BEIJING – China has launched a one-year nationwide campaign to deepen its crackdown on organized crime, with authorities pledging to target both traditional criminal gangs and emerging forms of organized crime that predominantly operate online.

Chen Wenqing, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a national video conference on the campaign.

Chen noted that China's fight against organized crime has achieved positive results since the 20th CPC National Congress, while stressing the need to gain a better understanding of the evolving forms and characteristics of organized crime under new circumstances.

Authorities will maintain a tough stance against organized crime, focusing particularly on criminal organizations that exploit online platforms or use so-called "soft violence" – including organized acts of harassment, persistent pestering and public disturbance that exert psychological coercion on others – to carry out illegal activities, Chen said.

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Urging efforts to eradicate the "protective umbrellas" that shield organized crime, Chen said the campaign will also step up efforts to address problems in key industries and regions vulnerable to organized crime, to tackle both criminal activities and the conditions that enable them to thrive.