Police in Xinjiang bust 181 terrorist groups

Police have broken up 181 terrorist groups over the past year as the result of a sweeping crackdown in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, local authorities said on Monday.

According to the regional government's publicity office, 96.2 percent of the groups were traced before they were able to commit crimes and 112 suspects surrendered to the police.

The anti-terrorism campaign was launched a day after the bombing of a market in the regional capital of Urumqi that killed 39 people in May last year.

Besides tackling terrorist activities, the police have also clamped down on religious extremism as well as video and audio materials that promote attacks. Additionally, public security departments have intensified their efforts to deal with illegal border crossings.

Residents from all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have played an important role in combating terrorism, as the police solved 81 cases as a result of tip-offs during the campaign.

In August, more than 30,000 residents of Moyu county volunteered to help the police find a group of terrorism suspects. Some of the residents discovered the suspects' whereabouts and reported them to the police. Officers later fatally shot nine suspects and captured one.

In another case in Kashgar in January, relatives of a suspect passed on information to the police while residents offered to help track him down by setting up checkpoints and visiting households.

The regional legislature approved a regulation banning women from wearing the burqa, the Islamic garment that covers the face, in public places in Urumqi. Women are being encouraged to wear their colorful traditional dress instead.

About 200,000 government officials were sent to nearly 10,000 villages and communities to help residents deal with problems and provide vocational training and lectures about agriculture.

"To eradicate the soil that breeds terrorism and violence, the government should spare no effort to help residents improve their livelihoods, create more jobs and ensure that children and young people receive an education," said Turgunjan Tursun, a sociology researcher at the Xinjiang Regional Academy of Social Sciences.

Zheng Liang, a researcher at Xinjiang University who studies issues that affect stability in the region, said terrorism can only be eliminated by a collaboration between the government and the public. The government should step up its efforts to communicate effectively with the public, he added.

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn