Terrorists Should Be Severely Punished

By+Lan+Xinzhen

On March 1， eight terrorists， uniformly dressed and masked， wielded knives to hack innocent people at the Kunming Railway Station in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province. The attack left 29 dead and more than 140 injured. Evidences collected at the crime scene suggested that the terrorist attack was plotted by “East Turkistan” separatist forces.

The terrorists blatantly disregard basic human rights. They should be condemned by the international community and punished by law so as to maintain social stability and protect peoples lives and property.

We should also identify these terrorists real nature. Instigated by separatists in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， the thugs do not represent their ethnic group or religion. They are only a frenzied criminal gang， who want to disrupt social stability， create ethnic strife and split the country.

The overwhelming majority of people in Xinjiang are patriotic， and have nothing to do with the “East Turkistan” terrorists. After the terrorist attack， the regions people strongly condemned the atrocity and offered their condolence to the victims.

Many Chinese people thought that terrorist attacks were far from them. But the bloody terrorist attack in Kunming reminds us that terrorists are all around us. So we must be vigilant， and resolutely fight against terrorists and separatists， so as to protect our own right to subsistence and national interest.

This terrorist attack also makes the Chinese Government aware that holding an anti-terrorist stance presents a great risk. Last years terrorist attack at the Tiananmen in downtown Beijing and the terrorist attack in Kunming suggest that “East Turkistan” separatists are spreading terror not only in Xinjiang， but also to other parts of the country.

Terrorism is the common enemy of all people in the world. Qin Gang， a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs， said that the Chinese Government will severely punish terrorists， no matter who they are， which organization they belong to or with whom they are connected， and regardless of the time and place of the terrorist attacks.

China has always played an active role in combating international terrorism. Since the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001， China has cooperated with other countries against terrorism. It has actively allied with Central Asian countries， and combated religious extremists， separatists and terrorists under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

In the future， China should strive to play a greater role in combating international terrorism. When necessary， it should consider sending combat forces to other countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan where “East Turkistan” separatists are active， to support these countries anti-terrorism efforts.

After the terrorist attack in Kunming， some international organizations and foreign governments have strongly condemned the atrocity and offered sincere condolence to victims. We are deeply touched by the good will of the international community.endprint