More than 1,800 police officers were attacked in the line of duty in the first six months of this year, with most officers suffering injuries and a handful killed, sources from the Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday.

"They were attacked by criminal suspects or people intending to interfere with law enforcement through violence," the ministry spokesman Wu Heping was quoted by People's Daily as saying.

Ministry statistics show that 23 police officers were killed and 1,803 others injured between January and June when they encountered "violent obstacles" in carrying out assignments, such as hunting down suspects, handling brawls and punishing traffic violators.

Attacks on police have come under the public spotlight as such cases happened much more frequently this year.

Public concerns reached a climax this month when a series of attacks were reported in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, over a short period of time.

Thirteen assaults against police have taken place in Xi'an since April, injuring more than 20 police officers.

Han Dayuan, a professor with the Renmin University of China, pinned the blame on the misunderstanding of the "people first" principle.

Under this principle, police are not allowed to fight back when under verbal abuse or even physical attacks during riots.

Han said the "people first principle" refers to the protection of people's legal rights and interests. It does not mean that the police should condone violent threats or attacks.

Han said some people took that kind of attitude by police as their weakness, believing that attacks on police are not subject to punishment.

Acknowledging the upward trend of violence against police, the ministry has urged the country's public security agencies at all levels to strengthen the protection of police and to use legal means to punish those who threaten or mob police.

Zhang Wei, an officer with the Xi'an Public Security Bureau, said police work on the front lines of safeguarding the public and are vulnerable to attacks by people angered by various social problems, such as land disputes and a growing gap between the rich and the poor.

Violent attacks on police happened in many other places around China.

On September 21, a police officer Xu Guohui in northeast China's Jilin Province was stabbed and seriously wounded in his office by a person seeking revenge.

On September 9, policeman Tan Xinjian in central China's Hunan Province was illegally detained and beaten by more than 30 villagers for seven hours.

On May 30, policeman Yuan Dong in southwest China's Yunnan Province was stabbed to death when he checked a suspected car.

(China Daily September 29, 2005)