A new ethnic unity law came into effect on July 1 in China despite warnings from Taiwan, the United Nations and rights groups that it could threaten freedoms, especially for minorities.
The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress aims to forge a “shared” national identity among ethnic groups, for example by strengthening the status of Mandarin as the official language.
But overseas campaigners have argued it will further degrade the rights of ethnic minorities, like Uyghurs and Tibetans, that Beijing is accused of persecuting.
They also point to a clause stating that people can be held liable for violating the law even when outside China, saying it gives the Chinese government more justification for targeting its opponents abroad.
The law will require “political and ideological alignment with the Chinese Communist Party” and “further institutionalize policies of forced assimilation,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said.
Amnesty has warned the legislation is pushing ethnic groups to “adopt a single, state-defined national identity dominated by Han Chinese culture,” referring to the nation’s ethnic majority.
Beijing consistently denies that it engages in rights abuses against any ethnic group and maintains that they all benefit from its policies of internal security and economic development.
Taiwan expressed “strong condemnation” of the law on July 1, saying it expanded “threats and intimidation against the people of our country and other nations.”
