China’s new “ethnic unity” law took effect on Wednesday, amid growing international concern about its potential use as a legal justification for silencing dissent beyond China’s borders.
The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, which was approved by China’s legislature at its yearly Congress in March, is aimed at cultivating “a common consciousness of community for the Chinese nation,” according to Chen Ruifeng (陳瑞峰), vice minister of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, who spoke to reporters last week.
The law mandates the use of Mandarin as the primary medium of education in schools across China and promotes intermarriage between the Han majority and China’s 55 other recognized ethnicities.
But the international criticism to the law has zeroed in on Article 63, which reads: “Organizations and individuals outside the territory of the PRC that commit acts aimed at the PRC that undermine ethnic unity and progress or create ethnic division are to be pursued for legal responsibility in accordance with law,” using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
Officials in Taipei have raised concerns about how the law could be used to target Taiwanese people who travel abroad, pointing to its vague language as a potential foundation for unpredictable enforcement. It is unclear, however, how Article 63 would be applied to residents of Taiwan, given Beijing’s claim that Taiwan falls within its territory.
The United States government has also expressed concerns about the law. Last week, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution condemning the law, saying that Article 63 “[threatens] the sovereignty of nations around the world.”
“The Chinese Communist Party continues to violate the rights of Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other minority groups in China with its horrendous attempts at cultural and religious erasure. This new law doesn’t only threaten those within China, but also those living outside its borders,” said Jacky Rosen, Democrat from Nevada. “Our bipartisan resolution shows support from both sides of the aisle to call out the blatant suppression of minority rights and highlights the importance of protecting cultural and religious freedom everywhere.”
In April, the European Parliament adopted its own resolution calling on China to repeal the law and saying that “respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law should be central to the EU’s relations with China.”
The European Parliament “deplores the law’s extraterritorial provisions, constituting transnational repression; urges all EU Member States to suspend extradition treaties with China to protect persecuted individuals residing in the EU from the risks of transnational repression under this law,” the resolution reads.
The Chinese government has used harassment and threats against family members back home to silence dissidents living abroad for decades, a tactic known as “transnational repression.” Analysts say that there is little in the law that the Chinese government has not already been doing. But it does justify these practices in writing.
“What is concrete is Chinese authorities’ effort to create a veneer of legality for discrimination and repression,” said Shane Yi, a researcher at China Human Rights Defenders.
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