Anti-terror draft has 'no backdoors'

China's anti-terrorism legislation will not hurt lawful business and will not leave "backdoors" for Internet hacking, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, rebuking the United States for its concerns.

The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress reviewed on Monday the third draft of the anti-terrorism law, which legislators suggested should be passed.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the US should respect China's legislation and not adopt a double standard, since US law has similar provisions on anti-terrorism for the telecommunications sector and the Internet.

"A number of countries, including the US, have stipulated in legislation the obligations of network operators and service providers to assist counter terrorism as needed," he said, citing the US wiretapping law known as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.

"China's draft anti-terrorism law contains a provision requiring telecommunication companies and Internet service providers to offer technical support such as technical interfaces and decryption for the departments of public security and national security to prevent and investigate terrorist activities. This is totally reasonable," said Hong.

The provision will not restrict companies' lawful business, and the issue of "backdoors" doesn't exist, Hong said. The legislation won't infringe on intellectual property rights or freedom of speech on the Internet, he added.

Terrorists have increasingly used the Internet to plan and conduct crimes, which urgently calls for strengthening systems and measures, he said.

The US should dispel its mistrust of China, said Lu Chuanying, assistant researcher at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. "It's impossible that China, as a large Internet country, would base its development on infringement of IPR. What's more, China has international obligations (in protecting IPR)," he said.

The US should conduct reasonable dialogue through relevant systems that both countries agreed upon during President Xi Jinping's visit to the US, instead of voicing blame arbitrarily, he said.

Effectively combating terrorism and protecting human rights complement each other, said Hong, asking the US to "stop making accusations for no reason".

"The Chinese government attaches great importance to handling the relations between anti-terrorism and protecting human rights. It will strengthen the regulation of law enforcement and protect the lawful rights of people," he said, adding that the legislation is reasonable, since terrorism severely threatens China.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn