This spring, a series of blasts broke out in Peking University and Tsinghua University, along with a bomb threat at Reuters' Beijing Agency. During the Spring Festival earlier in the year, two planes suffered blasts and arson; in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, a love-sick man lit an incendiary device on board a bus, killing two and wounding 22; in Qingbian County, Shaanxi Province, a man involved in an extra-marital affair buried dynamite outside his rival's home, killing six and injuring 11.

According to China's Criminal Law, these crimes cannot be defined as "terrorism" as they lack political motivation, but are often classified as "threatening public security", "homicide" or "severe violent crime" by the police. Some experts have begun to refer to it as "individual terrorism". Though such crimes remain at a stable level, they are still a very real threat to modern Chinese society.

The concept of "terrorist crime" can be modified. Hu Lianhe, a researcher from the anti-terrorism research center at the China Institute of International Strategy, said the kind of crime that threatens the security of unidentified groups, and creates an atmosphere of terror and brings about social panic, should be treated as terrorist conduct.

Drink can terror

In the afternoon of January 24, 2003, just before the Spring Festival, a man boarded a B3404 airbus, at Jianbei airport, Chongjing Municipality, heading for Chengdu City. There were eleven passengers and five crewmembers on board. It is said that a security guard noticed the man, who was a teacher. While the plane was flying up to Chengdu City, the passenger lit a drink can in his hand. At the same time, the security guard rushed at him and the passenger compartment filled with smoke. Fortunately, the plane landed safely and no one but the trouble-maker himself was injured.

In the morning of February 2, in a CA1505 airplane taking off from Beijing to Fuzhou, a passenger named Dong Yue made an attempt to hijack the plane. He spilt gasoline from a drink can and lit it. Later, the fire was controlled and Dong was overpowered, the plane landing safely with 140 frightened passengers.

Thanks to the minor effect of the two drink-can incidents, they did not result in any big tragedies. However, a recently reported airplane hijack ended in a crash where 112 lives were lost. The hijacker, Zhang Peiling, was a failed businessman with an incurable disease. He bought life insurance, and blew himself and the plane up from the China North Airline Company using a self-made drink-can explosive.

Compared with the previous air tragedies, economic objectives replaced political intentions as the main reason for this kind of behavior. It is said that the teacher also bought several insurance policies before the accident. And Dong Yue claimed that it was poverty and disease that made him risk danger in desperation. According to investigations, Dong got divorced and lost his job before the attempted hijacking.

These men had no previous criminal record and were just unfortunates in life, business and court. They were nobodies using simple tools, with direct motivation, but their plans were thwarted. In Nanjing city, a man called Hen Zhengping poisoned 44 to death, in Shi Jiazhuang City, a gay man called Ji Ruchao bombed 108 lives, both triggered by personal resentment and ordeal.

Sun Dongdong, a criminal psychologist from the Law School of Peking University, said that unusual conduct is implied in the unusual thinking methods of these people.

"They have poor ability adapting in society, they believe their values are not recognized in normal social lives, so they seek some other way out. This is ‘personality obstacle mode', a common point lying in the inconsistency between origin and consequence," Sun said.

"Usually, these kinds of people are not criminals, are introverted, and good performers at work. But they have personality defects, which may only be revealed under particular conditions. Their lack of criminal omen is really challenging for prevention and detection."

Another security researcher analyzed that the original (planned economy period) public security network depended on administrative and law systems, units, residence committees, as well as other local residence organizations, which could encompass the overwhelming majority of people into a security cycle.

However, under the new status quo, too many migrating populations and “outsiders" inactivate part of the old criminal-prevention system. In old times, social supervision organizations inclined to monitor those who had criminal records. But now that there are too many potentially unstable groups, such as laid-off workers and unemployed peasants, detection and prevent network is facing greater difficulties.

A research report delivered by some scholars said that laid-off workers, low-income people, and income-declining groups, and fringe and unrepresentative groups are the main unsatisfactory entities in modern China.

The large scale of negative sentiments may turn out to be a catalyst to damage social stabilization. Those who are unsatisfied with their living conditions are more inclined to express themselves in passionate ways. And these contradictions are amplified due to inactivated adjustment mechanisms.

Explosive chaos

Most terrorist cases are conducted using explosives. And the manufacture of explosive is poor, said Doctor Wang Xinjian, of the Chinese People's Public Security University, after examining a series of blast cases in Xi'an City, Shaaxi Province.

“The reason is simple, dynamite is achievable. China has strict control of guns, but explosives are permitted and the management is weak. Miners, fishermen and construction workers can easily get dynamite. And self-made dynamite is universal. China is the third biggest country in explosive usage, and ranks first in using ammonium nitrate explosive."

Doctor Wang went to Yuling areas (in Shaanxi Province) to give lectures for the local police, where several severe explosions happened.

On July 18, 2001, in Mafang village, Hengshan County, a cave-house exploded and at least eighty died; on January 15, 2003 in Jingbian Hotel at Jingbian County, an explosion killed six, injured nine.

After staying for a couple of days, doctor Wang discovered that there had been too much self-made explosive there. Many small oil fields and mines demand large amounts of dynamite, of which much are provided by underground stores. In the Hengshan explosion case, the criminal Ma Hongqing and the victim Ma Shigui were all private illegal dynamite producers. The former lit thirty tons of ammonium nitrate explosive stored in the latter's personal revenge.

Wang believed that one reason for the chaos is poor management. The police have little awareness of rampant underground dynamite proliferation. On the other hand, there is insufficient personnel and equipment restraining them to be controlled effectively. On top of that, for its huge profit, the explosive article production is managed under several state departments at the same time. According to Wang, in northwest areas, the goods-and-material-control departments price ammonium nitrate explosive at 7,000 yuan a ton, but it only sells at 1,700 yuan from the factory, and the cost is about 1,000 yuan a ton. Most profit is taken by intermediary management departments.

“Since people cannot afford state-sold dynamite, they make it by themselves," Wang said. Privately-made dynamite is cheap, and the legal risk is low. These low-cost dangerous articles are available everywhere, being very convenient to criminals and creating huge difficulties for law enforcers.

Experts suggest that the only way to curb individual terrorism in a short time is to improve comprehensive security in communities, supervise and control dangerous articles, and cut out material sources to criminals.

(China.org.cn by Li Liangdu, September 16, 2003)