West’s criticism of Chinaʼs anti-terror law a bluff

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China on Sunday passed the country's first-ever Counter-terrorism Law with an unanimous vote, which will take effect on January 1, providing legal support to the nation's anti-terrorism action as well as cooperation with the international community. From the first draft to the final approval, the law has drawn criticism from the West over possible infringement of human rights and freedom of expression. The US State Department spokeswoman Gabrielle Price said last week that the law "would lead to greater restrictions on the exercise of freedoms of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and religion within China." The anti-terrorism law clearly addresses the concern. According to the law, "terrorist activities shall be punished in accordance with the law and human rights shall be respected and safeguarded to protect citizens' lawful rights, interests and freedom." It means the process of carrying out the law will be regulated, and violations of people's legal rights will be prevented, which is an important principle of the newly adopted law. The law strikes a balance between strengthening of counter-terrorism measures and the respect and protection of human rights. For one thing, quite a few clauses in the law have specified that legal rights of citizens and organizations must be respected and protected. For another, given the definition of "terrorism" in the new law - proposition or activity that "infringes on personal and property rights, and menaces government organs and international organizations," effectively preventing and cracking down on terrorism itself amounts to safeguarding human rights. Anti-terrorism measures and regulations have been enacted all over the world. Take the US for example. The controversial Patriot Act, a US anti-terror law enacted in 2001, granted the country power to "bypass strict European privacy laws to acquire citizen data within the European Union," according to the CBS News. The USA Freedom Act, which entered into force on June 2 this year, allows the bulk collection of the US citizens' metadata by phone companies and various business records that the government could search later. China's rules must, of course, be made by China. How to make the rules is entirely up to the Chinese people. Americans will never pay for the harm caused by a terror attack in China, and the US' intervention in China's internal affairs is also motivated by its own interest.