China to step up fight against fraud

China's efforts against telecom and online fraud will be further strengthened as the number of such cases continues to rise, according to a report made by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The annual report on the rule of law issued by the academy's Institute of Law on Friday said that the country will maintain strong crackdowns on online crimes, especially those involving telecom frauds.

It estimated that the number of related cases will continue to rise and that combating the crime will remain a major task this year.

It said that Chinese judicial authorities have attached great importance to fighting fraud, which has been the top public complaint over the past five years.

The report cited data showing that some 594,000 fraud cases were solved by police from April 2021 to July 2022, and the number of people who aided fraudsters, including those who sold them bank cards or helped design illegal apps, grew rapidly during that period.

In addition, cross-border fraud and fraud targeting the elderly have also been uncovered more frequently, it added.

Meanwhile, the judiciary's efforts to curb corruption remain solid, according to the report, which anticipated that more cases concerning money laundering will be handled as fugitive capture and asset recovery work intensifies.

And following a revision to the Counter-Espionage Law — which was adopted in April by the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the country's top legislature, and will take effect on July 1— judicial action against relevant crimes such as spying and the theft of State secrets will be further enhanced to better guarantee national security, the report said.