China's local governments step up public safety measures after attacks

By Colleen Howe

Local authorities in China are stepping up safety management and police patrols following several high-profile mass killings, as the central government calls for enhanced public security, media reports said on Sunday.

In the eastern city of Wuxi, where a 21-year-old student's stabbing spree left eight people dead and 17 injured on Nov. 16, local officials convened on Friday to discuss measures to maintain social stability, state-run local media reported.

Campus safety was a focus point of the meeting, according to the report.

These safety initiatives come nearly two weeks after the deadliest mass attack in China in a decade on Nov. 11, when a man reportedly upset over his divorce settlement drove into a crowd in the southern city of Zhuhai, killing 35 people.

The head of the Communist Party in central Changsha city, Hunan province, also conducted an inspection of public safety efforts, including traffic management and police deployment on Saturday, another state media outlet said.

Hunan province had a third attack on Nov. 19, in which a driver ploughed into students and pedestrians outside a school in southern China's Changde, further stoking concerns about growing violence in the country, where analysts say economic pressures are having repercussions on mental health.

The reports did not specifically mention these incidents, nor were they referenced in recent meetings held by China's top court and justice ministry, which discussed mental health and domestic conflicts.

On Saturday, China's Supreme Court held a meeting on maintaining social security and stability, according to a report on the court's website that mentioned the rehabilitation of ex-prisoners and assistance for people with mental disorders.

The Ministry of Justice also met to discuss social security and stability on Friday, according to a notice on its website.

The meeting summary stressed the need for in-depth investigations into conflicts related to marriage and family, neighbours, property inheritance, housing and land, and wage arrears.