China's police chief stresses Xinjiang stability

Chinese Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun has called for improved combat ability and precautionary measures to fight terrorism to ensure sustained social stability in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China.

Violent and terrorist activities are anti-humanity and anti-society in nature, said Guo during his study tour of Xinjiang from April 20 to 21.

He asked local police to effectively carry out anti-terror measures and address both the symptoms and root causes in the fight.

Guo called for efforts to make training of police forces more real-combat oriented to improve their abilities.

Local police should improve their work styles to solve problems for residents and become friends with people from various ethnic groups, he said.

During his tour, Guo visited local police stations and communities in Urumqi, Kashgar, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Guo's remarks came after knife-wielding assailants killed 29 civilians and injured another 143 at a railway station in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming in March. Evidence linked the attack to terrorists from Xinjiang.

Xinjiang was also hit by violent terrorist attacks in the past year. In an incident last June, rioters killed 24 people at the region's Lukqun Township.