China's anti-terror bill: Human rights, intellectual property under threat

TOKYO - China's proposed anti-terrorism law is causing alarm in and outside the country, as it appears to give Beijing more authoritarian powers.

"We have made it very clear to them that this is something they are going to have to change if they are to do business with the United States," President Barack Obama told Reuters on March 2.

By "they," Obama was referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping and his government. The subject of his comment was China's counterterrorism bill, which was unveiled by the National People's Congress in November.

Many expressed problems with the bill right away, as they saw it as giving too much discretion to authorities and potentially worsening human rights violations in China.

Article 104, for instance, defines terrorism as "any thought, speech or activity that is intended at causing social panic, influencing national policy, inciting racial hatred, subverting the government or dividing the country through means such as violence, sabotage and threat."

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