New rules help Xinjiang tackle symptoms and causes of extremism to prevent attacks

The new anti-terrorism regulation that took effect in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Monday aims to prevent terrorist attacks and stop terrorist activities at the planning stage, the region's top lawmaker said.

The regulation, which is a legal interpretation of China's Anti-Terrorism Law, provides detailed and practical legal guidance in Xinjiang's anti-terrorism work, Nayim Yassen, head of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang regional People's Congress, said at a news conference in the regional capital of Urumqi on Friday.

"The regulation has been drafted to deal with the real problems exposed on Xinjiang's anti-terrorism front line," he said. "Xinjiang's anti-terrorism mechanism has entered a new phase."

Based on the Anti-Terrorism Law, the regulation defines terrorist activities that are unique in Xinjiang and includes acts that often lead to terrorist activities. "It can help Xinjiang tackle both the symptoms and root causes of terrorism so possible attacks can be prevented," Nayim said.

Xinjiang, which has been China's front line against terrorism, is the first provincial-level region to issue and implement a legal interpretation of the Anti-Terrorism Law.

Under the new regulation, people using ideological extremism to lure others into terrorist activities and those who wear clothes that advertise religious extremism in public will be punished.

Also, people who expand the Islamic concept of halal－which means adherence to dietary laws－to include other areas of life will face detention and fines.

"Extremism, including political and religious extremism, are closely associated with terrorism, so curbing extremism is one of the most important elements in preventing terrorism," said Li Juan, director of Xinjiang Police College.

Officials believe that the penetration of religious extremism has led to an increasing number of terrorist attacks in recent years.

The regulation also stated that leaders of terrorist organizations and terrorist convicts who incite others while serving sentences will receive solitary confinement.

"Solitary confinement is to prevent other convicts in prisons from being influenced by key terrorist figures," said Qin Wei, head of the standing committee's commission of legal affairs.

Qin said the regulation has clarified the leadership structure in organizing different anti-terrorism forces, such as the government and armed forces, so anti-terrorism missions can be carried out more smoothly and effectively.

Contact the writers at [email protected]