What’s China’s new ethnic unity law, and what does it mean for minorities? 

China has brought into effect a new ethnic unity law that rights groups and foreign officials have warned could accelerate the forced assimilation of ethnic minorities.

The world’s second most populous nation officially recognises 55 ethnic minority groups, which together account for 8.9 percent of mainland China’s population.

Beijing also announced that the new law, which entered into force on Wednesday, could apply to individuals outside the country’s borders, which has raised further alarm among rights groups, which said it could be used to target overseas critics of China. 

The Chinese government, however, said Western media outlets “misinterpreted” the overseas povision and the country wants merely to exercise its right to combat separatist movements abroad.

Here is more about China’s new law and how it could impact minorities.

What is China’s ethnic unity law?

China passed the law on March 12 to create a “shared” national identity among the country’s 56 ethnic groups – the Han majority and 55 minority groups.

The largest communities among China’s ethnic minorities include the Uighurs, about 11 million people, and Tibetans, about 7 million people. Tibet and Xinjiang, where most Uighurs live, are China’s only two provinces where communities that nationally are ethnic minorities form the majority of the population.

The law, approved by China’s ceremonial legislature, is designed to foster “a stronger sense of community among all ethnic groups in the Chinese nation”, Lou Qinjian, a delegate to the National People’s Congress who introduced the proposal before the body, said in March.

The law lays out the need to promote ethnic unity by all government bodies and private enterprises, including local governments and state-affiliated groups like the All-China Women’s Federation.

But critics of the Chinese government argued that Beijing has previously used similarly anodyne-sounding rules and laws to justify limiting expressions of ethnic diversity, especially among Tibetans and the Uighurs.

“The people of each ethnic group, all organisations and groups of the country, armed forces, every Party and social organisation, every company, must forge a common consciousness of the Chinese nation according to law and the constitution, and take the responsibility of building this consciousness,” the law reads.

According to Article 15 of the new law, Mandarin Chinese is mandated to be taught to all children before kindergarten and throughout the rest of compulsory education up to the end of high school.

Mandarin is already the primary language of instruction in Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang, all Chinese regions with large ethnic minority populations, but the new law essentially states that minority languages cannot be the primary language of instruction nationwide.

Until recent years, ethnic minorities had some autonomy in what language could be used for teaching in schools.

The Chinese Constitution states that “each ethnicity has the right to use and develop their own language” and “the right to self-rule” while the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy promises limited autonomy to those groups, including allowing them to create flexible measures to develop their economies.

Why is the law being criticised for its impact on minorities?

China has long battled criticism from international organisations, rights groups and its geopolitical rivals in the West over accusations that it has mistreated its ethnic minorities.

The United Nations in 2018 said China was holding at least one million mostly Muslim Uighurs and other Turkic minorities in a network of what Beijing described as re-education centres. Beijing has rejected accusations that it was holding Uighurs for forced labour and has said the camps are vocational training centres teaching Mandarin and other skills necessary to tackle “extremism” and prevent “terrorism“.

The leading spiritual figure among Tibetans, the Dalai Lama, has lived in exile in India for more than 60 years. While the Dalai Lama’s relations with China have evolved over time, Beijing has long described him as a “separatist”.

Rights groups have raised concerns that the new law could compromise the cultural and social rights of ethnic minorities.

“Chinese authorities have human rights obligations requiring them to protect minority communities and their cultures, but this law does the opposite,” Sarah Brooks, the deputy regional director of Amnesty International, said on Tuesday.

“Rather than celebrating difference, it is about pushing ethnic groups such as Uighurs, Tibetans and Mongolians to adopt a single state-defined national identity dominated by Han Chinese culture.”

Brooks added that “activities which already carry great risk within China – such as promoting minority languages, documenting human rights abuses or campaigning for the release of those detained because of their expression of culture, opinion or belief – could be further criminalised.”

Does the law extend beyond China?

In China’s eyes, it does.

The law includes a clause saying people and groups beyond the borders of the People’s Republic of China can be held legally accountable for undermining “ethnic unity and progress or inciting ethnic separatism”.

That has sparked alarm in self-governed Taiwan that it could give Beijing another legal basis to go after people in Taiwan whom it views as separatists. “In the future, individuals from any country whose words or actions are not acceptable to China may become targets of the law or be pursued under it,” Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Beijing insists that Taiwan belongs to China and has not ruled out taking the island by force.

The Central Tibetan Administration, which considers itself the Tibetan government-in-exile, also condemned the new law.

“While China portrays the legislation as a mechanism for promoting ‘social harmony and national unity’, it effectively codifies policies of forced assimilation,” the CTA said in a statement. “Taken together with existing measures – including the expansion of state-run colonial boarding schools and other policies affecting Tibetan language, religion, education, and traditional ways of life – this law raises grave concerns about the long-term survival of Tibetan identity.”

How has China responded?

China has rejected criticism of the law. Domestically, it has argued, the law is aimed at improving peace and harmony among ethnic groups and better integrating communities on the margins into the mainstream.

And internationally, it has argued, China is merely doing what every other country does: safeguard its security interests.

Speaking at a news conference in Beijing about the law, Vice Justice Minister Hu Weilie said certain Western media, which he did not name, had “distorted and misinterpreted” the provision on the law’s reach extending beyond China.

“This provision is based on China’s national conditions, conforms to legal principles and is consistent with international practice. It is a legitimate, lawful, necessary and feasible legal provision,” he said. “Countries around the world all have the right to prevent separatist and destructive activities and to maintain social solidarity and normal order through domestic legislation.”

The overseas provision targets illegal acts and uses rule-of-law methods to “guard against various unlawful acts involving ethnic affairs from outside the country”, he added.

Enforcing the law’s overseas provision will safeguard China’s sovereignty, security and development interests as well as the lawful rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups, Hu argued.

“It will not affect normal people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries, academic discussions, economic and trade cooperation, or other activities.”