XI'AN, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China's top security official ordered authorities of various levels to dissolve social conflicts and meanwhile, continue to crackdown on crimes to ensure that the Communist Party's 17th national congress is held in a peaceful environment.

    Luo Gan, director of the Central Committee for the Comprehensive Management of Public Security, urged local Party and government officials to do more mediation in dealing with social disputes or conflicts.

    "Reasoning, consultation and negotiation should be applied in a comprehensive way to dissolve social conflicts," said Luo, echoing the call from a Party newspaper urging the government to reduce the use of force to deal with social unrest.

    Speaking at a two-day national security meeting which ended Tuesday in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Luo asked local officials to listen to and work on the complaints and pleas raised by the masses "to ensure their problems can be effectively resolved".

    Violent protests and social unrest with mass participation, officially termed "mass incidents", have become more frequent in recent years. Most riots originated from unanswered petitions and public discontent concerning issues such as land acquisition and unjust law enforcement.

    The Study Times, a weekly newspaper sponsored by the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, last month published a commentary urging local government officials to refrain from using force to control protests as violence might intensify conflicts.

    "Local governments should distinguish between a collective appeal to the higher authorities for help and a violation of the law," it said, adding that police should only be involved in mass incidents where laws and regulations had been violated.

    Liu Jinguo, vice minister of public security, said on the meeting that "mass incidents" are on the decline due to the increased mediation efforts of public security officials.

    He said the number of reported "mass incidents" was down 16.5 percent in 2006, compared with the year before, continuing the decline since 2004.

    The number of participants was also down 20.2 percent last year, said the vice minister.

    Previous reports said the Ministry of Public Security acknowledged 17,900 "mass incidents" occurred nationwide in the first nine months of 2006, down 22.1 percent from the same period a year earlier.

    Liu said the police has made the security of the Party congress, to be held in the second half of this year, and the Beijing Olympics next year as priorities of the two years.

    He said the police should deal with major "mass incidents" as fast as possible and avoid conflicts being intensified due to inappropriate handling.

    While pointing out the importance to dissolve social conflicts, Luo ordered seriously cracking down on crimes that threaten people's lives and property, and increasing patrols in regions plagued by violence and crimes.

    He said the campaign to eradicate organized crime should be continued and officials should try to establish a lasting mechanism for crime prevention.

    Wang Anshun, vice Party Secretary of Beijing, who overseas the city's law enforcement, said police in the capital will conduct intensive security monitoring twice a year in the districts with high crime rate. Wang vowed to overhaul about 200 slums, known as "villages in cities", by the beginning of next year.

    He said the government will carry on the "city moat project", a security network that combines the efforts of police in Beijing, its neighboring city of Tianjin and Hebei Province.

    The network will clampdown on violent extremists and terrorists who might try to hide in the surrounding cities before sneaking into the capital during big events, such as the Party congress or the Olympics, previous reports said.

    Wang also said the capital's district governments have funded a 31,000-strong civilian patrol team to assist the police in maintaining security during the Olympic Games.