China to establish first counter-terrorism college: Report

BEIJING: China is considering to establish its first counter-terrorism college, days after passing its controversial first counter-terrorism law, a media report said today.

The college, to be established in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, will offer counter-terrorism courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The institution, affiliated to the Northwest University of Politics and Law, will also have doctoral students to foster highly specialized expertise in the counter-terrorism field, China Radio International reported.

The recruitment for the institution will be nationwide and law undergraduates are preferred.

As one of the top law schools in China, the Northwest University of Politics and Law leads the country's counter-terrorism study.

Last month, China had adopted its first counter-terrorism law that granted overarching powers to security agencies and placed new restrictions on media while reporting on terrorism.

It had also appointed a top cop as its first new anti-terrorism czar to enhance coordination among all the security agencies specially in the volatile Xinjiang province where the security forces are battling militants of the al-Qaeda-backed East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM).