National security gets priority

Over 700 convicted for terror, separatism in 2014

China's top court and procuratorate has prioritized the fight against terrorism and secessionism in 2015, vowing to safeguard national security and social stability, according to work reports delivered on Thursday.[Special coverage]

"We will actively participate in the fight against terrorism and secessionism, severely punish violent terrorist crimes according to the law, and severely punish all types of crimes that gravely endanger the people's safety," Chief Justice Zhou Qiang of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said in his work report delivered at the annual session of the national legislature.

The same resolution was reflected in the work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), which was also delivered Thursday. Procurator-General Cao Jianming also vowed to further push forward the crackdown on cult and other crimes involving firearms, explosives and human trafficking.

The SPC report says 712 people were sentenced last year for instigating secessionist activities or participating in violent terrorist attacks, a 13.3 percent increase compared with 2013. Those convicted were involved in 558 cases, up 14.8 percent.

The country saw a 40.7 percent rise in the number of criminal cases that involved instigation of secessionist activities in 2014, but the reports did not provide further details, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Ilham Tohti, a former lecturer at the Beijing-based Minzu University of China, was sentenced to life imprisonment for separatism in September 2014. Tohti reportedly had a close relationship with the World Uyghur Congress, which advocates the "independence" of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Violence has been on the rise in China, and Xinjiang has become the main battleground for the anti-terrorism crackdown following a spate of violent attacks in the region over the last few years.

Other regions were also affected by terrorism, including Beijing. A jeep plowed into crowds near Tiananmen Square on October 28, 2013, killing three people and leaving 39 others injured.

Knife-wielding attackers killed 31 people and injured over 140 others at a railway station in Kunming, Yunnan province in March 2014.

Harsh punishments have been slapped on those behind the attacks in line with the law. The SPC is undergoing a review of the death sentences handed down to the convicts in the Kunming attack, but one woman was sentenced to life imprisonment due to her pregnancy, Zhou said.

"The top judicial body is responsible for upholding the rule of law amid the ongoing nationwide anti-terrorism campaign, including lawful punishment and litigation. It can also prevent accusations against our campaign in the name of human rights," Wang Guoxiang, an anti-terrorism expert at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times Thursday.