More than 80,000 people in 'high-alert' groups deemed a threat to security have been evicted from Shenzhen this year by officials aiming to achieve social stability for the Summer Universiade in August.
City police launched a 100-day security campaign on January 1 against people local authorities regard as suspicious, mainland media quoted Shen Shaobao, vice-director of the city's Public Security Bureau, as saying in reports published yesterday.
'People living in Shenzhen without proper identity, justifiable reasons and those acting suspiciously posing a threat to people and security are what we call high-alert groups,' he said.
Eight types of people are listed in the high-alert category. They include former inmates; people without proper jobs who are considered to have abnormal living habits; drug traffickers and smugglers; mentally ill people who could pose a danger to others; and residents in rental properties who do not have proper ID cards.
Shenzhen police were not available yesterday to discuss how the 80,000 people were chosen, where they went after leaving the city and how to stop them returning.
Shen called the campaign successful, if only because the number of robbery cases fell by more than 16 per cent during the past four months.