How to protect Chinese nationals overseas

Fan Jinghui, the Chinese national held hostage by the Islamic State group, was murdered on Nov 19. A day later, gunmen attacked the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, capital of Mali, took hostages and killed more than 20 people, three of whom were Chinese nationals.

Terrorism is not new to Chinese people, only that until recently most of the terrorist attacks were carried out by the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement within the country. But the two recent cases show that Chinese nationals face serious threats even while traveling or working overseas, and measures have to be taken to ensure their safety.

The number of Chinese nationals going abroad for business, studies or travel has been continuously growing. Last year, Chinese people made more than 100 million trips overseas, and an increasing number of Chinese enterprises have been "going global" or engaging in overseas ventures in recent years. These have increased the possibility of attacks on Chinese nationals overseas, too.