More Chinese residents have confidence in public order according to a recent survey, in which 84.1 per cent of respondents said they felt safe in their homes, a slight increase on the previous year.

Only 3.5 per cent of those surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with public order, stating they felt no sense of security, a drop of 0.6 percentage point.

The 2002 national public opinion poll on the public's sense of security, conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, surveyed more than 100,000 people above the age of 16, from 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Of those surveyed, 68 percent were from villages and small towns, while 26.9 percent were urban residents.

The survey results, which have just been released, indicate that crime is the biggest factor when it comes to the public's sense of security.

A total of 28,201 people, accounting for 27.7 per cent of the total number surveyed, were afraid of crime, a drop of 2.8 percentage points.

Another cause of anxiety is the fear of a chaotic public order, with 26,044 people - just over a quarter of respondents - admitting that to be one of the most serious factors affecting their sense of safety.

Traffic accidents climbed to third place, with 21.5 per cent of those surveyed, an increase of 1.5 percentage points, expressing concern over road carnage. Experts said the increase was largely caused by the jump in private cars and rookie drivers on the road.

Respondents seemed much more afraid of being attacked in busy areas, like shopping centre, buses and entertainment places. Some 18.3 per cent of the surveyed believed remote highways were danger spots, a 0.7 percentage point drop from the previous year.

Fourteen per cent of respondents indicated that there is nothing to be afraid of - whatever their location - a 1 percentage point increase.

About one quarter of those polled were confident they could rely on fellow citizens for assistance if attacked, a rise of 0.5 percentage point from 2001.

(China Daily March 4, 2003)