The Chinese government is stepping up measures to root out potential troublemakers and suppress social discontent, after a spate of mass killings has shaken the country and stirred fears about public safety.

中国政府正在加大力度铲除潜在的麻烦制造者、压制社会不满情绪。前不久接二连三发生的大规模致死致伤事件震惊全国，引发了人们对公共安全的担忧。

Armed police have been stationed outside of schools, with bollards erected nearby to prevent cars from ramming into people. Police officers have increased patrols in supermarkets, tourist attractions and other crowded places, and pledged to better regulate knives and other weapons. Officials have also promised to help the unemployed and distribute holiday subsidies to the needy.

特警已被派到学校外面站岗，学校附近竖起了护栏，以防止汽车故意撞人。警方加强了对超市、旅游景点，以及其他人群聚集场所的巡逻，并承诺对刀具和其他武器进行更好的监管。官员们还承诺帮助失业者，并向有需要的人发放节日补贴。

The security push, which the authorities in some places have labeled “Operation Winter,” follows a string of recent attacks that put a renewed spotlight on China’s struggling economy. In November, a driver plowed into a crowd outside a sports center in the city of Zhuhai, killing at least 35 people in China’s deadliest attack in a decade. A stabbing that killed eight people, and another car ramming outside a school, followed barely a week afterward. In all three cases, officials said the perpetrators were venting financial dissatisfactions.

这些保安行动在一些地方被当局称为“冬季行动”。此前发生的一系列袭击事件再次将聚光灯投射到中国陷入困境的经济上来。去年11月，一名司机在珠海市体育中心外冲撞人群，造成至少35人死亡，这是中国十年来死亡人数最多的袭击事件。不到一周后又发生了一起造成八人死亡的持刀伤人事件，以及另一起汽车在学校外故意撞人事件。官员们表示，这三起事件的肇事者都是为了发泄对财务状况的不满。

After the Zhuhai attack, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, ordered officials to “strictly prevent extreme cases.” The authorities at all levels have raced to comply.

珠海袭击事件发生后，中国领导人习近平命令官员“严防极端案件”。全国各地的各级政府都应声而动。

The drivers in the two car attacks were sentenced to death late last month, in unusually speedy trials that showed the government’s determination to crack down on possible copycats.

两起故意开车撞人案的司机都已在上个月底被判处死刑，案件审判速度不同寻常地快，表明了政府决心打击可能的效仿者。

Projecting stability and control has long been one of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s biggest preoccupations, its implicit justification for limiting citizens’ civil liberties. But that preoccupation has become even more central as high youth unemployment, soaring foreclosures and deteriorating international relations have fueled widespread anxiety about China’s future. Some government workers have gone unpaid, as local governments’ finances stagnate.

长期以来，维稳和加强控制一直是执政的中共最热衷的事情之一，也是中共限制公民自由的不直接言明的理由。但随着年轻人失业率高企、断供激增以及国际关系恶化，人们对中国的未来普遍感到担忧，维稳和加强控制已变得更加重要。地方政府面临的财政困难已让一些政府工作人员拿不到工资。

警察在珠海一起致命汽车袭击事件现场，摄于去年11月。

Public protests, mostly related to economic issues such as investment losses or unpaid wages, grew by 18 percent in the first 11 months of 2024, compared to the year before, according to a tracker by Freedom House, a Washington-based advocacy group.

据华盛顿倡导组织自由之家搜集的数据，2024年前11个月的公开抗议活动与上年相比增长了18%，这些抗议活动大多与投资损失或欠薪等经济问题有关。

But Beijing has remained reluctant to strengthen the country’s social safety net or offer substantial direct relief to consumers. Instead, it has leaned on more heavy-handed tactics to root out those with grievances.

但中国政府仍不愿加强国家的社会保障体系，也不愿向消费者直接提供大量救济。相反，它倾向于采取更严厉的手段铲除那些心怀不满的人。

The central government urged officials to ensure social stability during the holiday season, saying in a Dec. 27 notice that they should “conduct dragnet investigations for all kinds of conflicts and hidden risks and dangers.”

中央政府已要求官员确保元旦春节期间的社会稳定，政府在去年12月27日印发的通知中要求“对各类矛盾纠纷和风险隐患开展拉网式排查”。

In Yinchuan, a city in northwestern China, police officers investigated whether there were any incidents of bullying or disputes between faculty or students, according to a news release.

据中国西北部城市银川发布的一份新闻稿，当地警方对教职工、学生间有无矛盾纠纷，是否存在校园欺凌等情况进行摸排了解。

In Yancheng, in eastern China, the police have checked karaoke bars, rental housing and hotels for potential layabouts.

在中国东部城市盐城，警方检查卡拉OK厅、出租房屋和酒店，排查潜在的闲散人员。

At a recent meeting of villagers and local party officials in central Henan Province, the police “encouraged everyone to actively report on any conflicts and disputes that have occurred in the village recently.” Under Mr. Xi, the Chinese government has renewed calls for ordinary residents to keep an eye on one another.

在中部的河南省最近召开的一次村民与当地党员干部参加的会议上，警方“鼓励大家积极反馈村内近期出现的各类矛盾纠纷情况”。在习近平的领导下，中国政府再次要求老百姓互相监视。

The central government routinely issues guidance about ensuring a safe holiday season. But this year, the instructions on social stability were more detailed. They singled out venues to keep an eye on — including campuses and sports venues — and called on officials to monitor public opinion and provide “positive guidance.”

中央政府经常发布关于确保节假日安全的建议。但今年，关于社会稳定的指导意见更加详细。他们特别指出了需要关注的场所——包括校园和体育场馆——并要求官员关注舆论，并提供“积极引导”。

Discussion about the attacks, and about economic discontent in general, has been heavily censored. Relatives of the victims have also been prevented from speaking with journalists.

对于袭击事件以及总体上关于经济不满情绪的讨论受到严格审查。受害者亲属也被禁止接受记者采访。

重庆，人们聚集在一起庆祝新年。

Economists and public commentators have suggested that the government should focus more on boosting consumer confidence, and offering stronger protections for ordinary people against financial hardships. The authorities have at times acknowledged those demands, such as in their promises to combat wage arrears for migrant workers, or provide holiday handouts to homeless people or people with disabilities.

经济学家和公共评论员建议政府应更加注重提振消费者信心，并为普通民众提供更强有力的保护，防止他们陷入财务困境。当局有时会认可这些要求，例如承诺解决农民工工资拖欠问题，或向无家可归者或残疾人提供节日补助。

This month, many civil servants across the country discovered that they had been given a surprise pay raise, according to discussion on social media, though the government did not issue any formal announcement.

据社交媒体上的讨论，本月，全国各地许多公务员发现他们获得了意外涨薪，尽管政府尚未发布任何正式公告。

Yet many calls for more substantive reforms have been censored, themselves deemed threats to social stability.

然而，许多要求进行更实质性改革的呼声受到了审查，它们本身就被视为对社会稳定的威胁。

“They should have been looking for what forces turned these people into beasts, but instead they ran off to investigate the ‘five types of losers,’” Li Chengpeng, a former prominent Chinese journalist now living overseas, wrote on social media. He was referring to local government notices that circulated online directing officials to surveil people who had suffered losses, such as of jobs or investments.

“本应该去追寻到底是什么力量让这些人异化成畜牲，却跑去查‘五失人员，’”现居海外的中国著名记者李承鹏在社交媒体上写道。他指的是网上流传的地方政府通知，指示官员监视那些遭受损失（例如失去工作或投资失败）的人。

Still, the same economic downturn that may be fueling some people’s grievances may also make it difficult to sustain the heightened security measures.

然而，经济衰退可能加剧一些人的不满，也可能使加强的安全措施难以维持。

Many local governments are already swimming in debt. They are under intense pressure now to answer Mr. Xi’s call to prevent mass incidents, but their money and manpower will soon come under strain, said Hongshen Zhu, an assistant professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong who studies Chinese governance.

香港岭南大学研究中国治理的助理教授朱洪申表示，许多地方政府已经负债累累，他们现在面临巨大的压力，需要响应习近平防止群体性事件的号召，但他们的资金和人力情况很快将难以负荷。

“As long as no new incidents occur, the priority of public safety will drop for local governments until the next public outcry happens,” he said.

“只要不发生新的事件，地方政府对公共安全的重视程度就会降低，直到出现下一次公众抗议事件，”他说。