China Prosecutes 900 in Major Gang Crackdown Push

China’s national procuratorial organs have prosecuted 900 individuals across 151 gang-related cases since the launch of a deepened anti-organized crime campaign in July, according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP). The announcement, made Tuesday, represents the first major nationwide enforcement report since the one-year campaign began.

Campaign Background

The deepening anti-gang and anti-evil special campaign was mobilized in July by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission following a national video conference chaired by Chen Wenqing, a Politburo member and the commission’s secretary. At the launch, Chen emphasized the need to “lawfully eliminate all malignant tumors that erode the social body” and build a higher level of Peaceful China, as reported by Xinhua.

The campaign builds on China’s earlier anti-gang efforts, including the 2018-2020 special campaign that saw approximately 230,000 people prosecuted nationwide, and the subsequent normalized enforcement phase. The new push specifically targets organized crime that has adapted to the digital economy, with authorities noting that gang activity has shifted from offline to online, from overt to covert, and from hard violence to “soft violence” methods.

Enforcement Statistics

According to the SPP, since July the procuratorial organs have:

• Received 194 cases involving 634 people for arrest review
• Approved arrests in 104 cases involving 342 people
• Accepted 275 cases involving 1,627 people for prosecution review
• Prosecuted 151 cases involving 900 people

Phoenix News, citing the Procuratorial Daily, reported that the SPP and provincial procuratorates have also established a talent pool of 1,406 professional personnel dedicated to the anti-gang campaign.

Targeting Digital and ‘Soft Violence’ Crimes

A defining feature of this campaign is its focus on new types of organized crime that exploit internet platforms and non-physical intimidation tactics. Enforcement data reveals significant action against these emerging crime categories:

• Illegal debt collection: 17 cases approved for arrest involving 63 people; 10 cases prosecuted involving 25 people
• Labor fraud schemes: 10 cases approved for arrest involving 41 people; 14 cases prosecuted involving 71 people
• Nude chat extortion: 11 cases approved for arrest involving 23 people; 2 cases prosecuted involving 19 people
• Public opinion extortion: 8 cases approved for arrest involving 33 people; 2 cases prosecuted involving 8 people
• Illegal lending and malicious claims: 195 cases approved for arrest involving 492 people as ordinary criminal groups; 67 cases prosecuted involving 195 people

According to Southern Metropolis Daily, the campaign also targets traditional gang structures including “village tyrants,” “market bullies,” and gangs colluding with gambling, drugs, and prostitution operations.

Anti-Corruption Integration

The campaign explicitly links gang crime enforcement with anti-corruption efforts. Procuratorial organs have investigated six cases involving seven judicial personnel for duty-related crimes, targeting the “relationship networks” and “protective umbrellas” that shield criminal organizations. This dual approach reflects what the Workers’ Daily described as the SPP’s commitment to advancing the anti-gang campaign alongside “breaking networks and removing umbrellas.”

Legal Standards and Safeguards

An SPP Anti-Gang Office spokesperson emphasized that procuratorial organs will maintain a high-pressure posture while ensuring legal rigor, stating that cases will be handled with the principle of “neither over-identifying nor under-penalizing” to ensure they “withstand the test of law, history, and the people.” This commitment to legal standards appears designed to address concerns about enforcement overreach while maintaining campaign intensity.

The SPP has also directed prosecutors to identify industry regulatory gaps and social governance challenges uncovered during case handling, working with relevant departments to improve legal frameworks and standardize law application.

What to Watch

With the campaign scheduled to run through mid-2027, enforcement figures are expected to rise as provincial-level operations continue to deploy. Multiple provinces including Liaoning, Hubei, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Anhui have already published reporting channels for gang-related crime clues and identified specific local priorities. The campaign’s focus on internet-based crimes and its integration with anti-corruption efforts signal that China is adapting its organized crime enforcement strategy to address evolving criminal methodologies in the digital age.