Chinese authorities would adopt a strike-first policy against the "three evil forces" of terrorists, separatists and extremists in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a senior official said 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 whenever they are found planning their activities," he said.

Meanwhile, Wang said that the terrorists killed and nabbed earlier this year in Xinjiang had planned an attack targeting the Beijing Olympic Games.

Police smashed a terrorist gang in January in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, killing two and arresting 15 others, one year after they destroyed a terrorist training camp in the Pamir plateau, killing 18 terrorists and capturing 17.

"Those terrorists, saboteurs and secessionists are to be battered resolutely, no matter what ethnic group they are from," said Wang.

"The Olympic Games slated for this August is a big event, but there are always a few people who conspire sabotages. It is no longer a secret now," Wang added.

On Friday police foiled a planned attack on a passenger plane taking off from Urumqi. The attackers were stopped in time, and all the passengers and crew members on board were safe, according to Nur Bekri, chairman of the autonomous regional government, who added that further investigation is still going on.

(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2008)