Decades-Long Crime Cases in China Raise Questions Over Possible Local Official Ties

Officials detail alleged networks in mining, construction, and debt collection that persisted across multiple administrations.

A trial continues as fentanyl drug traffickers are sentenced in court in Xingtai in north China's Hebei Province on Nov. 7, 2019. Jin Liangkuai/Xinhua via AP

Chinese regime officials in Anhui Province have announced a series of organized crime cases spanning multiple cities and dating back as far as the mid-1990s, prompting public discussion over whether long-running criminal networks operated with protection from local officials.

The Anhui Provincial Public Security Department recently disclosed four “typical cases” involving alleged organized crime groups in the province. The cases span sectors including construction, mining operations, township-level contracting, and illegal debt collection.