China’s legislature is authorizing new guidelines to define and combat terrorism, taking a step toward bringing its practices in line with international norms as Beijing battles a sporadically violent rebellion in the far west. The legislative resolution approved on Saturday clearly lays out for the first time China’s legal definition of terrorism and the steps for formally declaring groups and individuals terrorists and freezing their assets.
A legal affairs expert for the legislature, Li Shouwei, says the resolution is intended to help law enforcement authorities treat terrorists differently from other criminals and to promote international cooperation on terrorism. China has failed to eradicate a decades-long separatist campaign by Muslim Uighurs (WEE’gurs) in its Xinjiang region and accuses terrorist groups of perpetrating violence against civilians.