Buffeted by rising domestic unrest and missteps in handling ethnic violence, China's leaders are asserting greater control over the country's main internal security force with a new law on how and when the troops are mobilized.
The law, set to be passed this week, will define the mission of the 660,000-member People's Armed Police, which serves mainly as a better-armed backup to the regular police. Its troops, distinguished by their red epaulets, guard public buildings and infrastructure, and even jogged alongside the Beijing Olympic torch during its contentious journey around the world last year.
Most prominently, PAP troops were used to subdue rioters in Tibetan areas last year after violence there that left at least 18 people dead. They were used again last month when indigenous Turkic Muslims, called Uighurs, clashed with migrants from China's ethnic Han majority in the far western region of Xinjiang, leaving almost 200 dead - China's worst ethnic violence in decades.
President Hu Jintao visited with PAP, police and army troops in Xinjiang on Tuesday, telling them to make "upholding social stability the most urgent task."
Details of the law have not been released, but the official Xinhua News Agency said it would designate the PAP as responsible for dealing with "riots, unrest, large-scale violent crimes, and terrorist attacks," while limiting their powers of search and seizure.
A standing committee of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, said it is expected to pass the law on Thursday.
The law, set to be passed this week, will define the mission of the 660,000-member People's Armed Police, which serves mainly as a better-armed backup to the regular police. Its troops, distinguished by their red epaulets, guard public buildings and infrastructure, and even jogged alongside the Beijing Olympic torch during its contentious journey around the world last year.
Most prominently, PAP troops were used to subdue rioters in Tibetan areas last year after violence there that left at least 18 people dead. They were used again last month when indigenous Turkic Muslims, called Uighurs, clashed with migrants from China's ethnic Han majority in the far western region of Xinjiang, leaving almost 200 dead - China's worst ethnic violence in decades.
President Hu Jintao visited with PAP, police and army troops in Xinjiang on Tuesday, telling them to make "upholding social stability the most urgent task."
Details of the law have not been released, but the official Xinhua News Agency said it would designate the PAP as responsible for dealing with "riots, unrest, large-scale violent crimes, and terrorist attacks," while limiting their powers of search and seizure.
A standing committee of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, said it is expected to pass the law on Thursday.
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