China joins fight on terrorism

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday that China will work with other countries to crack down on terrorist organizations which threaten the security of China and the world.

"China is firmly opposed to all forms of terrorism," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news conference.

She said in recent years, East Turkestan terrorist forces and international terrorist organizations have been uniting, not only threatening China's national security but also the security of other countries and regions.

"China will work with other countries to crack down on terrorist organizations including the East Turkestan terrorist forces," Hua said.

She said there should be no doubt of the nature of recent incidents in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which have already been defined as violent terrorist attacks.

She also called for relevant countries and media outlets to clearly recognize the essence of terrorism, understand and support the measures the Chinese government has taken in protecting ethnic and social stability as well as people's lives and property.

It has been reported that some members of the East Turkestan faction have participated in terrorist organizations within the Syrian opposition forces, and sneaked into Chinese territory to plan and execute terrorist attacks.

Li Wei, an expert on anti-terrorism with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said some members of the East Turkestan forces have participated in the Syrian war for a period of time and even uploaded relevant videos on the Internet.

- Cheng Guangjin