China has launched a special task force to ramp up political policing to maintain social stability, said the official Procuratorial Daily, the latest move to rein in dissent over Beijing's handling of the coronavirus and protests in Hong Kong.

The task force will "crack down on all kinds of infiltration, subversion, sabotage, violent terrorist activities, ethnic separatist activities, and extreme religious activities," according to the undated notes from a meeting of the task force published in the paper yesterday...