Legal framework has enabled successful terror crackdown

Yearslong focus has seen rapid drop in attacks and put an end to radicalization

The prioritization in China’s legal framework for preventing acts of terrorism has thwarted attacks in recent years and helped to safeguard national security and social stability, according to legal experts.

From the late 1990s to the 2010s, terrorist attacks in China were becoming more frequent, and terrorist cells had become smaller and more localized.

With the violent attacks causing irreversible damage to life and property, China began improving its legal framework to put a stop to terrorism, said Yang Haitao, a professor at the Criminal Investigation Police University of China’s School of Investigation and Counterterrorism.

China’s Counterterrorism Law, which was passed in December 2015, states that the principle of the country’s counterterrorism measures is to prioritize prevention. The crimes of planning terrorist activities, advocating terrorism and extremism and inciting terrorism were added in Amendment IX to the Criminal Law adopted in August 2015, Yang said.

“China has been making consistent law-based efforts in deradicalization. It has succeeded in containing the influence and spread of religious extremism, which is the ideological foundation of terrorism,” he said.

Acts of religious extremism have been clarified in the Counterterrorism Law and the Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Deradicalization. It has made people aware of those acts, so they won’t be manipulated by religious extremists, he added.

China has established standards for the prevention of terrorism in key sectors, including transport, water, electricity, oil, gas, nuclear facilities, nuclear technology, hazardous chemicals, biosecurity and national strategic reserves, said Li Changlin, a professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law’s Human Rights Institute.

According to the white paper titled “China’s Legal Framework and Measures for Counterterrorism” released by the State Council Information Office on Tuesday, the Ministry of Public Security has released 37 terrorism prevention standards for the public security sector, and local authorities have issued hundreds more.

It added that by supporting scientific research and technological innovation, developing new technical devices, and applying them to training and real-world scenarios, China continues to increase its scientific and technological capacity to counter terrorism and effectively tackle the challenges posed by new technologies and business forms, including artificial intelligence, encrypted communication and virtual currencies.

“China’s legal framework on counterterrorism has specified the responsibility of different forces and sectors in combating terrorism, so counterterrorism measures can be carried out more effectively,” Li said.

According to the white paper, since 2014, China has taken tough action against violent terrorism and punished criminals who have plotted terrorist activities. It has foiled most potential terrorist attacks at the planning stage.