• Level of Authority： Group Provisions
• Date issued：01-2018
• Effective Date：01-2018
• Status： Effective
• Issuing Authority： Central Committee of the Communist Party of China State Council

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council Issue the Notice on Launching the Special Criminal Syndicate Combat
(January 2018)
As stated in the Notice, for the purposes of implementing in depth the arrangements made at the 19th CPC National Congress and the spirit of the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping, ensuring the security of the people, social stability and order, and perpetual national peace, and further consolidating the foundation for the ruling of the party, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council decide to launch the Special Criminal Syndicate Combat across the country.
As underlined in the Notice, launching the Special Criminal Syndicate Combat across the country is a major decision made by the CPC Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping as the core and relates to overall social stability and perpetual national peace, to public support and consolidation of low-level governments, and to proceeding with the great endeavor, building the great project, advancing the great cause, and achieving the great dream. All regions and all the authorities shall further lift political positions, practically raise the awareness of politics, big picture, core, and compliance, fully recognize the significance of the launch of the Special Criminal Syndicate Combat, effectively bring their thoughts and actions in line with the arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, make scientific plans, and conduct meticulous organization and prudential implementation, so as to firmly win the Special Criminal Syndicate Combat.
The Notice specified the general requirements and objective-based tasks of the Special Criminal Syndicate Combat. As stated in the Notice, the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress shall be comprehensively implemented, the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era shall be set as guidance, the development thought centering on the people shall be solidly developed, in consideration of the new trends in criminal syndicate-related problems, special governance shall be practically combined with systematic governance, comprehensive governance, lawful governance, and source governance, the crackdown upon organized crime shall be combined with corruption combat and low-level "fly swatting," and combating criminal syndicates and heightening the building of low-level organizations shall be combined, so as to both effectively deter organized crime to form overwhelming offensives and eliminate the conditions for the existence of criminal syndicates to have a permanent mechanism take shape, continue to enhance the fulfillment, happiness and security of the people, maintain social harmony and stability, consolidate the foundation for the ruling of the party, and create a safe and stable social environment for decisively and comprehensively building a well-off society, securing a great victory for the socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and achieving the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of Chinese nation. As stated in the Notice, the leadership of the party shall be adhered to, and political advantages shall be used; the principal position of the people shall be upheld, and the people shall be closely depended on; comprehensive governance and joint efforts in regulation and management shall be adhered to; lawful and severe punishment and combating crime at its early and minor stage shall be adhered to; and both temporary and permanent solutions and source governance shall be adhered to.
As underlined in the Notice, critical regions, industries and fields with prominent criminal syndicate-related problems shall be a focus, and the best efforts in the combat shall always be aimed at various organized violation of law and crime generating enormous publicity and much heated by the people. Lawful and severe punishment, combating crime at its early and minor stage, and total elimination of crime shall be adhered to, and tough crackdown on and overwhelming offensives against various criminal syndicates shall always be maintained. All political and legal affairs authorities shall further specify the boundary of policies and laws, unify law enforcement thought, strengthen coordination and cooperation, and adhere to both tough crackdown on various organized crime and resolving cases in strict accordance with the law, so as to ensure the unity of quality and efficiency of resolving cases and the unity of political, legal and social effect. The criminal policy tempering with mercy and severity shall be strictly implemented, the organizers, leaders and backbones of organizations of the nature of criminal syndicate and the "protectors" of the same shall be punished in a severer manner according to the law, and other participants with minor circumstances shall be punished in a lighter or mitigated manner according to the law. Seizure, impounding, freezing and other measures shall be taken in a lawful and timely manner, and recovery, confiscation, property-related punishment, administrative fine, and other various means shall be comprehensively used to eliminate the economic foundation of criminal syndicates. To voluntarily conform to the reform of the criminal procedure system centering on trial, the standards for case facts, evidence, procedure, and application of law shall be practically met, and extorting confession by torture shall be prohibited, so as to prevent cases involving unjust, false or erroneous charges and ensure that each case is well-founded.
As required by the Notice, under the leadership of the party committees at all levels, the advantages of the comprehensive control of public security shall be used, and all the authorities shall be promoted in discharging their respective duties, making joint efforts in regulation and management, and comprehensively using various means to prevent and resolve the prominent problems of organized crime. All the relevant authorities shall, based on their respective functions, voluntarily undertake the duties and tasks in the Special Criminal Syndicate Combat, ensure administration and discharging duties by law, tightening regulation in critical industries and fields, prevent administrative nonfeasance and abusive feasance, and minimize the space for the existence of criminal syndicates. All the relevant authorities shall report criminal syndicate-related leads discovered in routine law enforcement inspection to the public security authorities and establish and improve a lead discovery and transfer mechanism. Administrative agencies shall promptly report the loopholes in industry administration discovered in case resolution to the relevant authorities and offer proposals for strengthening regulatory and administrative law enforcement.
As stated in the Notice, the criminal syndicate combat shall be combined with corruption combat and low-level "fly swatting," and the "protectors" of criminal syndicates shall be found out. Disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities shall set the rectification of the criminal syndicate-related problem of party officials as a priority of rectifying the corruption problems around the people and include the priority in the work of disciplinary supervision and circuit inspection. Disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities and all political and legal affairs authorities shall establish a quick transfer and feedback mechanism of leads to problems and find out the corruption problems behind each organized crime case in a timely manner, so as to prevent case resolution for the case itself. The disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities at all levels shall set the criminal syndicate-related problem of party officials as a priority of disciplinary review, first dispose of the leads to the "protectors" problems in the Special Criminal Syndicate Combat, investigate and dispose of any case found, and thoroughly investigate cases without mercy, no matter who is involved. Supervision of resolution shall be tightened, the crackdown on "protectors" shall be combined with the investigation and resolution of criminal syndicate-related cases, instantaneous investigation and resolution shall be achieved, and especially the resolution of cases featuring criminal syndicates intertwining permanently and deeply with corruption and criminal syndicate-related corruption cases in the poverty elimination endeavor field shall be supervised in priority.
As required by the Notice, the party committees and governments at all levels shall set the Special Criminal Syndicate Combat as a major political task, place it in a prominent position in the big picture of the work, and put it on the agenda. The primary persons in charge of the party committees and governments at all levels shall be bold to shoulder responsibility and work on tough issues and firmly support the criminal syndicate combat, so as to eliminate obstruction and provide powerful guarantees for the political and legal affairs authorities to resolve cases according to the law and the relevant authorities to discharge their duties and find out the "protectors" according to the law. There shall be a firm attitude towards criminal syndicate-related problems, especially significant cases generating enormous publicity, investigation shall be thorough no matter who is involved, and especially, the "protectors" behind shall be found out and unwaveringly and lawfully investigated and punished, with least hesitation.
As stated in the Notice, the system of leaders' liability for comprehensive control of public security shall be strictly implemented, and regions, industries and fields with prominent criminal syndicate-related problems shall be urged to make rectification within a prescribed period by circulating a notice, having an interview, public supervision, or any other means. If the problem is serious, or an adverse impact has been caused, the disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities and organizational and personnel departments shall seriously hold the primary persons responsible therefor and other relevant persons responsible in accordance with the laws and disciplines, without mercy. The industry regulatory responsibility shall be strictly implemented, and if routine regulation is so ineffective that criminal syndicates grow and expand, liability shall be traced, and persons liable shall be held seriously accountable.