A month-long 'strike-hard' campaign has been launched in Urumqi to crack down on crime as authorities in the regional capital of Xinjiang gear up ahead of the first anniversary of deadly rioting.
The latest crackdown, which runs from tomorrow until July 20, comes on the heels of a series of measures introduced recently to maintain social stability as the rioting anniversary on July 5 looms.
Without specifically referring to the rioting, which claimed almost 200 lives in Urumqi, police said at a meeting on Thursday that the campaign intended to 'severely clamp down on any kinds of crime'.
An extra 1,000 police would be deployed from all bureaus in the city to patrol the streets between June 25 and July 15, China News Service reported.
Items like explosives and poison would be subject to stricter surveillance from now on. Possessing and transporting these items would be severely punished, China News Service reported.
Security at public areas such as shopping malls, hotels and markets, as well as important public facilities like water and electricity plants and financial networks, are also required to be improved.
In the wake of last year's unrest, security has already been so tight in the region that internet service was only recently fully resumed.