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.