Concern over China para-police agency

23-05-2012

Human Rights Watch China director Sophie Richardson

Human Rights Watch has expressed concern about a shadowy mainland para-police agency known as the "chengguan" - or urban management law enforcement units - which operate in nearly 660 cities.

The group said the force's influence had grown in recent years and was stoking resentment at the grassroots level - at a time when the number of protests on the mainland is rising.