A bird in the cage: Police and political leadership in post‐Mao China

Abstract

The paper examines the political dimension of police professionalism in post‐Mao China. Although lagged behind the reform in other areas, and limited in speed, scope and intensity, reform within China's police system has been carried out since the middle of 1980s. The issue of police independence, coupled with an increasing theoretical, if not practical, separation of the Communist Party from the police, was brought to debate. The paper discusses the changing relationship between police and the political mechanisms at various levels in China, and the efforts made by the police to assert an independent role in policing issues.