China to strike hard on violent terrorist attacks

URUMQI - A Chinese leader said Saturday that the country will strike hard on violent terrorist attacks according to law and maintain social stability in Xinjiang.

Yu Zhengsheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at a meeting in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Xinjiang was hit by violent terrorist attacks in the past few days.

Yu, leading a work team, arrived in Urumqi early Saturday, after President Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Friday to arrange the work of safeguarding social stability and the interests of the people in Xinjiang.

China will impose severe punishment on those taking part in violent crimes, Yu said at Saturday's meeting, which was attended by officials from across Xinjiang.

"We will step up actions to crack down upon terrorist groups and extremist organizations and track the wanted," he said.

Xinjiang has achieved sound economic development in recent years, but separatists in and outside the country have been escalating their efforts and those deep-seated problems challenging Xinjiang's social stability have not been completely solved, Yu said.

A few criminals have continuously masterminded and conducted violent terrorist attacks, causing serious losses to the lives and properties of the public, he said, slamming the attacks as "key threats to national unity and social stability in Xinjiang."

Safety precautions must be taken, especially for key areas and institutions, he said, calling for efforts to mobilize the public and CPC members.

Yu called on local people to stay calm and keep vigilance.

Yu also said authoritative information on the attacks should be released in a timely manner, and efforts must be taken to promote China's ethnic and religious policies as well as laws and regulations.

Also at the meeting, Meng Jianzhu, secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, made detailed anti-terror arrangements in Xinjiang.

Meng said that the recent violent terrorist attacks have revealed the anti-human nature of the terrorists, who are the common enemy of all ethnic groups.

Law enforcement agencies should severely crack down on violent terrorist activities, with precautionary and preemptive measures, to guarantee social stability in Xinjiang, Meng said.

The meeting was also attended by Zhang Chunxian, secretary of the CPC's Xinjiang committee, Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun and Wang Zhengwei, minister in charge of state ethnic affairs commission.