China’s ethnic unity law denounced as ‘forced assimilation’ by rights groups

Police stand guard at the main square in Kashgar in China's Xinjiang region in this file image from 2023. Critics say China’s new ethnic unity law will further erode the rights of minorities such as Uyghurs. Photograph: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Police stand guard at the main square in Kashgar in China's Xinjiang region in this file image from 2023. Critics say China’s new ethnic unity law will further erode the rights of minorities such as Uyghurs. Photograph: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images China’s ethnic unity law denounced as ‘forced assimilation’ by rights groups Law comes into effect that critics fear will further erode rights of Uyghurs and Tibetans, as well as allow Beijing to pursue dissidents abroad A new ethnic unity law has come into effect 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, such as Uyghurs and Tibetans, that Beijing is accused of persecuting. Critics 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. China’s rubber-stamp parliament set to approve ‘ethnic unity’ law Read more Amnesty International deputy regional director Sarah Brooks said the law would require “political and ideological alignment with the Chinese Communist party” and “further institutionalise ... policies of forced assimilation”. “Chinese authorities have human rights obligations requiring them to protect minority communities and their cultures, but this law does the opposite,” 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 Wednesday, the day the legislation came into effect, saying it expanded “threats and intimidation against the people of our country and other nations”. “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,” its foreign ministry said. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex the self-ruled, democratic island. In Washington, nine US lawmakers – including the top Republican and top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee – voiced stern opposition to the law, and