Ministry of Public Security Meeting Mentions "Maple Bridge Experience" and "Chaoyang Residents" to Strengthen Control

During the three years of the pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party established "Big White" epidemic prevention teams across the country, acting as enforcers to suppress innocent civilians. This is a continuation of the "Maple Bridge Experience." (Screenshot from the internet)

[People News] After the car-ramming incident in Zhuhai, the Ministry of Public Security held a meeting to respond, proposing to develop the "Maple Bridge Experience" in the new era and summarize the practices of "Chaoyang Residents" as new measures to explore. A legal scholar reflected on the event and published an article suggesting that fair justice acts as a "pressure relief valve" for society, but the post was swiftly deleted, highlighting the stark difference between official and public attitudes on preventing extreme incidents.

According to a report by Radio Free Asia, the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Public Security held an expanded committee meeting in Beijing on Wednesday (November 13) to discuss handling the Zhuhai car-ramming incident. Besides stating the need to quickly investigate the case and severely punish the perpetrator, the meeting emphasized the importance of adhering to and developing the "Maple Bridge Experience" in the new era. It stressed the need to prevent extreme incidents at the source, increase police visibility, enhance deterrence, and strengthen control. The practices of Zhejiang's "Red Maple Volunteer Police" and Beijing's "Chaoyang Residents" were described as exemplary approaches, aiming to expand collective defense and governance efforts to create a "fortress of steel" for public security work.

Public discussions on the incident differ from the official perspective. Han Xu, a law professor at Sichuan University, authored an article titled Fair Justice is a Pressure Relief Valve for Society, stating that justice is the last barrier of fairness and equity in society. It can calm people's hearts, empower the powerless, and give hope to the disillusioned, playing a critical role in maintaining social stability. Once this "barrier" collapses, various violent and extreme incidents become unavoidable. However, shortly after the article was published, it was flagged as violating regulations and deleted from platforms like WeChat and Weibo.

The Ministry of Public Security Explores New Ideas, Discussion of the "Maple Bridge Experience" Indicates Strengthened Social Control

Radio Free Asia commentator Hu Ping stated that the attitude displayed by the Ministry of Public Security’s Party Committee was not about learning lessons but rather about responding because the top leader had spoken, requiring them to make corresponding statements. He added that the emphasis on the importance of the "Maple Bridge Experience" and "Chaoyang Residents" reflects an intention to further strengthen social control.

Hu Ping said: “Mobilizing social forces to take timely action might help prevent such extreme incidents; this is the Ministry’s basic logic. However, once extreme incidents occur, they are nearly impossible to prevent completely. I believe the effectiveness of their approach will remain very limited. The measures proposed by the Ministry themselves will further reinforce social control, and sometimes, in a tightly controlled society, the likelihood of such incidents actually increases.”

Official Statements Highlight Stability-Oriented Mindset

Current affairs commentator Wang Jian noted that the Ministry of Public Security’s stability-oriented approach to addressing societal issues could exacerbate conflicts and push Chinese society toward more extreme outcomes.

Wang Jian said, "Xi Jinping issued instructions, and the Ministry of Public Security must show a stance. Their entire narrative shows the Ministry is merely a tool for CCP stability maintenance, never considering upholding social justice. Have they ever caught someone preparing to ram a car and stopped them in advance? Not one, right? The result is that nobody feels safe because you never know what might happen."

Informants and Heightened Control Could Fuel Discontent

Exiled Chinese human rights lawyer Wu Shaoping criticized the Ministry of Public Security for using the "Maple Bridge Experience" and "Chaoyang Residents" to address societal issues, arguing that it ignores the negative effects of high-pressure governance on the public.

Wu Shaoping said, "This approach doesn’t address major issues at all. On the contrary, the so-called ‘Maple Bridge Experience’ is a significant contributor to today’s increased social conflicts and disputes. The Ministry’s methods are fundamentally twisted—they rely on informant-based governance and mass dictatorship to handle so-called societal problems. This distorts social values, twists people’s mindsets, and fuels resentment and dissatisfaction, which leads to more people seeking revenge against society."

Without Freedom and Truth, Preventing Extremism is Difficult

Regarding the legal scholar’s argument for judicial fairness, Wu Shaoping acknowledged the importance of judicial fairness but argued that it cannot solve all problems. Using the Zhuhai case as an example, he noted that the public may not know the full truth about the event, and China’s authoritarian system is the core issue.

Wu Shaoping said, "This isn’t an isolated incident, especially since Xi Jinping came to power—there have been many such cases. Every time a serious incident occurs, the CCP adopts the same methods: blocking the truth, deleting posts, censoring accounts, and restricting information. Even for the Zhuhai case, whether the truth lies in judicial issues remains unknown. It’s not just about fairness in the judiciary—when freedom is suppressed, and the truth is absent, how can we explore the root causes of these issues? And how can they be solved?"

Wu Shaoping stated that while fair justice could reduce societal hostility, he believes the CCP will not provide the public with an environment of judicial fairness to maintain its authoritarian rule.