China releases documentary on online terrorist propaganda  

国信办：“东伊运”音视频成暴恐事件推手

Video screenshot shows a burning vehicle at the Tian'anmen Square on Oct 28, 2013. [Photo/ Chinanews.com]

The Chinese government on Tuesday released a television program about online terrorist propaganda by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

According to the documentary, audio and video files promoting terrorism are directly linked to terrorism and violence, including the attacks in Urumqi on April 30 and May 22 that killed three and 39 people respectively.

The program says that such audio and video materials have been a feature of almost every terrorist attack, with a police investigation finding that some of it had been published by the ETIM.

The State Internet Information Office (SIIO) said the amount of audio and video materials put online by the ETIM, which is listed by the United Nations Security Council as a terrorist group, has shot up in the past few years.

In 2013, police tracked 109 terror-related audio and video files produced by the movement, compared with 32 in the previous year. The recordings were matched by a surge in attacks.

Besides promoting terrorism, ETIM videos also offer tutorials on how to make explosives and how to use weapons, according to the documentary.

It indicates that the videos are produced outside China, with many uploaded on Turkish servers.

"International terrorist forces are influencing the ETIM, which has embraced the ideology of violent Jihad," Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert told the documentary.

"Members of the ETIM outside China are active in Syria. They have worked with Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria," Li added.

As the Internet and mobile phone technologies grow, cyberspace has become a new battleground as the ETIM increases online publication of propaganda, images designed to incite violence, and terrorist training manuals, said the the SIIO.

According to the documentary, the ETIM is also active on social media, and on content sharing sites.

Many of the videos were transmitted via mobile phones, Fang Nan, an official in charge of the Internet emergency response department of the SIIO, told Xinhua.

Li Sheng, a professor with the Xinjiang Development Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "People involved in East Turkestan terrorist acts must have seen videos inciting violent Jihad and separatism."

The Chinese government has vowed to strengthen its management of the Internet, telecommunication market and illegal publications.

The authorities are working to prevent terrorist materials produced overseas from being spread in China, delete such information online, punish website servers hosting it and urge Internet companies to meet their responsibilities.

More than 30 websites including Sina, Tencent, Baidu and Taobao signed a letter of commitment on Friday to meet their responsibilities in the campaign.

Waging a people's war against terrorism, the SIIO encouraged the public to provide it with tip-offs regarding online terrorist information and promised rewards of up to 100,000 yuan (16,260 U.S. dollars) for those who offer important clues.

According to Fang, the Chinese government has also been promoting international cooperation on stemming online terrorism. The SIIO has reached consensus on cracking down on terrorist and violent videos with more than 10 major overseas websites, the official added.

The documentary by China Central Television was made with the support of the SIIO, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Council Information Office.

Filled with graphic footage of terrorists' training episodes and their terrorist killings, it was released to educate Internet users on the consequences of spreading terror and violent videos.

It is also aimed at reminding Internet companies of their responsibilities in the battle against such material.