The Communist Party committee in the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) issued a notice calling for local MPS officials to implement policy directions established at the 17th Party Congress, according to a summary of the notice posted on the Chinese government’s website on November 6.

    The notice offers a good example of how centralized Party directives are transmitted through the Chinese government apparatus. It also offers some insight into the thinking of Party officials with regard to ongoing public security issues. 

    What’s interesting about this notice?

    First, it's a good example of how central Party policy is transmitted through the Chinese government apparatus. In the wake of the 17th Party Congress held in October, similar directives have been propagating downward through a range of different ministries and bureaus, as officials proclaim their willingness and intent to implement policy directions established at the Party congress. The bulk of this particular notice is a lengthy paean to Party leadership and the concept of scientific development.

    Second, the notice clearly singles out specific groups as targets for continuing stiff public security measures aimed at upholding social stability. It’s the standard laundry list: "ethnic separatists," "religious extremists," and "cult organizations such as the Falun Gong."

    Third, the notice explicitly stresses the need to continue public security efforts to "divert and resolve conflicts" (maodun paicha huajie gongzuo), linking it with the need to reduce "mass incidents." Many different government and judicial authorities have taken measures in recent months under the rubric of diverting and resolving conflicts at the local level, including a heavy emphasis on mediation. I’ve suspected that this is directly correlated with central efforts to reduce the numbers of both mass incidents and citizen petitions. This simply confirms the link. 

    Fourth, the notice briefly raises the issue of hukou (household registration) management. MPS officials have been thinking about these issues over the summer. We’ll probably see a range of local reform efforts over the next few months as encouragement for these efforts trickles down from central authorities.

    The most relevant paragraph is excerpted below, along with a translation.

要严密防范、严厉打击境内外各种敌对势力、民族分裂势力、宗教极端势力、暴力恐怖势力和“法轮功”等邪教组织的捣乱、破 坏活动，全力维护国家安全和社会政治稳定。要狠抓矛盾纠纷排查化解工作措施的落实，积极预防和妥善处置因人民内部矛盾引发的群体性事件，切实维护安定团结 的政治局面。

[We must] strictly guard against and strike hard against all types of domestic and foreign hostile forces, ethnic separatist forces, religious extremist forces, terrorist forces, and the disruption and sabotage of cults such as the Falun Gong, and fully safeguard national security and sociopolitical stability. We must relentlessly pursue the implementation of measures aimed at diverting and resolving conflicts, actively prevent and appropriately handle mass incidents triggered by conflicts between citizens, and earnestly safeguard political stability and unity.