China to draft first counter-terrorism law

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June 17, 2005 13:53 IST

China, which has faced terrorist attacks on its citizens in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan, will draft a counter-terrorism law soon to strengthen its fight against terrorist activities, a senior official said.

"The law will define what kind of activities are terrorist activities and measures to be taken in fighting terrorist activities," deputy director of the counter-terrorism bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, Zhao Yongchen said.

"Preparations for formulation of the law are underway," he said without giving a specific timetable for the law.

Although China is a stable country, it still faces threats from terrorism, Zhao said at the China-ASEAN workshop for senior police officers, hosted by the ministry.

He called the East Turkistan terrorist forces in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region the 'number one terrorist threat' to China, saying they have carried out more than 200 terrorist activities in Xinjiang in the 1990s.

He said China also faces a threat from international terrorist forces, mainly to China's interests abroad. Last year projects undertaken by Chinese technicians were sabotaged by terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan and Chinese
personnel working for the projects were kidnapped.  

 

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