China has enacted a new law that requires ethnic minority groups to integrate with the majority Han Chinese population. The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, which came into effect on July 1, bans acts that undermine ethnic unity or create ethnic division.

Key Provisions

The law mandates that schools and government agencies use Mandarin Chinese as their primary language and that classrooms promote a strong sense of Chinese national identity. Parents are also required to guide their children to love the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people.

The law applies not only to China’s 56 officially recognized ethnic groups but also to individuals and organizations outside of China who are deemed to be undermining ethnic unity. This has raised concerns about the potential for transnational repression and the impact on activism, research, and discussion of ethnic minority issues globally.

International Reaction

United Nations human rights experts have expressed concerns that the law could suppress minority cultural identity, religious practice, and language. The law has also been criticized for its potential to encourage self-censorship and discourage travel and scholarly debate.

China’s Communist Party has denied allegations of human rights abuses, including the large-scale arbitrary detention of Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. The party claims that the new law protects the legitimate rights and interests of all ethnic groups and does not undermine ethnic minorities’ use of their own language.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.