ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/25/97

Published by: THE WORLD UYGHUR NETWORK NEWS, July 1, 1997

Police arrested more than 590,000 suspects and seized almost 1.2 million firearms in a three-month anti-crime drive this spring.

Authorities have intensified a campaign to curb rising violent crime to forestall trouble ahead of Hong Kong's handover, the Legal Daily said. Police said they had solved 44,000 crimes. Of the 590,000 people held, 23,000 were prison escapees and 131 belonged to criminal syndicates.

The crackdown also resulted in the closing of 14,000 illegal dance halls, saunas, massage parlours and other establishments involved in the sex trade.