Chinese sources have reported the establishment in late 2005 of "Special Public Security Detachments" in Lhasa, and in Xining, the capital of Qinghai province. The official news agency Xinhua claims that their task is "to deal with mass disturbances"; "to deal with abrupt and other unexpected incidents"; "to guard against any act of terrorism and violence"; "to strike hard on criminals" and to "safeguard public order flexibly and with fast reaction capacity". An official in Lhasa said that the new detachments have been formed specifically to "more effectively secure the unity of the Motherland, strengthen the solidarity of the nationalities, [and] stabilise Tibet's situation. The importance given to the new detachments is reflected in the fact that, though technically parts of municipal security authorities, they stand "under the direct (1) leadership of the Party Committee and the Government". However, it remains unclear as to which particular level of party and government this is.
According to Xinhua, the new force in Lhasa was established on 29 October 2005 "following concerns from and with the support" of the Regional and Municipal Party Committees, and as part of Lhasa City Public Security Department. A similar force was established in Xining on 03 November 2005, as part of the Municipal Public Security Department. It was set up "on the basis of the original Violence Prevention Patrol Group".
A ceremony marking the establishment of the new force took place in Lhasa, during which a brass plaque was unveiled in the presence of Yang Wanfu, who holds the posts of Secretary of Lhasa Public Security Department's Party Committee, Vice Secretary of the Lhasa City Party Committee, and Secretary of the Municipal Legal-Political Commission. Wang Maoxiong, a member of the Municipal Standing Party Committee and the Head of the Municipal Organization Department, as well as leaders of the regional Political-Legal Commission, the Public Security Bureau and other state organs, also took part in the ceremony.
In a speech delivered during the ceremony, Yang Wanfu declared: "The present international and domestic situation is undergoing deep changes. In particular, since America's "9/11" incident and the war between America and Iraq, terrorist activities are increasing day by day and are seriously impacting and threatening people's normal work and public order". It is, therefore "utterly necessary to organise a contingent of special forces under the direct leadership of the Party Committee and the Government with mass-work and fast reaction capacity". The new force will be "strictly trained, could understand law and policy, master technical skills and be fitted out with complete sets of special equipment". They will be responsible for "safeguarding security through dealing with major public disorder incidents like violent terrorist activities, serious violent crimes and large scales of hoodlum disturbances, etc.".