China will harshly crack down on terrorist attacks and maintain lasting stability in Xinjiang, the central leadership of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) said on Monday.
The stability of Xinjiang is strategically vital to the whole country's reform and development as well as its national security, said a statement released after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, chaired by its general secretary, Xi Jinping.
All Party members should perceive the timeliness and complexity of the acute anti-separatist struggle in Xinjiang and better understand the importance of maintaining local stability, according to the statement.
Top priority should be given to the fight against violent terrorist attacks and religious extremist forces, it said, adding confidence is needed to win the long-term struggle.
"The Party's policies on Xinjiang have been proved completely right," the central leadership said, urging more efforts to implement the existing ethnic policies to promote bilingual education and interaction between ethnic groups.
Creating jobs for local people will be put on the top of the agenda, the Party leadership said, adding it should be ensured that at least one person from zero-employment families is offered a job.
Steps will be taken to boost local education in Xinjiang, including speeding up the building of boarding schools in agricultural and pastoral areas as well as remote regions, the leadership vowed.
Local people will be encouraged to protect the local environment and realize sustainable development in Xinjiang, according to the statement.
It promised that campaigns will be launched to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism in Xinjiang in order to limit the surging number of terrorist attacks in the hinterlands.
"More efforts are needed to increase ideological influence," the statement added. "Socialist core value should be used in the building of the common spiritual home for nations in Xinjiang."
Special measures will be taken to boost development in southern Xinjiang in particular and improve local people's livelihood there, it said.
The Party leadership also stressed the role of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in maintaining stability and promoting ethnic harmony.
China to start year-long anti-terror operation
Chinese police will start a year-long nationwide anti-terror operation, the Ministry of Public Security said Sunday.
The ministry asked police in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and in the rest of the country to cooperate and launch a strong and joint offensive against terrorism.
Xinjiang police announced the start of the campaign on Friday. According to them, the campaign will last until June 2015.
Police are urged to stop terrorists from striking again and prevent forces of terrorism and religious extremism from spreading from Xinjiang to the rest of the country.
Under a preemptive strategy, police nationwide will pool their information for early identification of terrorist groups and their members.
They will work with other government departments and communities to stem the source of terrorism, find out security loopholes and weak points.
Police will step up armed patrols and security control at crowded public places and tighten up management of explosives and weapons.
They will improve coordination among police departments in different regions, railway, civil aviation and transport sectors, in a bid to better investigate cases, hunt down suspects and handle emergencies.
The ministry also instructed local police to properly implement the policies on ethnic minorities. They should only target terrorists and religious extremists and protect legal rights and interests of ethnic minority people, the statement said.
They are also urged to improve the public awareness of anti-terrorism.
Xinjiang suffered several terrorist attacks lately. Three people were killed and 79 injured in an attack on April 30 at a railway station in Urumqi, the regional capital. An attack on a market in Urumqi left 39 dead and 94 injured on Thursday morning.
