China vows to strike first in combating terrorism

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities would strike first the "three evil forces" of terrorists, separatists and extremists in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a senior official said here on Sunday.

Wang Lequan, chief of the Xinjiang regional committee of the Communist Party of China, made the remarks on the sidelines of the national parliamentary session.

"We are prepared to strike them when the evil forces are planning their activities," he said.