Measures targeting religious extremism effective, official says

Measures to contain the spread of religious extremism in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, including offering free vocational training to help people find jobs, have proven effective and no terrorist attacks have occurred in the region in the past 21 months, said a senior official.

Shohrat Zakir, chairman of Xinjiang, spoke with Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday during an interview on the regional situation.

Fighting terrorism and eradicating extremism is a global issue as well as an international headache, he said, adding that Xinjiang has given equal importance to fighting and preventing terrorism and seeks to combine the fight against violent terrorist crimes with the protection of human rights.