported crime.[8] Crime rates increased later. The year 1981 represented a peak in reported crime.[9] This may have been correlated to the economic reform in the late 1970s, which allowed some elements of a market economy and gave rise to an increase in economic activity.[9] Below is a comparison of reported cases of crime from 1977 to 1988 (excluding economic crimes):[10]

Year 1977[10] 1978[10] 1979[10] 1980[10] 1981[10] 1982[10] 1983[10] 1984[10] 1985[10] 1986[10] 1987[10] 1988[10]
Total number of cases 548,415 535,698 636,222 757,104 890,281 748,476 610,478 514,369 542,005 547,115 570,439 827,706
Incidents of criminal case per 10,000 people 5.8 5.6 6.6 7.7 8.9 7.4 6.0 5.0 5.2 5.2 5.4 7.5

Crime by youth increased rapidly in the 1980s. Crime by youths consisted 60.2% of total crime in 1983, 63.3% in 1984, 71.4% in 1985, 72.4% in 1986, and 74.3% in 1987.[10] The number of fleeing criminals increased over the years.[11] Economic crimes have increased in recent years.[11] From 1982 to 1988, the total number of economic crimes were 218,000.[11]

In 1989, a total of 76,758 cases of economic offenses were registered, which included bribery, smuggling, and tax evasion.[11] The changes in economic policy had an influence on the characteristics of criminality.[12] Since the second plenary session of the eleventh Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, crime has increased and diversified.[12]

Chinese police vehicle in Beijing.

Crime by type

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Murder

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In 2011, the reported murder rate in China was 1.0 per 100,000 people, with 13,410 murders. The murder rate in 2018 was 0.5.[13][14] The reported murder rates have been criticized for under-reporting unsolved murders due to police salaries being based on the rate of solved cases.[15][16]

Corruption

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Further information: Corruption in China

Corruption exists in China.[17][18] Between 1978 and 2003, an estimated $50 billion was smuggled out of the country by corrupt officials.[19]

Human trafficking

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Further information: Human trafficking in China

There are instances of human trafficking reported in China for various purposes.[20] The majority of trafficking in PRC is internal, and this domestic trafficking is the most significant human trafficking problem in the country.[20]

Domestic and transnational criminal organizations carry out sex trafficking in China.[21][22] Women are lured through false promises of legitimate employment into commercial sexual exploitation in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Japan.[20] Chinese men are smuggled to countries throughout the world for exploitative labor.[20] Women and children are trafficked into PRC from Mongolia, Burma, North Korea, Russia, and Vietnam for forced labor and sexual slavery.[20]

Drug trade

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Further information: Illegal drug trade in China

PRC is a major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle.[20] Growing domestic drug abuse is a significant problem in PRC.[20] Available estimates place the domestic spending on illegal drugs to be $17 billion.[23] Drug abuse has spread rapidly in China since its re-emergence as a national problem in the late 1980s. China's drug problem doesn't seem to be abating much. After some years of progress in the mid-2000s, the Chinese government is now acknowledging that the country has a long way to go in controlling.[24]

Domestic violence

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Further information: Domestic violence in China

China has a high rate of domestic violence.[25] In 2004, the All-China Women’s Federation compiled survey results to show that thirty percent of the women in China experienced domestic violence within their homes.[26]

In 2015, the Chinese government enacted the Anti-domestic Violence Law.[27] In China, there is an ongoing issue that often remains unnoticed: domestic violence. Approximately 40% of women in China face domestic violence, and an alarming 10% of homicides in the country stem from intimate partner violence. These distressing occurrences persist despite legal measures against domestic violence, primarily due to the deeply entrenched patriarchal norms ingrained within Chinese society.[28][29]

Crime dynamics

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Illegal guns

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From January to July 1996, approximately 300,000 illegal small arms were seized from fourteen provinces of the country.[30]

Organised crime in mainland China

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See also: List of Chinese criminal organizations

China has a significant level of organised criminal activity across various sectors. The country is both a source and destination for human trafficking, involving forced labor and sexual exploitation. Smuggling networks often exploit economic ambitions, with Chinese nationals being trafficked abroad under false pretenses.[3] China is a major player in the global synthetic drug market and an important transit hub for heroin and cocaine, though it has seen a decline in domestic heroin consumption.[3] China remains the world’s largest producer of counterfeit goods, which are facilitated by e-commerce platforms. Despite efforts to curb this, the trade remains pervasive.[3] Illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, and mining are critical issues, driven by demand for rare resources like timber and minerals.[3] Financial fraud, money laundering, and cybercrime are significant and growing concerns, with criminal organizations adopting sophisticated digital tools to evade detection.[3]

Criminal networks operate often in collaboration with foreign actors. While mafia-style groups are relatively small and non-violent in mainland China, corruption within state structures further enables organised crime.[3]

Despite a relatively strong law enforcement framework, China’s efforts to combat organised crime are undermined by corruption, lack of judicial independence, and human rights abuses. While the state has shown resolve in addressing crime, its anti-corruption campaigns are seen as politically motivated, and civil society remains restricted.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The puzzle of China's low crime rates". WORLD. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
  2. ^ "Getting away with murder: lies, damned lies, and Chinese police statistics". www.lowyinstitute.org. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h China (PDF) (Report). Global Organized Crime Index. 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  4. ^ Charles Sanft, “Law and Communication in Qin and Western Han China,” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 53.5 (2010): 679-711.
  5. ^ Zhang Yingyu, The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection (New York: Columbia University Press, 2017)
  6. ^ a b Hans-Günther Heiland; Louise I. Shelley; Hisao Katō (1992). Crime and Control in Comparative Perspectives. Walter de Gruyter. p. 241. ISBN 3-11-012614-1.
  7. ^ Wang, Peng (2013). "The increasing threat of Chinese organised crime: national, regional and international perspectives". The RUSI Journal. 158 (4): 6–18. doi:10.1080/03071847.2013.826492. S2CID 154487430.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Hans-Günther Heiland; Louise I. Shelley; Hisao Katō (1992). Crime and Control in Comparative Perspectives. Walter de Gruyter. p. 242. ISBN 3-11-012614-1.
  9. ^ a b Borge Bakken (2007). Crime, Punishment, and Policing in China. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7425-3574-9.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hans-Günther Heiland; Louise I. Shelley; Hisao Katō (1992). Crime and Control in Comparative Perspectives. Walter de Gruyter. p. 245. ISBN 3-11-012614-1.
  11. ^ a b c d Hans-Günther Heiland; Louise I. Shelley; Hisao Katō (1992). Crime and Control in Comparative Perspectives. Walter de Gruyter. p. 246. ISBN 3-11-012614-1.
  12. ^ a b Hans-Günther Heiland; Louise I. Shelley; Hisao Katō (1992). Crime and Control in Comparative Perspectives. Walter de Gruyter. p. 249. ISBN 3-11-012614-1.
  13. ^ "China Number of homicides, 1990-2021". knoema.com. 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  14. ^ "Global Study on Homicide" (PDF). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2013. p. 127. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  15. ^ June Cheng. The puzzle of China's low crime rates. Archived 2019-09-05 at the Wayback Machine 2018-10-25. Accessed 2019-09-05
  16. ^ "Reality Check: How safe is it to live in China?". BBC News. 2019-01-13. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
  17. ^ Wang, Peng (2013). "The rise of the Red Mafia in China: a case study of organised crime and corruption in Chongqing". Trends in Organized Crime. 16 (1): 49–73. doi:10.1007/s12117-012-9179-8. S2CID 143858155.
  18. ^ Wedeman, Andrew (2013). "The challenge of commercial bribery and organized crime in China". Journal of Contemporary China. 22 (79): 18–34. doi:10.1080/10670564.2012.716942. S2CID 154686059.
  19. ^ "4,000 corrupt officials fled with US$50b". www.chinadaily.com.cn. China Daily. 18 August 2004. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g "CIA World Factbook - China". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  21. ^ "Vietnam's Human Trafficking Problem Is Too Big to Ignore". The Diplomat. November 8, 2019. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  22. ^ "2018 Trafficking in Persons Report: China". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2020-03-18. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  23. ^ "International Crime Threat Assessment". www.fas.org. Federation of American Scientists. December 2000. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  24. ^ Kine, Phelim (2022-02-07). "The war on drugs puts a target on China". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  25. ^ "Draft of anti-domestic violence is pushed to Chinese People's council". Archived from the original on 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  26. ^ McCue, Margi Laird (2008). Domestic violence: a reference handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 100–102.
  27. ^ "China - Anti-domestic Violence Law of the People's Republic of China (Order No. 37 of the President of the PRC)". www.ilo.org. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  28. ^ Gan, Nectar (2023-07-01). "Shocking cases of domestic violence are leading young Chinese to question marriage". CNN. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  29. ^ Antonova, Natalia (2023-05-27). "Chinese Courts Want Abused Women to Shut Up". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  30. ^ Susan Debra Blum; Lionel M. Jensen (2002). China Off Center: Mapping the Margins of the Middle Kingdom. University of Hawaii Press. p. 29. ISBN 0-8248-2577-2.
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