Human Rights Watch warns a new Chinese draft law on ethnic unity would legalise repression and intensify forced assimilation of minorities like Tibetans and Uyghurs, eroding language rights and extending CCP control domestically and abroad.
A newly proposed law in China would create a sweeping legal framework to justify existing repression and intensify the forced assimilation of minority populations across the country and beyond its borders, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The 62-article draft Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress was submitted to the National People's Congress on September 8, 2025. An official explanatory document states that the law "implements General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thinking" on ethnic affairs and promotes "the common prosperity and development of all ethnic groups, along the path of rule of law."
HRW warned that once passed, the law could be used to formalise and expand ideological controls, target ethnic and religious minorities, erode minority language rights, and extend the Chinese government's influence abroad. "The Chinese government's draft law on promoting ethnic unity seeks to mobilise the bureaucracy and society to unite people under Chinese Communist Party leadership at the expense of human rights," said Maya Wang, associate Asia director at HRW. "Tibetans, Uyghurs, and others who speak out for minority populations can expect even greater government repression."
Ideological Framework and Forced Assimilation
According to the report, the draft law prescribes a rigid ideological framework asserting an unbroken historical continuity of modern China as a 5,000-year-old civilisation that has forged a unified multi-ethnic nation under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This narrative has been increasingly emphasised by President Xi Jinping while implementing ethnic policies characterised by forced assimilation. The proposed legislation formalises the concept of "a common consciousness of the Chinese nation" across sectors, including education, religion, culture, tourism, media, and the internet.
Unifying Culture, Life, and Security
Article 14 directs authorities to highlight "Chinese cultural symbols" in public facilities, architecture, and tourist sites, including in place names. The draft law also integrates this ideological framework into urban and rural planning, economic development, and national security policies. Article 23 promotes housing policies that foster "ethnic unity," while Article 34 links the concept to food and border security. Article 40 calls for the "transformation of customs and habits" to ensure "civilisation and progress" in marriage practices and prohibits obstructing marriages on ethnic or religious grounds. HRW said such provisions could be used to justify intrusive state intervention in cultural and social life.
Expanding CCP Control and Punishing Dissent
While ethnic affairs have traditionally fallen under the CCP's United Front Work Department, HRW noted that Article 12 would mobilise the state apparatus to organise education, guiding citizens to adopt "correct views of the state, of history, of the nation, of culture and of religion." Article 44 extends this mandate to enterprises, industry associations, foundations, and religious institutions, which have increasingly come under party control. Article 20(2) would require parents and guardians to educate minors to "love the Chinese Communist Party" and to avoid teaching ideas deemed harmful to ethnic unity and progress.
The draft law prohibits acts that "damage ethnic unity," a broad formulation that HRW says authorities have long used to punish minority community members considered noncompliant. In Tibet, criticism of government or party policies, including advocacy for language rights or raising concerns about mass relocations, has often been construed as harming ethnic unity and punished with imprisonment under existing laws. In Xinjiang, authorities have justified widespread cultural persecution and alleged crimes against humanity against Uyghurs using similar rhetoric, particularly under the region's Strike-Hard Campaign, which has targeted individuals accused of challenging ethnic unity and labelled some peaceful religious expressions as "ideological viruses."
Erosion of Minority Language Rights
HRW also warned that the draft law seeks to weaken previously guaranteed minority language protections under the 1984 Law on Regional National Autonomy. While the earlier law allows government agencies and schools in minority areas to use local languages, Article 15(3) of the draft requires that documents issued in minority languages be accompanied by a Mandarin version and that the "national common language" be given prominence. The draft further mandates that preschool children learn Mandarin and "basically master" it by the end of compulsory education. According to HRW, authorities in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia have already significantly reduced access to mother-tongue education despite opposition from students, teachers, and parents.
Transnational Repression and Global Reach
The proposed legislation also has an explicit transnational dimension. Article 17 calls for promoting its ideological framework through exchanges with foreign academia, civil society groups, and think tanks, and for fostering such consciousness among "Taiwan compatriots" and overseas Chinese communities to strengthen their understanding that they belong to the Chinese nation. Article 61 states that organisations and individuals outside China who "undermine national unity and progress or incite ethnic division" may be held legally accountable. HRW noted that Chinese authorities have increasingly engaged in transnational repression, including pressuring foreign institutions on terminology and harassing students and diaspora members abroad, sometimes by threatening their families back home.
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