China passes 'ethnic unity' law in push for assimilation

China’s top legislature on Thursday passed an "Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law," formalizing Beijing’s long-running push to strengthen national identity and ethnic integration.

The legislation was approved at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress during its annual parliamentary gathering in Beijing.

State-affiliated media Xinhua previously reported that the law would seek to codify "fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation" into state policy. 

It would also bolster high-quality development in areas with large ethnic minority populations and promote what officials describe as common prosperity among China’s 56 ethnic groups.

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Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said the measure was aimed at advancing the governance of ethnic affairs under the rule of law.

"The people of each ethnic group, all organizations and groups of the country, armed forces, every Party and social organization, 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 proposed law reads, according to a translation from The Associated Press.

Academics and outside observers say the provision could undermine the cultural identity of ethnic minorities by requiring the use of Mandarin in compulsory education and establishing a legal basis to pursue individuals or organizations outside China whose actions are deemed to undermine "ethnic unity," the AP reported.

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China’s population stands at 1.44 billion as of November 2020, according to the Seventh National Population Census released in 2021 by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Of that total, 91.11% were Han Chinese and 8.89% belonged to ethnic minority groups.

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James Leibold, a professor at Australia’s La Trobe University, told the AP the new measure "puts a death nail in the party’s original promise of meaningful autonomy."

Rayhan Asat, a legal scholar at Harvard University, also criticized the law, saying it "serves as a strategic tool and gives the pretext to government to commit all sorts of human rights violations."