China today again defended its new law on ethnic unity, which is set to take effect on July 1, saying it is in line with “international practice.” The Chinese Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress stipulates that organizations and individuals outside China who engage in acts that “undermine ethnic solidarity and progress or incite ethnic separatism” will be held legally responsible, Justice Minister Hu Weilie said at a press conference today, according to Xinhua.
Although China officially recognizes 55 ethnic minorities, the country is still relatively ethnically homogeneous. Han Chinese make up around 92% of the population. Minorities are mainly concentrated in border regions such as Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia. The law could also play a role in strengthening control over border areas, thus having a territorial and regional component as well.
Following several terrorist attacks on Chinese soil, mostly carried out by Islamists, China has since 2014 introduced highly repressive measures in areas where the Muslim population is dominant (primarily the Turkic Uyghur population in the Xinjiang region). “Re-education camps” were established, and thousands of surveillance cameras were installed as part of an extensive technological monitoring system. This practice has drawn strong criticism from other countries and human rights activists, while China urges critics not to interfere in what it calls its “internal affairs.” Beijing authorities have similarly responded swiftly and repressively to what they describe as “separatism” in semi-autonomous Hong Kong.
Chinese minister: “Common international practice”
“They distort, misinterpret, and even defame it as extraterritorial jurisdiction or long-arm jurisdiction. This view is neither objective nor consistent with the rule of law. The regulation is based on national conditions, judicial practice, and common international practices,” the Chinese minister said today, calling the law a “common legislative practice of sovereign states.”
“All countries in the world have the right to ‘prevent separatism and sabotage and protect social solidarity and order through domestic legislation,’” Hu added.
“Ethnic solidarity is an important foundation for national prosperity and development… there are various internal and external risk factors, illegal activities that sow ethnic division and undermine ethnic unity and national security,” he said.
China “strongly opposes any behavior of defamation, slander, suppression, infiltration, and sabotage, among others, under the guise of ethnicity, religion, and human rights,” Hu said.
The law targets “illegal activities,” and the accountability system will be “strictly based on the law and applied prudently to genuinely safeguard national sovereignty, security, development interests, and the lawful rights and interests of all ethnic groups,” he added. “It does not affect normal people-to-people exchanges, academic research, or economic and trade cooperation between China and other countries.”
What does the new law entail?
The law, titled “Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress,” prioritizes Mandarin at the expense of other languages, encourages mixed marriages between Han Chinese and other ethnic groups by banning any restrictions, and requires parents to “raise and guide minors to love the Communist Party of China.”
It also, in a broad provision, prohibits all actions deemed harmful to “ethnic unity.”
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly called for the “Sinicization of religion,” seeking to align religious practices with what the Communist Party considers Chinese culture and values. Experts see this law as a formalization of policies that have already become central to his rule.
“Whether it is promoting the Mandarin language, limiting expressions of ethnic identity or religious practices, the regime is sending the message: ‘Everything we have done so far has been correct, and we are so confident in it that we will now elevate past policies to the level of fundamental law,’” Aaron Glasserman from the University of Pennsylvania told AP.
