Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) Violent attacks on Chinese police officers increased in the first six months of 2005, the Ministry of Public Security reported, resulting in the deaths of 23 policemen and injuries to more than 1,800 others. In all, 170 officers throughout the nation died and 3,212 were wounded in the line of duty in the first half of the year. For Ministry spokesman Wu Heping, political factors play a role in the rise in attacks.
"At present the rapid growth of people's awareness of individual rights leads to resistance to control and also causes them to harm, corner, and beat up policemen," the Beijing Youth Daily cited Wu as saying.
"Police are vulnerable to attacks by people angered by various social problems, such as land disputes and a growing gap between the rich and the poor," the China Daily said to explain the rise in anti-police attacks.
This trend is however not unexpected. For some time, Beijing's Academy of Social Sciences has been warning that the gap between China's richest and poorest citizens is approaching a dangerous level and could lead to social unrest and destabilise the country.
A government study notes in fact that the most affluent one-fifth of China's population earns 50 per cent of total income, with the bottom one-fifth taking home only 4.7 per cent.
According to Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang, the number of nationwide, mass protests increased from 10,000 in 1994 to more than 74,000 last year, with 3.76 million people involved.
The solution for Wu Heping is for his Ministry to intensify crackdowns on lawlessness.
There are 1.6 million policemen in China.
