Police will continue to implement the 'Strike Hard' anti-crime campaign after it netted more than 230,000 fugitives in the past three months, senior officers said. According to Vice-Minister of Public Security Bai Jingfu, more than 33,000 of the arrested fugitives surrendered themselves. As many as 10,116 were murder suspects and more than 29,000 were wanted for robberies, Mr Bai said in Beijing on Monday at a meeting to assess the three-month campaign. Police also uncovered more than 1,257 rifles and more than 20,000kg of explosives during the arrests, Xinhua said. The latest phase of the Government's anti-crime campaign began in July as the authorities strived to ensure stability ahead of the 50th National Day on October 1. Speaking at the same meeting, Public Security Minister Jia Chunwang said that the campaign had to continue, although crime rates had fallen in some cities. He stressed that police across China must do their utmost to ensure social stability especially on the eve of the Macau handover. The minister also called on officers to crack down harder on crimes involving violence and narcotics and to 'co-operate' with the media in spreading the anti-crime message. But Mr Jia admitted police had not kept pace with China's fast-changing society. Among those arrested were three men identified as Liao Hongbing, Liao Xiangnan and Liu Pengcheng, who allegedly kidnapped a man in Macau for HK$4 million, and alleged murderer Fa Ziying, who is accused of being responsible for the deaths of eight people in Anhui, Jiangxi and Zhejiang. Meanwhile, police also announced that China had more than 180 detention and re-education centres for prostitutes. On average a total of 40,000 prostitutes a year were fined and sent for re-education. In recent years, police have also sent their patrons to the centres as a form of punishment in addition to paying a fine.
