Since the 1930s, in particular from the end of the Cold War, the so-called East Turkistan forces, plotting a series of violent incidents, have not only become a grave public hazard in China but have also posed a serious threat to the security and stability of surrounding countries and regions.

The East Turkistan forces are various organizations with the objective of independence for the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous Region so as to found a so-called state of "East Turkistan."

However, as Xinjiang has indisputably long been a part of China, the idea of a so-called "East Turkistan" is just an excuse to split China's territory.

In the 1980s, prompted by East Turkistan separatism, an abnormally feverish religious atmosphere was created in some places in Xinjiang.

Taking advantage of illegal religious activities, the East Turkistan forces have fomented a series of riots, which was the beginning of East Turkistan terrorism.

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the changes in East Europe, the 1990s witnessed the growth of national separatism.

This greatly encouraged the terrorist East Turkistan forces. Influenced by religious extremism, separatism and international terrorism, these forces have become increasingly keen on directing terrorist attacks against innocent people in order to create an atmosphere of fear and to extend their influence.

In the booklets published by the East Turkistan organizations, the separatists publicly state that they want to "create an atmosphere of terror in places such as kindergartens, hospitals, schools and etc, at any price."

In a meeting held in Istanbul in December 1999, representatives of more than 40 separatist organizations from 18 countries reached a consensus to found a so-called "East Turkistan" state through violence.

Though there has not yet been an accurate definition of terrorism, the concept has some basic factors that are widely recognized by scholars around the world.

First, terrorism has political objectives, which distinguishes it from normal crimes.

Second, terrorism always uses violence or the threat of violence, which includes bombing, assassination, arson, poisoning and assault.

Third, the targets of terrorism are unarmed civilians, including women, the elderly, children and civilian government institutions and personnel.

Fourth, terrorists want to draw the attention of the public so as to extend their influence.

Therefore, as measured by the above key characteristics of terrorism, the East Turkistan forces are terrorist elements.

First, they have a clear-cut political objective, that is, to split Xinjiang from China so as to establish an Islamic state.

Second, to achieve this political objective, the East Turkistan forces have used extremely violent methods similar to those of certain Islamic fundamentalist groups.

Third, all these activities were well organized and carefully planned. The East Turkistan forces have militarized command systems inside their organizations and many of their activities required what must have been detailed, long-term planning.

Fourth, civilians are the major targets of these activities, though the police, government officials and patriotic religious figures sometimes also become the targets of these forces.

Fifth, one of the main purposes of the East Turkistan forces is to extend their influence and to arouse the attention as well as panic of the public through frequent terrorist activities. They make terrorism one of their means of propaganda and attempt to attract the sympathy of the international community.

Moreover, the activities of the East Turkistan forces have already extended beyond the border of China.

A large quantity of evidence demonstrates that the East Turkistan forces have very intimate connections with international terrorist organizations such as al-Qaida.

The international terrorist forces, according to China's Information Office of the State Council, have provided the East Turkistan forces with weapons, funds and training.

For example, Osama bin Laden's group al-Qaida not only trained the backbone members of the East Turkistan forces but also gave them instructions on organizing terrorist activities. Bin Laden also had several secret consultations with the leaders of terrorist forces in central and west Asia, to talk about helping the East Turkistan forces wage a "holy war" in Xinjiang and to make Xinjiang a standard Islamic theocracy.

The East Turkistan forces have not only been supported by al-Qaida and other international terrorist organizations, but have also become an important force in international terrorism on their own.

After training, quite a few members of the East Turkistan forces stayed behind in mid-South Asia to engage in terrorist activities. They became key forces for al-Qaida. Some of them also joined the terrorist organization in Chechnya.

The so-called desire for national independence or the holding up of religious beliefs are simply excuses used by the terrorists to gain the sympathy and support of the international community as well as to cover their true terrorist nature.

The Chinese Government has consistently opposed any form of terrorism nor has it supported any terrorist.

In order to safeguard its territorial integrity and the stability of Xinjiang and its surrounding areas, as well as the security and interests of its people of all ethnic groups, China has been firmly striking the East Turkistan forces in accordance with international and domestic laws.

Striking the East Turkistan forces is also a key part of the worldwide anti-terrorism struggle.

In fact, the United Nations included the East Turkistan forces on its list of international terrorist organizations last month.

This shows the determination of the international community in the war against terrorism and provides China with much needed international support for its fight against the East Turkistan terrorist forces.

Though it is not easy to root out terrorism, with the support of peace-loving people all over the world and the co-operation of the international community, this anti-terrorism mission will reach a successful conclusion.

The authors are researchers from the Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Personnel.