Zhejiang aims to prevent disturbances, violence
Authorities in East China's Zhejiang Province have beefed up security for September's G20 Summit in the provincial capital Hangzhou, with priority to be given to maintaining social stability and cracking down on cult activities, officials said.
Yang Shubiao, vice-secretary of the Communist Party of China's Hangzhou Committee and who is in charge of the city's public security affairs, inspected the G20 security and stability maintainance work in Xiaoshan district on Wednesday, the local government website reported.
Yang ordered officials to strengthen a security patrol team, solve civil disputes and monitor the security of key sectors, the report said.
In a report on April 5, Zhejiang provincial government said the province's public security forces will focus on 10 major tasks to ensure the security of the G20, including preventing terror attacks, checking homes for rent and building a 1 million-strong volunteer force.
More than 100 foreign leaders and over 10,000 people are expected to attend dozens of events during the G20 Summit in September, according to authorities.
"We have been monitoring our district to prevent possible social problems. The next involves looking into unregistered residents, those with a criminal record or history of drug abuse," an official surnamed Zhang from the Shiqiao sub-district office in Hangzhou, told the Global Times on Thursday.
During its investigation on May 12, Shiqiao sub-district office assigned 1,000 people to check over 6,000 households, collecting about 42,000 pieces of "useful information," local news portal zjol.com reported.
"More than 750 volunteers have joined our inspection team so far, whose major mission is to collect security information," Zhang said.
Fang Yuan, an official from Aojiang, a township 370 kilometers from Hangzhou, told the Global Times that similar investigations have been carried out in many cities in Zhejiang Province to secure the G20 Summit.
"We're making sure our investigations will prevent major disturbances, disorderly group petitions or violence during the summit," Fang said, adding that relevant departments in Aojiang have to submit a monthly report on disputes and action taken to the government.
Cracking down on cult activities is also an important part of securing the G20 Summit. Relevant departments should clamp down on cults and lead the public to reject and fight cult activities, Yang Wubiao, deputy Party chief of Hangzhou, said on May 5 during the launch of an anti-cult publicity campaign.
The investigations will focus on problems such as mass disturbance, ethnic and religious conflicts and other sensitive issues related to foreign forces, Fang added.
"We have a general idea of local cults, such as 'the Shouter sect,' and have already ordered local communities to supervise suspected individuals and groups," Fang said.
The State Council and the Ministry of Public Security have identified at least 14 cults since the 1990s, including "the Shouter sect."
According to the official website of Jiangshan, Zhejiang Province, during the G20 Summit, the local government will focus on preventing cults from inciting the public and harassing summit personnel.
Last week, more than 2,000 students of Beijing-based People's Public Security University of China were selected for security work in Hangzhou.
The Group of Twenty, also known as G20, is an international forum for governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies, which was formed in 1999.
The 11th G20 Summit will be held in Hangzhou from September 4 to 5.
