[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein [official profile] on Tuesday expressed concern [press release] over a new national security law which increases China’s cyber security powers. The law [text] calls for [JURIST report] an increase in internet oversight and for authorities to take tougher measures against cyber attacks, thefts and the spread of harmful information. Zeid said the law was not clear enough for citizens to know when they were violating it and criticized its “extraordinarily broad scope coupled with the vagueness of its terminology and definitions.” He added that, “[a]s a result, [the law] leaves the door wide open to further restrictions of the rights and freedoms of Chinese citizens, and to even tighter control of civil society by the Chinese authorities than there is already.”

The Chinese government has been accused of extreme action in order to eliminate perceived threats against its administration. In the past year the government has executed eight people for terrorism and separatist related crimes, as well as sentencing [JURIST reports] 12 to death for attacks on police and government offices. In January Human Rights Watch criticized [JURIST report] China’s proposed new counterterrorism legislation as a “recipe for abuses.” The Chinese government maintains that their draft law conforms to UN resolutions and that it allows for human rights to be “respected and guaranteed.” In early November China’s Congress passed [JURIST report] a counter-espionage law in order to increase national security. The regulations against NGO’s in the current proposed legislation were preceded by a proposal [JURIST report] made in late December that would require registration by the organizations in order to continue operations in China.