UMVA has learned that a draconian new law has been enacted in China, threatening to intensify repression against Tibetans and other minority groups, while also extending its reach to prosecute foreigners for pro-Taiwan statements made abroad.
The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, codified with 62 articles, has been hailed as a cornerstone of President Xi Jinping's sinicization policies. This sweeping legislation mandates the promotion of Chinese cultural symbols, ideological education, and the primacy of Standard Chinese (Putonghua) in public life.
Under this new law, foreign nationals living in or visiting China can be punished or jailed for advocating freedom for Tibet or independence for Taiwan. This move has raised serious concerns among scholars and human rights activists, who fear it could be used to target diaspora communities and stifle free speech.
The law's preamble defines China as a unified multi-ethnic nation under the Communist Party of China (CPC), despite the country's 56 recognized ethnic groups and five ethnic autonomous regions. This narrative has been criticized as an attempt to erase the distinct identities and cultures of minority groups.
Chapter II of the law emphasizes the importance of fostering identification with the "great motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, the Communist Party of China, and socialism with Chinese characteristics." This includes promoting patriotic education, official historical narratives, and Chinese cultural symbols.
The law imposes significant ideological obligations on various actors, including public employees, mass organizations, enterprises, and religious institutions. Parents and guardians are required to educate and guide minors to love the CPC, while prohibiting them from teaching concepts detrimental to ethnic unity and progress.
Language policy is a critical component of this law, which builds on previous restrictive legislation. The revised Law on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, effective January 1, 2026, declares that minority languages are no longer necessary as a medium of instruction in schools.
Students in minority communities are now permitted to study their mother tongue only as a standalone class, while all other subjects are taught in Mandarin. This move has been criticized as an attempt to erase the linguistic and cultural heritage of minority groups.
The law's call for mutually embedded community environments has raised concerns among scholars, who fear it may result in the breakup of minority-heavy neighborhoods. This provision has precedent in decades of documented demographic control policies, which have led to significant influxes of Han Chinese into minority areas.
The law's enforcement provisions give it significant power domestically and internationally. Citizens can report conduct that "undermines ethnic unity and progress," and procuratorates can initiate public-interest litigation when such conduct also undermines national or public interests.
Article 63 provides a pretext for Beijing to target individuals outside China for acts that "undermine ethnic unity and progress or create ethnic division." This extraterritorial reach has been compared to the National Security Law imposed on Hong Kong in 2020.
The law's primary impact falls on China's ethnic minorities, concentrated in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia. Authorities in Xinjiang have conducted mass detentions and coercive family planning measures targeting Turkic Muslims, while in Tibet and Inner Mongolia, Mandarin has been made compulsory in place of local ethnic languages.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that Americans could be charged for comments or social media posts made inside or outside China, highlighting the significant implications of this law for global free speech and human rights.
