The Chinese government has linked the propaganda materials designed by East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) to the recent attacks in China, including the violent incidents in Urumqi early this year.

China’s State Internet Information Office (SIIO) released a documentary on Tuesday, showing the close relationship between the attacks in the region and the audio and video files published by ETIM.

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The state office strongly suggests that these propaganda materials promote terrorism. According to Beijing Review, authorities claimed the materials are directly linked to the two separate attacks at a railway station on April 22 that killed three victims, and on May 30 where 39 were killed.

ETIM is a movement listed by the United Nations Security Council as a terrorist group. A police investigation in China has unearthed propaganda materials allegedly published by ETIM and the number of materials that mushroomed online has increased through the years, said Xinhua in a separate report.

Citing the statement by SIIO, the Beijing Review noted that the police has monitored an estimated 109 terror-related audio and video materials produced by ETIM. This was higher than the 32 materials unearthed by the authorities in 2012. The police investigation has mapped out the connection between these propaganda materials and the surge of attacks in China in recent years.

China’s anti-terrorist experts claimed that the materials have been produced outside the region and they are suspected to have been uploaded on the internet using Turkish servers.

"International terrorist forces are influencing the ETIM, which has embraced the ideology of violent Jihad," Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert was quoted as saying in the documentary, according to Beijing Review.

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

China is now pushing to strengthen parameters that will ensure no terrorist materials will be disseminated in the region. Anti-terrorist groups in China are also looking into different ways to curb online terrorism including deletion of terrorist-related information online.

Authorities vow to punish website servers hosting the online publication of propaganda materials. They also call on internet companies to be more vigilant and reminded them of their responsibilities.

TagsChina anti-terror campaign, Chinese documentary on terrorism, East Turkestan Islamic Movement