On July 1, 2026, China's "Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law" took full effect after being adopted by the National People's Congress on March 12. The statute mandates Mandarin-language preschool instruction, requires Chinese characters to be displayed more prominently than minority languages in public settings, and directs government agencies and private companies alike to promote a single Party-defined "Chinese national identity" across all 56 officially recognized ethnic groups — a legal capstone on assimilationist policies already imposed for years in Xinjiang and Tibet. The law also grants Beijing explicit authority to pursue legal action against individuals and organizations outside China's borders if their speech, scholarship, or advocacy is deemed to "undermine ethnic unity," a provision that has alarmed Uyghur and Tibetan rights groups as well as Taiwanese officials who fear it could be weaponized against anyone abroad the Party dislikes. Human Rights Watch's deputy Asia director called the law's supposed goal of equitable participation a fiction, since the underlying policies are being forced onto Tibetans and other minorities rather than chosen by them.
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Commentary: Nothing screams "unity" like a law that bans your language in your own homeland and then follows you across an ocean to punish you for complaining about it.
Source: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2026/country-chapters/china
AI disclosure: ⚠️ This content was researched and written with AI assistance and may be fully AI-generated. All facts are sourced from the linked article and corroborating sources.
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