China's top security body plans to implement an accountability mechanism on anti-terrorism work as part of the country's enhanced efforts against terrorist activities, media reported Saturday.
Government and Party officials would be held accountable in accordance with law and Party discipline if they fall short of their mission against terrorism, according to a meeting chaired by Guo Shengkun, public security minister and head of the national anti-terrorism leading group, and attended by senior MPS officials on Saturday.
A stronger surveillance and review of how previous measures were implemented will also be carried out, news portal cpd.com.cn affiliated with the MPS reported.
Local Party committees and the government should include anti-terrorism efforts into their work plan, and were urged to be more proactive to address the challenges and problems of anti-terrorism work, said the report.
Coordination and cooperation among departments is also required, together with a serious attitude among officials to fulfill their obligations, to build a solid and powerful defense against terrorism.
China has made continuous and proactive efforts against terrorism and local measures are taken to protect the country against terrorists activities, that experts believed are conducted in various forms and in a secluded manner that are difficult to detect.
The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (PSB) raised the city's alert level on November 15. More police have been mobilized, and stricter checks on courier services, large events and public transportation have been imposed, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
In Shanxi Province, the antiterrorism leading group held a similar emergency conference on Sunday, with the group's chief calling for better countermeasures and preparedness, said Xinhua.
And in Shanghai, armed special operations police conducted a counterterrorism drill on November 15 to improve their ability to deal with emergencies.
China has suffered from terrorist attacks in recent years, the most severe of which occurred on July 5, 2009 in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Beijing also witnessed a deadly car attack in Tiananmen Square on October 28, 2014, killing three people in the car and two bystanders.
