Balancing security acts with rights of individuals

Terrorism is not something peculiar to foreign soil.

The latest reminder came on Christmas Eve in Beijing, when some embassies warned of a possible attack on foreigners and the municipal authorities issued the first-ever holiday security alert.

That President Xi Jinping signed the country's first Anti-Terrorism Law immediately after it received legislative approval, and that it is scheduled to take effect four days afterward on Friday, is indicative of the need for such a law.