Officers to strengthen security at the border

Deputies to the National People's Congress said more measures will be taken to tighten security in Yunnan province after the terrorist attack in Kunming, the provincial capital, on Saturday night.

Wu Dongli, an NPC deputy and director-general of the Border Control Department of the Ministry of Public Security, said on Monday that the border defense police will strengthen control over the border and that all the police in Yunnan will fulfill their duties to strengthen security.

The attack left 29 people dead and 143 injured, and police shot and killed four attackers and arrested one.

Three other people suspected of involvement in the attack have been captured, Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement that an eight-member terrorist gang, led by Abdurehim Kurban, was responsible for the attack.

"The incident was an organized act against civilians, and someone was behind it with a conspiracy, causing huge loss of lives and wealth of the people. The police, including the border defense corps, must show their fortitude and fight back," Wu said.

Border defense will include more stringent action to control any behavior involving prostitution, gambling, illegal guns, smuggling and any form of violence, Wu said.

Cross-border travel was reinstated in December to open 13 travel routes to neighboring Southeast Asian countries in five border prefectures and cities of Yunnan after eight years of suspension, according to the Yunnan Department of Public Security.

Initiated in the early 1990s, the cross-border travel program was hit by illegal gambling and other crimes. The central government cracked down on gambling in 2004 and officially closed the program on Nov 2, 2005. The restart meant local police and border defense corps would face more challenges.

Another NPC deputy from Yunnan, who requested anonymity, condemned the assault and said security must be tightened in the province. "The border defense stations should pay more attention to those going through exit and entry points to other countries," he said.

Yunnan shares more than 4,000 km of border with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. An expert on international relations at Yunnan University, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the short distance to neighboring countries made Kunming "a desirable option" for terrorists because they are able to find a way out by sneaking into neighboring countries after attacking civilians. "So the border control is indispensible, and it needs support from the Ministry of Public Security," he said.

Wu said China has signed agreements with nine out of 14 neighboring countries, including Myanmar and Vietnam, that neighbor Yunnan. The 2010 White Book on National Defense showed that more than 60 Chinese border defense stations joined in arrangements to coordinate with neighboring countries.

Li Yingqing and Guo Anfei in Kunming contributed to this story.