AN axiom of Chinese politics is that whenever the economy is not holding up, the authorities crack down on criminals, wheelers and dealers and ''bourgeois-liberals''.
In tandem with the 16-point austerity programme early July, Beijing has launched one of its toughest campaigns to combat hard-core felons and corrupt cadres and businessmen.
The situation this year seems especially urgent given that ''vicious crimes'' - those involving triads and firearms - have risen alarmingly. And in the spring the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) kicked off what elders including Deng Xiaoping called a ''life-and-death struggle'' against corruption.
While the anti-crime and anti-graft crusades are, at the least, a case of better late than never, their conduct raises disturbing questions. Especially for those concerned about the prospect of the rule of law, deemed by the party's liberal wing as the sine qua non for the success of the market economy.
Earlier this year, partisans of reform were encouraged by the appointment of moderate leaders Qiao Shi and Tian Jiyun as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the National People's Congress respectively. Since April, Mr Qiao and Mr Tian have given numerous speeches underscoring the importance of a modern legal system as well as the supervision of the party and government by the legislature.
The drive just announced against felons and graft-takers, on the other hand, smacks of a Maoist political campaign. It also testifies to the fact that when Beijing is bedevilled by economic malaise and uncertainties about the succession, the CCP will tighten its grip over the judiciary and security apparatus.