A senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Saturday urged concrete measures to maintain stability, which he described as an "arduous" task.

Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, made the remarks at a meeting after hearing reports on the preparation for the security during the National Day holiday and the situations in the country's far western Xinjiang and Tibet.

"While on the whole the social situation is stable, the country now faces grave challenges in maintaining stability, and the task is arduous," Zhou said.

Currently, the overwhelming political task is to maintain the stability of the capital, said Zhou.

Grand celebrations will be held on Oct. 1 in Beijing to mark the 60th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

Zhou urged officials and security workers to "fully prepare themselves for the most complicated situation" in order to ensure the smooth run of all activities during the National Day holiday.

Describing the security campaign as a "people's war", Zhou urged the capital's neighboring areas to strengthen security check and stamp out any factors that might harm stability outside Beijing "with utmost efforts."

Zhou noted that maintaining stability in Xinjiang, where recent needle attacks caused public scare and triggered mass protests after the riot on July 5, is also one of the most significant missions.

The riot left 197 people dead in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, while five died during the mass protests in the city last week.

In addition, Zhou urged the local government in Tibet Autonomous Region to strengthen management on monasteries and "strictly" prevent any harmful attempts from separatists.

He said currently people across the country are all hoping for stability and development and "we are fully confident" in managing the security well around National Day.

(Xinhua News Agency September 13, 2009)