Making a Killing in China

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Yang Zhiya, the so-called "monster killer", couldn't have embarked on such a murder spree under Chairman Mao. Yet China's re-engineering of itself has resulted in an increase in the number of criminals who take advantage of the greater freedoms of modern China to move about the country, preying on other migrants and disappearing into the vast new cities. Last week, the Yanzhou Municipal Daily reported that during a routine sweep of nightclubs in the central city of Cangzhou, police ran a background check on a man who, it turned out, was on the Ministry of Public Security's most-wanted list for stabbing to death 65 people across four provinces. Yang Zhiya, the paper said, sought "mad revenge on society" after his girlfriend dumped him. And Yang wasn't the only serial killer in the news last week. Police in southern China announced they had arrested a 43-year-old man, Ma Yong, and a 20-year-old woman, Duan Zhiqun, in the border town of Shenzhen for allegedly murdering 12 female migrant workers.

It has become harder to track and catch such perpetrators. Until recently, Chinese were required to have a hukou, or residence permit, for the community in which they lived. But now, as China liberalizes to facilitate economic development, such measures have eased. The result has been a surge in crime. China may be less of a police state now, but that may be at a cost of becoming a more violent society.