The Chinese government's effort to fight terrorism would not affect relations among various ethnic groups in China, said an official in Beijing on Saturday.

"To crack down on those terrorist activities in accordance with laws is conducive to uniting the Chinese people and safeguarding national unification," Mao Gongning, director of the Policy and Law Department with the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, told a press conference on the development of human rights for minor ethnic groups in China.

"Terrorism is a criminal activity of very few people. It is not a problem related to ethnicity or religion," he said.

The terrorist activities violate the law, and are against the will and interest of all nationalities in China. Terrorism is contrary to the state interest and is abhorred by people of all ethnic groups, said Mao.

As a result, to crack down on terrorism according to the law has the wide support of the people, would help rally the people of all nationalities in China and protect the unity of the country, he said.

He also said the Chinese government has for decades extended many preferential policies to help regions with ethnic minorities achieve better and faster development.

"Those regions in which ethnic minorities live have undergone tremendous changes over the years, and relations among various nationalities have been consolidated and developed," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2008)