Beijing has warned of a “crackdown” on random violent crimes in 2025, in the wake of a spate of mass attacks on the public in the final months of 2024.
Experts say the government fears the attacks are undermining social stability with videos of the incidents being widely shared on Chinese social media before being censored.The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) warning came in a message issued on Christmas Day which outlined eight government priorities in the New Year period.
One of the priorities was to “strengthen the safety precautions of crowded places” to “eliminate hidden dangers to public security”.
“In accordance with the law, we will severely crack down on serious violent crimes,” said the statement published by state media Xinhua.
While the mass attacks were not explicitly mentioned, the message referred to sports venues, where one of the attacks took place, and knives, which was the weapon used in another of the attacks.
Two of the attackers were sentenced last week, with their trials concluding much more quickly than is usual in China.